Eating out is one of the many pleasures of living in Spain and the Costa del Sol seems to have available every nationality of food that you could possibly want. Everybody has their own favourite restaurants and so I am not going to tell you about my favourite Indian, Chinese, Pizza or Paella place but direct you to a “white village” that has more restaurants per square metre than almost any other village I know.

The municipality of Benahavis is home to 3800 people. The majority quite naturally are Spanish (1670) but amazingly there are also nearly 1000 British ex-pats in addition to many other Europeans
Asians and Africans. The municipality is quite extensive in land area and all the population do not live in the village itself. The village feels Spanish despite the many foreigners living there and you do not find English newspapers, Sunday Lunch or English Breakfast!

The village of Benahavis is situated about 7km inland from the A7 (N340) coast road. The turn off to take you up into the village is about 1km after the White Archway coming out of San Pedro Alcantara towards Estepona. If you are travelling from Estepona the turn off is just after the Diana Commercial Centre. Both ways are sign posted. Immediately you leave the main road and head off towards the mountains for the first few kilometres you cannot miss all the new building that has taken place. However as you travel onwards and upwards you become aware of the surrounding countryside. The sound of running water from the River Guadalmina plus the sight and sound of the goats wandering through the wooded areas replaces the never-ending traffic from the coast. The road winds its way up towards the village and is flanked on either side by towering limestone crags.
At the entrance to the village there is a nice fountain feature. Go straight across at the roundabout (signposted ‘centro urbano’) and up the long tree lined avenue leading into the main street-Avenida de Andalucia. This road is the main parking area and it is advisable to park the car here and walk. The streets are very narrow and very steep in places.

The number of restaurants is quite amazing and they range from reasonably cheap and cheerful to expensive haute cuisine. Below is a quick guided tour to some of them.

After having parked the car walk along Avenida de Andalucia past the ‘designer’ Bikini Shop on the right and you will see the Plaza Los Rosales which leads up to the large municipal building used for concerts and community celebrations such as the Feria in August and New Years Eve.
On the left just past the Plaza Los Rosales is a very steep road leading to The Orient Express music bar and Restaurant Rufino with its large terrace overlooking the bustle of the main street.
If you turn right on to the Calle El Almendros and walk down the short but quite steep hill you will find restaurants in front of you and above you.
Restaurant Manolo is up a flight of steps and has a beautiful outdoor shaded terrace.
Immediately in front of you is Restaurant Los Faroles which has a shady outdoor upstairs terrace for summer evenings but also has a large indoor rustic eating area for those not so warm winter nights.
Turn left and you are now on Calle Malaga.
Los Albanicos is a popular restaurant which is well known for its ‘roasted lamb’and invariably is always full. The Spanish use it for their celebrations such as communions and wedding receptions. They are open on a lunchtime as well as an evening.
On the left is Villa Bodega Rosea which is good for ‘light’ meals, sandwiches and tapas.
Next door is Rincon de Abuelo which is frequented at lunchtime by the local workers (always a good recommendation!) having the good value ‘menu of the day’. Both the Bodega and this restaurant have small shady terraces and are usually busy.
Opposite these restaurants is a typical Spanish bodega/bar called El Chico where you can have a drink and a tapa.
Still on Calle Malaga there is the Bar Restaurant El Meson with its tables and large beer barrels on the street corner. Here you can eat the usual chicken, pork, lamb and fish ranging from 9 euros for chicken to 20 euros for steak.
Just bearing right on Calle Horno is an English owned bar El Ambiente which serves Thai food and pasta dishes along with some interesting starters eg Deep fried Camembert with Raspberry Sauce with prices from 7 euros to 11 euros.
Calle Malaga leads you into the village square which - yes you’ve guessed - is surrounded by restaurants.
Actually on the square are Las Cañas Viejas and El Mirador. Both very ‘Spanish’ and always busy!
Lindaraja is on the corner and has a beautiful indoor terrace / courtyard. They serve local dishes such as Chorizo, Morcilla, Suckling Pig and Grilled Sea Bass all ranging in price from 7.50 euros to 20 euros. The service is good and there is often a complementary tapa at the start and a liqueur at the end of the meal.
Down a short alley off the Avenida de Andalucia there is a restaurant Asador de Benhavis which is a little more expensive – starters range from 8 euros to 20 euros for an Iberian Platter. They do have an Ostrich Steak with Wild Berry Sauce for 22.50 which is a little bit different! They also have Grilled Turbot at 22 euros and a Vegetarian Menu for between 13 and 15 euros.

The above are only a few of the many eating places in this small village! Many of the restaurants have outside terrace with spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and also have cosy log fires in the indoor areas for when the nights become chilly. Some of the restaurants are open at lunchtime but all are open in the evening from 7pm until late. Most of the restaurants use locally produced food and many menus are based on lamb, pig, rabbit, partridge, and quail. Suckling Pig, legs of lamb, sirloin steaks, garlic sausages and paella are all specialities of the area and many cuts of meat are marinated and then cooked on charcoal or wood fires.

Although most restaurants cater for the Spanish taste and the only non-spanish meals tend to be pasta dishes the quality, price and service is good and certainly worth a short drive from the coast.