The story
Pulpo Negro at 28 Broad Street in New Alresford is a Spanish restaurant holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2026. Andres and Marie-Lou Alemany run it behind a Georgian frontage, cooking tapas from across the Spanish peninsula.
Andres Alemany, the chef, and his wife Marie-Lou have owned the restaurant for more than a decade. Their brief is Spanish and British ingredients, prepared in-house and aimed at flavour, simplicity and technique. The Good Food Guide rates it Very Good (2026) and praises a young team that balances flavours, textures and colours.
The "pregnant bread" is the dish to start with: five light little empanadas topped with grated cheese and blossom honey. Elsewhere, BBQ Jersey royals come with mojo verde and anchovy butter, and crispy aubergine arrives with whipped goat's cheese and Canarian palm syrup. Meat and seafood are cooked over fire, and there is Ibérico jamón from free-range pigs. Two diners are advised to order a couple of snacks and five or six tapas. Sherry-glazed pineapple, chocolate churros and Spanish artisan cheeses close the meal.
Inside, the space is dark, with bare floorboards, exposed brickwork and menus on blackboards. A lively soundtrack plays while the open kitchen works in plain view. The drinks list covers Spanish wines with short, pointed notes, a focused run of sherries, Hampshire cider and cocktails.
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good quality, good value cooking
Owned by chef Andres Alemany and his wife Marie-Lou for more than a decade, Pulpo Negro is a real find. Behind its Georgian frontage, there’s a dark interior of bare floorboards, exposed brickwork and menus on blackboards, while a pulsating soundtrack keeps things buzzing and casual – although the eye-catching action happens in the open kitchen, where a young team produces dishes that deftly balance flavours, textures and colours. A couple of snacks followed by five or six tapas is the recommended quantity for two. To start, the ‘pregnant bread’ is a must (five exquisitely light little empanadas topped with grated cheese and blossom honey) but the choice ranges from BBQ Jersey royals with mojo verde and anchovy butter to crispy aubergine with whipped goat’s cheese and Canarian palm syrup – not forgetting an impressive array of BBQ meats and seafood cooked over fire. To finish, sherry-glazed pineapple, chocolate churros or Spanish artisan cheeses might tempt. Pithily annotated Spanish wines and sherries, plus Hampshire cider and ‘fabulous’ cocktails make Pulpo Negro ‘a super-fun place to be’.
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