Seven beach restaurants you must visit on the Costa del Sol this summer

Juan Soto

Malaga

Monday, 13 May 2024, 20:40

It's May and time to eat sardine espetos and visit 'chiringuitos'. All along the coast of Malaga there are hundreds of these beach bars with different appearances but a common link: to offer the best fresh and quality seafood. Without wishing to detract from the rest, these seven chiringuitos must be visited this summer.

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In barely a decade, this chiringuito on Guadalmar beach has gained a legion of customers thanks to its good service and variety of fresh produce. The business, which belongs to a family with a long history of fishing, is an ideal place for people looking for a bit of peace away from the city centre and is highly valued for its sardine skewers and fried fish, but also for its rice dishes. Its secret? The fact that every day they go to the fish market to find the freshest products from all over the coast.

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On the other side of Malaga city, El Morata has stood out for more than half a century on Pedregalejo beach. Together with El Lirio and El Cabra, the three form the true fried fish triangle of the eastern area. In fact, they have almost become survivors in an area full of new businesses that have nothing to do with the espetos boats. In this business, they handle fresh seafood and fish like no-one else. It is worth taking advice from the Morata saga and, without a doubt, try the Moratita after your meal; a drink that they invented and which is undoubtedly world famous.

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For decades, the Playamar area in Torremolinos has had one of the most popular beach bars in the area. Los Manueles is one of those places where you can never go wrong if you want to eat well. Opened in April 1968, it started out as a removable bar built on reed and today it is one of the most highly rated in the whole area. Run by Manuel Villafaina, a founding member of the Malaga beach business association, the restaurant boasts fresh produce and, above all, an extensive menu of rice dishes that are prepared practically all year round.

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On the other side of Torremolinos, in La Carihuela, the chiringuito El Canarias is still going strong. Located in the central Plaza del Remo, it has been serving locals and visitors since 1962, making it one of the oldest still operating in the area. Founded by José Pérez Márquez and Miguel León Clemente, the business is now run by the former's sons, who maintain all the family essence of yesteryear. On its menu fresh seafood, espetos and rice dishes stand out.

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Although its name is not entirely traditional, Victor's Beach is one of the few chiringuitos that still maintain a traditional aesthetic on the Marbella coast. Open since 1978 on an unfrequented beach on the coast, it boasts traditional and homemade products. On the sand itself they have a boat where they grill all kinds of fish and, of course, sardines. Although, curiously, their star dish is the sweet and sour ribs, a dish in great demand by the British public and which they prepare on a large barbecue right on the beach.

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For more than 30 years, this beach bar located in the Torre de Benagalbón area has been one of the gastronomic reference points in the area, above all for the quality and mastery with which they prepare the sardine espetos. Practically on the sand, the business run by the Palma brothers offers traditional seafood cuisine with numerous suggestions depending on what comes in each day in the Malaga fish markets, especially the one in Caleta de Vélez. Adapted to modern times, the chiringuito also has an interesting cocktail menu.

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The Varela family has spent half a lifetime serving customers like kings on the easternmost coast of the province. In Torre del Mar you will find the chiringuito Varela, an establishment that has been on the beachfront since 1965. In this establishment you can have a good espeto and excellent fried fish as well as a great cocktail, as Víctor, one of its owners, can boast of having been proclaimed the best barman in the country. Undoubtedly a benchmark for those who frequent the area.