I don't know about you, but Food is a big part of my holiday. If I'm going to a country with its own wonderful cuisine then I'm guaranteed to gorge out on that cuisine for the amount of time that I'm visiting. This time around, it meant I was in for 2 weeks of Spanish food - one of my favourite cuisines out there. If you're visiting Nerja, here are the best places to visit for food and drink:
D R I N K S
Kicking off with this bar means that were kicking off with one of the best and most popular roof-top bars in town. Volk's Bar is part of the Sevillano's group (a restaurant that pretty much dominates Nerja town) and is based on the Volkswagen cars. The design is full of car-related objects - from tyres to canisters - and houses a beautiful lush green wall of tropical plants. Of course, the important part: the drinks. Cocktails are reasonably priced at around €6.50 and also come in generous sizes. The spirits too - watching a Gin and Tonic arrive was surprising because of the size and, apparently, the double gin is enough to have you spinning.
PARADISE COCKTAIL BAR
This bar is situated along Burriana Beach (the large, popular tourist beach) and gets pretty busy on a night. Jamie and I visited here after seeing how local it was and the great reviews on trip advisor. Cocktails in here are priced at around €6 and, again, come in great sizes with enough decoration for you to lose yourself in. With music and people walking past, it's a nice atmosphere and great for a bit of evening 'people watching'.
COCHRAN'S TERRACE-BAR
This one is an absolutely beautiful spot in the centre of town. Along from the Balcón de Europa, this Terrace-Bar is large and spacious enough for plenty of people to enjoy a drink while gazing out over the sea. The drinks in this place are enjoyable - a little pricey, but enjoyable. We visited twice and, coincidently on both occasions, there were weddings taking place. Seeing the beautiful Bride and Grooms, as well as the dressed up wedding guests all in cheerful moods, was enough to entertain the bar guests. It was especially nice to listen to the live music playing too. I would say though, with the business on an evening, the staff can become far too rushed off their feet and give off somewhat rude attitudes.
F O O D
COPA VINO
This is the restaurant that we visited on the day of my Dad's birthday - we decided that, in celebration, we'd go for something a bit fancier than usual, so we chose Copa Vino. In high season, it's very necessary to book your table, especially if you're a party of more than 2 or 3 people. As we were a family of 5, we had to book and the only table available for us two days prior to our visit was inside. Despite this, when we arrived for our reservation, the staff were so so wonderful and friendly. As you can imagine by the name of this restaurant - they specialise in wine and they certainly didn't disappoint. If anyone knows me, they'll know that I'm no alcohol drinker, but I could always murder a bottle of Red.
Anyhow, this place also serves up some pretty unique meals - as we referred to them as 'meal in a pan', can you guess why? They come with some hefty price tags (at least in comparison to the local prices) but as I said, remain very unique. While all of my 4 family members opted for the Steak with Egg, Potatoes & Mustard Sauce but I went for something a little different: Shredded Potato Pancake with Smoked Salmon Creme Fraiche and (my fave) Toasted Pumpkin Seeds - it was amazing! One of the best meals we had in Nerja by far.
SEVILLANO
As I previously mentioned, Sevillano is a restaurant that pretty much has dominated Nerja town. Not only does it have a 3 story pride of place in the heart of town, it's also split across 5 sections. Here's how it works: There is the general dining restaurant for meals throughout the evening that is situated below the rooftop bar, Volk's Bar, and is across the street from the main Sevillano building which houses 2 other sections. This part has a roof terrace and middle floor which is also used for dining - the image of Paella at the top of this article is one from the roof-top terrace at Sevillano (another place to book in peak-season). The bottom floor is my favourite part; La Taquita is the place for tapas with a true Spanish atmosphere. Check this out: 1 drink = 1 tapas dish. This means that 2 glasses of wine and a water was 3 tapas dishes and, to be honest, I reckon just 5 of the tapas dishes between two could be enough for a meal. The last section, Los Huertos del Sevillano, is a little further out of the town centre compared to the others and, to be honest, every time I walked past it, it did seem a little quiet and definitely didn't have that buzzing feel.
