I was delighted to be the winner of a thisiscostablanca.com competition.  The prize was a meal for two in La Vall Restaurant on the road between Benissa and Jalon.  We went on a Wednesday evening in October and took our teenage son as well.  It was our first visit to the restaurant and as it was dark when we arrived, I cannot comment on the outside terrace as we sat indoors.  The car park was full which was a good sign and we entered a bar with a large TV screen and a pool table.  We were shown to our table in a pretty room decorated in farmhouse style with a woodburning fire for the winter.  Two blackboards showed the Menu of the Day which seemed good value for 13.50 euros and beef stroganoff was available that day.  As for the a-la-carte menu, there is a choice of one,   two or three course menus.

I chose a prawn cocktail for starter which was beautifully presented inside a ring of cucumber with crispy fresh lettuce.  My husband had a potato cake wrapped in smoked salmon which he said was excellent and our son enjoyed a caesar salad with bacon.  We were also given a basket of warm bread with butter.  For our main course my husband and I both chose the rack of lamb which was served pink (the waiter warned us it would be pink beforehand).  It was succulent and came with mashed potato and a very tasty gravy.  Our son had chargrilled chicken which was tender and served with a bowl of home made chips and a fresh salad on the side.  We were also given a selection of carrots, peas and beans.  We washed it all down with a very nice bottle of Chardonnay.

We ended the meal with a really lovely creme brulee and a liqueur. 

We live in Albir, so La Vall is not "next door" but we will definitely visit again as the food was well worth the journey.

Thanks to thisiscostablanca.com member JANICE for this review.