Restaurant suggestions • Culinary dictionary • Eating culture & Tapas • Ingredients • Specialties • Drinks • Mediteranean recipes • Culinary festivals Axarquia

Restaurant suggestions

• Bagels & Tapas - Nerja

Of course this list wouldn’t be complete without our own restaurant Bagels & Tapas when it comes to nice culinary suggestions… We’ve got delicious bagels like cream cheese with herbs and smoked salmon (Bagel New York); goat cheese with honey, dates and walnuts (Bagel Athens) or a bagel with chicken, bacon, tomato and garlic sauce (Bagel CLUB Miami). Almost all of which is homemade…

We also have tapas like prawns pil-pil, meatballs in tomato sauce, spareribs, battered squid, homemade quiche etc. You can try our special ‘Tapas for Two’ mixed plate with sangria or wine or you can have 2 tapas of choice with fries and salad. We also do take-away and we have free WIFI. You can find us in the center of Nerja, between Balcon de Europa, Hotel RIU Monica and Playa Torrecilla on Plaza de los Cangrejos. See the Bagels & Tapas website for the menu, map or other details.

• Restaurant El Quinto Pino - Torrox Costa

Next to the colourful RIU hotel in Torrox Costa (almost on the boulevard) you find the German restaurant ‘El Quinto Pino’ (which literally means ‘the fifth pine tree’ and figural speaking ‘far, far away’). Very tasty, creative and beautifully presented. The restaurant has a lot of silver, white table cloth and candles. One of the nicest things on the dessert list are the fried marzipan strawberries, mmm…. Tel. 952 534 759.

• Restaurante Calabaza - Nerja

New restaurant with its entrance in Calle Pintada. The kitchen is on a higher level and this restaurants forms a nice change in the current scale of restaurants in Nerja. They use quite a lot of orriental ingredients which results into nice taste combinations. Not cheap but worth the money. Reservations are adviseble. Tel. 952 52 55 69.

• Restaurant La Vainilla - Nerja

Outside of the center in the pretty urbanisation of Capistrano Oasis (towards Nerja Maro) you find a surprisingly good restaurant La Vainilla. The location next to the pool is beautiful and the food they serve has a high level with a reasonable price. They use a lot of herbs and fruits and this makes it an exceptional restaurant. Really pleasant if you don't want the hectic of the town center during your holiday.

• Hostel-Restaurant Avalon, Nerja

On the hill of the Punta Lara urbanisation in Nerja West (close to hotel Marinas de Nerja and Playazo beach) lies hostel-restaurant Avalon. This place has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere and what makes this place really unique is the spectaculair view on Nerja. There’s plenty of parking space in front of the restaurant. www.hostalavalon.com

• Restaurant El Mirador de Cerro Gordo - La Herradura

On one of the most beautiful locations along the coast – in the nature park between Nerja and La Herradura - lies the mountain of Cerro Gordo. El Mirador de Cerro Gordo offers a spectacular view over the sea, cliffs and Nerja in the background from 200 metres height. The international menu looks nice though the portions are a little small for the price. But still, the location is well worth it. The opening hours are quite strict and plan it well if you want to see the sun set. http://miradorcerrogordo.com Tel. 958 34 90 99.

• Chiringuito / Restaurante Paraiso - Nerja

Next to Hotel Marinas de Nerja, in the corner of Playazo Beach, you find Chiringuito / Restaurant Paraiso de Nerja. The chairs stand praktically on the beach, which gives the perfect holiday feeling. The menu downstairs looks dull, but my sole in orange sauce was simply delicious!
At night you can also dine upstairs next to to road to Torrox (this part has recently been renovated and here's also a private parking plot). Despite of the beautiful view we didn't like this part of the restaurant at all and we thought it was very overpriced.

• Restaurant Udo Heimer - Nerja

This probably is the most upper class and technically best restaurant in Nerja. They even serve edible flowers. It truly is a restaurant for people who love food of a high culinary standard. The restaurant is named after its German owner, yet the credits should really go to his Spanish wife who has cooked with some of Spain's most prestigious chefs.
The dishes really look like art. If you want to really go for it take the surprise menu… www.udoheimer.net Tel. 952 50 00 32.