LA BOTTEGA
A 5-minute walk from the centre-point of town is Plaza de los Cangrejos where there are a collection of restaurants that overlook the sea and there's entertainment taking place on the square. One place that is amongst these restaurants, and always floating between the top 3 restaurants on Trip Advisor, is La Bottega. It's good food at good prices. Owned by Italians and serving up a big variety of both Italian food and other cuisines, as well as wonderful wine, it's all then topped off by some wonderful, friendly staff members that are fantastically welcoming. My family and I visited this place for lunch one day, then back for dinner another day - it's very worth it.
DON CHISCIOTTE
DEFINITELY, the best Pizza that I tried on my visit to Nerja this year was in this rather fancy Italian Restaurant. Situated a little bit out of town, meaning it does, unfortunately, lack some atmosphere, it did give us a more relaxed and intimate feel. The pizzas are authentic and stone baked while the other dishes also seem to be given a lot of attention and perfecting to them too. My sister and I went half/half with our pizzas - Tuna & Red Onion and the Bolognese. Both were absolutely delicious. If you're looking for reasonably priced, authentic, truly delicious pizzas, this has to be the place.
1ST FLAMMKUCKEN HOUSE
Speaking of pizzas.. this is another place that you must visit but with a twist. These Flammkuchen pizzas are apparently a German delicacy. They are all absolutely crisp thin with a white, creamy base; when Jamie and I visited, we opted for the 'All you can eat' option which is €12 but, after just one pizza, we realised that there was no way we could eat anything else. The staff didn't even argue and let us opt-out of the all-you-can-eat; the pizzas themselves are around €7 each and are surprisingly filling. Take a look:
ALBI'S CAFE
This one is a little different from the rest because it's simply the place where I'd recommend for ice cream. Now, if you know me, you'll know that I love Ice Cream and I love anything banoffee flavoured. This cafe, on the forefront of the Playa Balcón de Europa in the centre of town, didn't just serve up a double cone ice cream for as little as €2, with my favourite flavour, it also had so many other wonderful flavours and really stood out from the rest. You could tell it's popularity by the queue outside that never left, but it was definitely worth a little wait. I particularly got a taste for other flavours such as Pistachio and Cookies.
LA TIENDA
Ranked at Number 1 out of 50 Trip Advisor restaurants in Frigiliana, this little tiny cafe is up in the white streets of the town and is ran by a British couple. They're particularly popular for the fantastic platters that they create - we opted for the Spanish Platter which included Andalucian Tomatoes, fresh fruit, Chorizo, Frigiliana honey, Goats Cheese and Miel de Caña, Manchego Cheese, and other vegs. They're jam-packed and SUCH good value at €15 for two people. You can see our wonderful Spanish platter below:
FOODS TO TRY WHEN IN THE NERJA REGION...
As I said at the start, when travelling to a foreign country, it's just necessary to try and indulge in all of the new and different foods. Upon my trip to Nerja, and the neighbouring regions, I discovered some amazing foods. They're not all completely exclusive to this region though, some are just Spanish Delicacies that, if you're visiting Spain, you should try to get your hands on.
Anyhow, this place also serves up some pretty unique meals - as we referred to them as 'meal in a pan', can you guess why? They come with some hefty price tags (at least in comparison to the local prices) but as I said, remain very unique. While all of my 4 family members opted for the Steak with Egg, Potatoes & Mustard Sauce but I went for something a little different: Shredded Potato Pancake with Smoked Salmon Creme Fraiche and (my fave) Toasted Pumpkin Seeds - it was amazing! One of the best meals we had in Nerja by far.
SEVILLANO
As I previously mentioned, Sevillano is a restaurant that pretty much has dominated Nerja town. Not only does it have a 3 story pride of place in the heart of town, it's also split across 5 sections. Here's how it works: There is the general dining restaurant for meals throughout the evening that is situated below the rooftop bar, Volk's Bar, and is across the street from the main Sevillano building which houses 2 other sections. This part has a roof terrace and middle floor which is also used for dining - the image of Paella at the top of this article is one from the roof-top terrace at Sevillano (another place to book in peak-season). The bottom floor is my favourite part; La Taquita is the place for tapas with a true Spanish atmosphere. Check this out: 1 drink = 1 tapas dish. This means that 2 glasses of wine and a water was 3 tapas dishes and, to be honest, I reckon just 5 of the tapas dishes between two could be enough for a meal. The last section, Los Huertos del Sevillano, is a little further out of the town centre compared to the others and, to be honest, every time I walked past it, it did seem a little quiet and definitely didn't have that buzzing feel.
