'I had a €1 beer at a bar in Benidorm - despite bottom of the barrel warnings'

Irish Daily Mirror

25-05-2025

One of the first pieces of travel advice I read online when I was researching my visit to Benidorm was to avoid temptation at all costs and never trust the €1 drinks.
The Spanish resort has an abundance of bars and restaurants that lure tourists in with a temptation of special offers - varying from buckets of bottles of beer, cocktails with cheeky names and special shots that could contain pretty much anything.
With more than 830,000 British tourists visiting Benidorm each year, and with the number of sports bars, Irish pubs, and other themed venues all trying to welcome in customers each day - there's no surprise that owners have turned to lucrative offers to draw in the numbers, reports The Manchester Evening News.
Walking along the resort, there are a number of bars that will offer €1 bottles of beer and pints - sometimes as part of bucket deals or happy hour specials, with others available on their own all the time - but those living in Benidorm have suggested that they are not as good as they seem.
In one popular TikTok video which has been seen more than 450,000 times now, Frank the Stag Man, who has 227,000 followers on the platform, warned that tourists 'get what you pay for' and described the drinks as 'absolute rubbish'.
He said: "Do not waste your time going to places that advertise €1 a pint because you're getting the absolute... you're getting the bottom of the barrel, do you know what I mean?"
However, that being said, I practically fell at the first hurdle and ignored all warnings after a very sunny afternoon stroll through Levante Beach. It's perhaps the very exact reason why these bars have beer at such a ridiculous price point in the first place.
With the intention of heading into the Old Town, I spotted the La Parada lounge bar, which offered both €1 beer and even €1 Pintxos dishes. Whilst not feeling brave enough to try my chances with the culinary options, I was prepared to give the very cheap beer a go - all in the name of journalism, of course.
The bar, which is just a little further up from the beach front by Tiki Town Beach Club, had a fair few locals in but being located in quite a nice shaded area away from the beach meant that it wasn't too packed out at my time of visit in the afternoon.
The very lovely server was happy to take my order for a €1 beer and, not quite knowing what I had set myself in for, I contemplated what would be arriving at my table and whether it would be as watered down or ominous as social media had suggested it would be.
Arriving at my table within minutes, the dinky little glass of beer was pretty much as expected: certainly not a pint, and perhaps not even a half (maybe more of a third). But it was a freshly-poured serving of Amstel, so it certainly wasn't the worst choice of beer.
Sipping it, it was ice cold and it tasted normal - I didn't get the impression it was watered down. Most impressively, it was an absolute bargain of a drink for €1.
When the server did the rounds, I stopped her to ask why the beer was so cheap. With a little laugh and a shrug, she just said to me: "It gets people in." With that principle, they're counting on repeat custom and customers wanting to explore the menu - like the €3 hotdogs and €5 smoothies (five times the price of a beer!) that were being promoted on the signs around the venue.
Having quite relaxed into my surroundings and spent around half an hour sipping my beer (quite a long time, to be honest), then came the moral dilemma that has been playing in my mind ever since: how do you pay for a €1 beer without feeling like you've just committed daylight robbery?
Sure, the bar advertised it, and they are not the only ones doing such an offer, but it just felt crazy that it was paying so little for the beer. I considered leaving the euro on the table and just making a dash for it in order to avoid having to make any pleasantries, but that just felt rude.
I also contemplated tipping an extra euro in order to lessen the guilt I felt, which I appreciate is the very epitome of a first-world problem. But, ultimately, it was their offer, they chose to sell it, and they decided to promote it to get punters in - and it certainly worked, even if I didn't stay to branch out into €5 smoothie territory.
Whilst I definitely wouldn't want to spend a whole afternoon stocking up on €1 beers, my time at La Parada was good. It certainly wasn't one of the rowdier venues in the town, it was chilled and quiet, so I am sure there might be other popular options for people when it comes to going cheap on the beer.
Of course, I cannot vouch for €1 beers at the other bars and I'm sure there are some which warrant the level of caution. It also goes without saying that it is always important to drink responsibly too, whether you are in Benidorm drinking €1 beer or not.