Good and cheap food in Marbella is quite possible. What can you eat? Where can you find good beer?
We present some restaurants in Marbella, where we have eaten. From burgers to fish to churros, everything was there, we also discovered an insider tip for great fish food.
Eating in Marbella in restaurants on the orange square
On our first day in Marbella, we were drawn to eat in the old town. Around the famous Orange Square (Plaza de los Naranjos) are numerous restaurants, which all offer relatively similar priced food. It was difficult to choose the “right” restaurant, although we certainly had different selection criteria in March than we would have had in high summer.
Our choice was a smaller restaurant on one of the corners of the square – it had heating pads under umbrellas protecting from the rain. The waitress was friendly and quick to speak English and the food on the other diners’ tables looked good.
We ordered two dishes that are typical for the city – fried sardines and squid. The portions were quite large and the fish was certainly not frozen, but freshly prepared. It tasted good, but could have been even better. One has already noticed that here as good as no “locals” eat, but the focus is on the fast food for tourists.
Chocolatería San Ginés the sweet temptation
You can not miss them in any case – the churros! For me a dream, especially with chocolate! Churros are elongated doughnuts / sprinkles. The dough is deep fried in hot oil and then sprinkled with sugar while hot.
Churros can be bought at special stands, they are actually eaten at any time of the day. We ordered chocolate con churros in a small café. This café is a branch of a well-known store in Madrid, which has many prominent guests there, which is made clear by numerous photos on the walls.
We ordered a portion for 2 people, which was freshly prepared and immediately brought to our table.
What a treat! We got two cups of thick drinking chocolate and a huge churros snail. If possible, still hot, you should now break off some churros, dip in the chocolate and eat immediately.
Address:
Calle Buitrago, 24 Junto a, Pl. África, 29601 Marbella, Spanien
Bar El Estrecho – Tapas pleasure
A stay in Spain without eating tapas – actually unthinkable. We went in search of a tapas bar in the old town of Marbella and found it in a small narrow alley.
In El Estrecho you meet locals and tourists, for us always a sign that it tastes good. The bar is in the front area rather typical bar with a long counter and small tables, but in the guest room you can sit very well.
A look at the menu presented us with the task of making our selection from about 30 different tapas. Finally we decided on:
Ensalada Malaguena,
Pipirrana de Pulpo,
Chorizo al Vino,
Pollo en salsa,
Albondigas Caseras,
Carne Mechada,
Croquetas Caseras
Our taste has met the selection. This was accompanied by a freshly tapped Cruzcampo beer. For us, an all-around appealing evening with good food in a casual atmosphere.
Address:
Calle de San Lázaro, 12, 29601 Marbella, Spanien
Insider tip: Cofradía de Pescadores de Marbella – lunch in a fish store
Following a tip, we went for lunch to an actually uninteresting area near the fishing port. Here you can find local small restaurants and a few stores. We had been told that here a fish store also offers lunch.
In front of the store there were plastic chairs around some tables and it was quite crowded. 2 places were free and so we took a seat.
When you eat in a fish store, of course you get fish. Our choice, just like on our first evening in Marbella, was fried sardines and calamari.
It took a while before the first plate arrived. Here it seemed to be common that everyone eats from everyone. A large plate was in the middle, 2 small plates directly in front of us. This confused our meal planning a bit, since everyone had actually expected “his” food, but it was no problem.
In retrospect, the food at the fish store was leaps and bounds better than at Orange Square. The flavors were fresh and unadulterated, the quantity very generous at a relatively low price. I almost regretted being there so late and not having tried through one fish dish after another from the menu each day.
Address:
C. Guadalete, s/n, 29603 Marbella, Spanien
Pub Boca Seca – for a beer
In search of an evening beer we landed in the pub / restaurant Boca Seca that is located near the convention center. Here it was quite crowded despite quite early hour and when we went back to our apartment a good 2 hours later, the guests were standing in front of the pub and enjoyed their drinks.
We sat down in the guest room. Here you can spend a nice evening at small tables or bar tables with quite loud music.
As a “base” for the beer we chose tortilla chips with quite spicy dip. This was accompanied by a Founders All Day with 4.7% alcohol and an Alhambra Espicial with 5.4% alcohol. Both beers were very drinkable, not too malty and good. I found the prices for the beers to be relatively high, which I’m sure was due to the fact that this was apparently a popular hangout.
Definitely a place that is just right for an evening beer, as the beer selection was a bit larger than other restaurants after all.
Address:
Edif Milla de Oro, Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso Von Hohenlohe local bajo nº 5, 29602 Marbella, Spanien
Burger food in Marbella at Goiko
On the main street, we noticed a burger restaurant that was open outside of the usual Spanish eating hours. Visually, it reminded us a bit of a fast food chain, but looking at the plates of other customers showed us that it was not just a fast food place.
The waitresses were eager, but seemed unmotivated. Thus, tables were not cleared for quite a long time after the customers had left and some guests had to wait a bit longer until they could place their order. However, we were served quite friendly and quickly.
We each ate a fairly large burger with a side dish. We liked it, the burger meat was well seasoned and fried to the point. In addition, we could drink the beer Alhambra 1925, which tastes excellent.
Certainly not a gourmet meal, but during our visit the price-performance ratio was definitely right.
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