LA BOTTEGA
A 5-minute walk from the centre-point of town is Plaza de los Cangrejos where there are a collection of restaurants that overlook the sea and there's entertainment taking place on the square. One place that is amongst these restaurants, and always floating between the top 3 restaurants on Trip Advisor, is La Bottega. It's good food at good prices. Owned by Italians and serving up a big variety of both Italian food and other cuisines, as well as wonderful wine, it's all then topped off by some wonderful, friendly staff members that are fantastically welcoming. My family and I visited this place for lunch one day, then back for dinner another day - it's very worth it.
DON CHISCIOTTE
DEFINITELY, the best Pizza that I tried on my visit to Nerja this year was in this rather fancy Italian Restaurant. Situated a little bit out of town, meaning it does, unfortunately, lack some atmosphere, it did give us a more relaxed and intimate feel. The pizzas are authentic and stone baked while the other dishes also seem to be given a lot of attention and perfecting to them too. My sister and I went half/half with our pizzas - Tuna & Red Onion and the Bolognese. Both were absolutely delicious. If you're looking for reasonably priced, authentic, truly delicious pizzas, this has to be the place.
1ST FLAMMKUCKEN HOUSE
Speaking of pizzas.. this is another place that you must visit but with a twist. These Flammkuchen pizzas are apparently a German delicacy. They are all absolutely crisp thin with a white, creamy base; when Jamie and I visited, we opted for the 'All you can eat' option which is €12 but, after just one pizza, we realised that there was no way we could eat anything else. The staff didn't even argue and let us opt-out of the all-you-can-eat; the pizzas themselves are around €7 each and are surprisingly filling. Take a look:
ALBI'S CAFE
This one is a little different from the rest because it's simply the place where I'd recommend for ice cream. Now, if you know me, you'll know that I love Ice Cream and I love anything banoffee flavoured. This cafe, on the forefront of the Playa Balcón de Europa in the centre of town, didn't just serve up a double cone ice cream for as little as €2, with my favourite flavour, it also had so many other wonderful flavours and really stood out from the rest. You could tell it's popularity by the queue outside that never left, but it was definitely worth a little wait. I particularly got a taste for other flavours such as Pistachio and Cookies.
LA TIENDA
Ranked at Number 1 out of 50 Trip Advisor restaurants in Frigiliana, this little tiny cafe is up in the white streets of the town and is ran by a British couple. They're particularly popular for the fantastic platters that they create - we opted for the Spanish Platter which included Andalucian Tomatoes, fresh fruit, Chorizo, Frigiliana honey, Goats Cheese and Miel de Caña, Manchego Cheese, and other vegs. They're jam-packed and SUCH good value at €15 for two people. You can see our wonderful Spanish platter below:
FOODS TO TRY WHEN IN THE NERJA REGION...
As I said at the start, when travelling to a foreign country, it's just necessary to try and indulge in all of the new and different foods. Upon my trip to Nerja, and the neighbouring regions, I discovered some amazing foods. They're not all completely exclusive to this region though, some are just Spanish Delicacies that, if you're visiting Spain, you should try to get your hands on.
- Miel de Caña - I've got to be honest, this is something I can't quite get my head around but, with what I do understand of it, it's the syrup of sugar cane. Ask Fi, she might know. Anyway, it resonates a lot with molasses but with a more honey-like consistency. It's amazing on cheese and fried food because it's intense sweetness counteracts the savoury flavours.
- Tomatoes - I've never eaten as many tomatoes as I did on this holiday. The tomatoes are HUGE and about the size of an average grapefruit. I wish the UK did such flavoursome tomatoes too.
- Rioja - If you don't know what Rioja is, it's a Spanish Red Wine that is named after the La Rioja wine region in Northern Spain. As the wine is of Spanish origin, it comes pretty cheap all across the country but still remains as one of the most full-bodied, rich, delicious wines of them all. If you're visiting anywhere in Spain, you must try Rioja.
- Frigiliana Honey - We first tried this on our platter at La Tienda and initially didn't really expect it to be much more than normal honey. You actually can taste the floral, sweeter notes in this honey - it's quite expensive to buy though, so it's something that I will be gorging on when I next visit Nerja.
There are so many places to discover and enjoy in this town,
it's worth visiting even just for the food.
What is your favourite cuisine?
I just want to travel there for all the foods obviously. Great pictures . :)
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Thank you so much! :)
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