• Brasserie 010 – Torrox Costa

In a side street of the boulevard just before the RIU hotel (next to the tennis courts) you find the small Dutch restaurant ‘Brasserie 010’ (which is the phone number of Rotterdam). The friendly owner is Michel who had the restaurant built in his living room and, probably because of that it still has a cosy atmosphere. It has a straight to the point menu with large portions and also some typical Dutch food like haring and Dutch meat croquettes.

• Bar The Schip - Nerja

Opposite of the populair RIU Monica Hotel the friendly Dutch bar The Schip is located. The owners like to have a nice chat with their clients and here you can also watch football during your holiday.

• Tapasbar Esquina Paulina - Nerja

A cosy, almost unspanish tapas bar with friendly Dutch owners. Everything’s nice about this small place and it’s probably exactly how Northern European think a tapas bar looks like. They have a few nice small cheese or meat plates with specialities you won’t find anywhere else in Nerja. Calle Cristo 45.

• Bar El Molino - Nerja

It doesn’t get any more Spanish than this during your holiday in Andalusia! This place used to be an olive factory and the ‘stage’ (a two meter diameter circle) was used for pressing the olives. The nice thing is that despite the tourists still a lot of Spanish – young and old – come here to sing and clap along with the old Spanish songs. Best time to go is around 12, because then they have their daily ritual: the lights go out and they sing to the statue of Virgin Mary… Calle San Jose.

• Merendero Ayo – Nerja (Burriana)

Ayo is the best known chiringuito (fish / beach restaurant) on Burriana Beach. In this restaurant (and at lot of its neighbours) they prepare paella on a traditional way in big 2 meter pans on a wood fire. Of course you can also eat sardines and all kinds of other fish. Like in most chiringuitos you sit on plastic chairs and there isn’t any decoration (also not on the food) but it’s cheap and – on a nice sunny day on the beach – nobody really cares about that. (The owner Ayo was one of the 15 year old boys who discovered the Nerja caves in 1959).

• Tapasbar Vinoleto - Nerja

This modern tapas bar is located close to Plaza Tutti Frutti. There is a good choice of wines and small culinary tapas (like small bread rolls called ‘montaditos’ or small toasts). Only negative point is the bar chairs without back, which prevent you from staying a little longer. Nice place to go to before going out. Calle Antnio Millon.

• Tapasbar / Freiduria La Pulguilla - Nerja

A lot of tourists have a romantic idea of eating tapas. La Pulguilla will make you forget all this, but still it’s more Spanish than Spanish. Plastic furniture, white light, lots of beer and noise. But, the fish doesn’t get any fresher than this and that’s what counts for the Spanish. They fry everything and mainly eat shell fish and other gelly stuff. A lot of Nerjenos come here before they go out so they can already have a beer with some chunks of deep-fried squid. Calle Cristo.

• Restaurant Haveli – Nerja

Haveli is exactly what you’d expect from an Indian restaurant: lots of different flavours and a friendly price. You can easily park at the big car park, so you can directly enter through the back door. In summer you can sit here in the big garden. Nice for a change if you're fed up with the standard meat or fish with fries. www.haveli.com

• Bar-Restaurant Buddha - Nerja

In the heart of Nerja's old town you will find the large, trendy Buddha Bar, which opened in 2007, it must have cost a fortune with its extended interior and it has all kinds of different lounge parts on three different levels. A little expensive, a little different. Between Calle Pintada and Calle Christo.

• Restaurant La Braseria Iberica – Nerja

The quality of this restaurant is quite ok, but don’t expect any surprises. The restaurant is popular with tourists as well as the Spanish and you can park near to the door. Calle de Pescia opposite of Capistrano Village. www.hotellosarcos.com

• Restaurant Lan Sang – Nerja

Luxury Thai restaurant with spectacular mango cheese cake. The owner is from Laos and he knows how to present the food well with a lot of detail. Not cheap, very tasty! www.lansang.com

• Papagayo - Nerja

On the most picturesque beach in Nerja,(playa Calahonda, reached via stone steps through an archway, left of the Balcon de Europa)you find beach bar Papagayo. Nice young atmosphere and in summer there is often live music here. A sea view, fresh air alternative to going out on Tutti Frutti.

• El Chambao de Joaquin - La Herradura

A nice chiriguito which also has a restaurant inside. The location is great with a nice garden looking over the bay of La Herradura. Of course the specialty is fish. Although the kitchen is not yet standing out, you can see the owners try their best. If you get to the boulevard, just drive left and you’ll find this place on the end. Nice website www.elchambaodejoaquin.com