Marbella probably has more hole-in-the-wall tapas bars than any other resort town in southern Spain. Prices and hours are pretty consistent with a bar that first thing in the morning to serve coffee or hot chocolate and churros will switch to wine and tapas when the first person asks for it. As a rough guide tapas dishes cost anything from cost 3€ to 8€, and the best way to try a good selection is to ask the waiter to configure a platos combinados.

Tapas served along the Costa del Sol have a strong emphasis on seafood, with the most famous fritura malagueña, consisting of a selection of fried fish based on the catch of the day. Ajo blanco is a garlicky local version of gazpacho made with almonds, is served in summer, fried squid (calamari) or octopus (pulpo) is another favourite along with albondigas which are small spicy meatballs in a picante tomato and pepper sauce. Tortilla (Spanish omelette) is the most popular egg dish.

Tapas bars line the narrow cobbled streets in Marbella’s old town, especially around Calle del Perral and Calle Miguel Cana. In August when you want to escape the heat and bustle of the Old Town head for one of the beachside restaurants and tapas bars called chiringuitos where you can order a full meal, a snack, tapas, or a drink.

Once a year the residents of Marbella follow La Ruta Tasquera, and so that you do not miss out on the fun following is a list of some of the best tapas bars that you can try any day of the year.

La Venencia
Av. Miguel Cano, 15
Tel: 0034 952 857 913 &
Av. Fontanilla, 4 Plaza de los Olivos
Tel: +34 952 779 963

Venencia tapas bars are popular with Spanish residents and tourists alike. They offer an extensive menu with plenty of vegetarian dishes and traditional Mediterranean fare.

La Bodeguita Marbellí
Pablo Casals, 9 Marbella
Tel: +34 95 286 5543

Marbella’s Little Bodega is right in the centre of Marbella. The décor comprises white walls covered in photos of mid-century Marbella when it was just a fishing village. They offer a very extensive wine list, and specialities of the house include salt-cured ham and fried fish. It has a young and lively atmosphere and is almost always packed for pre-lunch aperitifs and again at sunset

Bodega La Sacristía
Nuestra Señora de Gracia, 8
Tel: +34 95 282 3286
Fax: +34 95 282 4035

This bodega has a highly mystic atmosphere with interior decoration of brick and wood which makes you feel as if you were inside a small temple. Located in the centre of Marbella Old Town, Bodega La Sacristia offers a large list of tapas, fried fish on weekends, paella, and lots more. You can order a single racion (large sized tapas) or a variety of small dishes. They have an excellent wine cellar boasting traditional Malaga Virgen or Pedro Ximenez. . They also serve sherry wines, amontillados and draft beer.

Tasca Don Matute
Arte, 9
Tel: +34 95 282 2818

Located in the heart of the old town this authentic bar is one of the few remaining where they still keep tabs of what you drink and write down what you owe with chalk on the wooden bar. They offer an excellent range of cold meats, cured pork loin, salchichon, chorizo, morcilla black pudding and really good, cured ham. Tapas include various potato salads, rice and migas (fried bread crumbs or semolina with chunks of meat and grapes). You can sample some excellent wines, Riojas, Valdepenas, whites, sherry or draught and bottled beer. The bar is small and fills up quickly, so always there are people standing outside.

El Burladero
Avenida Miguel Cano, 10
Tel: +34 95 286 6112

Situated halfway between the Paseo Maritimo boardwalk and Alameda Park, El Burladero offers a true bullfighting atmosphere with bulls’ heads, old posters from festivals in the Marbella Bullring, banderillas and autographed photos of famous matadors. The food is excellent and be sure to try the revueltos (scrambled eggs with tasty ingredients like garlic shoots or asparagus) and sartena for sharing with friends: pork fillets, roasted peppers, and potato omelette. Attracts a lively thirty-something clientele.

La Querencia
Tetuán, 9
Tel: +34 95 277 1208

La Querencia bar-restaurant serves some of the best tapas in Marbella. It is decorated like an inn with paintings on the walls and cured hams hanging from the ceiling. There is a great choice of Moroccan dishes including lamb tagine with cherries and pine-nuts and couscous. One of their tapas specialities is paella and bread soaked in a good Muscatel wine. The draught beer is always very cold and there are house wines plus Rioja and Ribera del Duero wines. The atmosphere is relaxed with customers tending to be aged 30+.

La Taberna del Pinxto
Avda Miguel Cano N7

La Taberna is an authentic Basque dining experience with waiters circulating with loaded trays inviting diners to choose from a wide selection of tapas on sticks. When you really can’t eat another mouthful your bill is calculated according to the number of discarded cocktail sticks littering the table. Great fun and highly recommended.