Where to eat in Benalmádena — the best local restaurants and tables worth booking, filtered by cuisine and picked for tourists, expats and families.
Where you eat in Benalmádena depends on which of its three towns you're in. Puerto Marina is the busy, international end — Angus for steaks, Toro for tapas and paella, Cinnamon Club for Indian, La Parolaccia for pizza, all with tables over the water. Along the seafront it turns to fish: Los Mellizos for shellfish by weight, La Sirena for paella with a view.
The character is inland. Ventorrillo de la Perra, an 18th-century inn in Arroyo de la Miel, is the town's most atmospheric dining room, and up in Benalmádena Pueblo, Casa Fidel does classic Spanish cooking by the fire while Venetiis cooks creatively between Italy and Málaga. The Pueblo is the place for a quieter, more Spanish evening.
A popular steakhouse on the marina for grilled Angus beef, burgers and ribs, with tables looking over the boats.
Calle Maestra Ayala 1, Benalmádena Pueblo
A long-standing family restaurant in the Pueblo for classic Spanish cooking — roast meats, fish and seasonal dishes — in a rustic dining room with a fireplace and a patio for summer.
A smart Indian restaurant in Puerto Marina — a broad menu of curries, tandoori and vegetarian dishes in a polished dining room by the water.
A friendly pizzeria-trattoria on the marina for wood-fired pizza and pasta — easy, good-value and reliably busy.
Paseo Marítimo, Benalmádena Costa
A beachfront restaurant for fresh fish, paella and grilled octopus with a wide-open view of the sea — a dependable long lunch on the promenade.
Avenida Antonio Machado, Benalmádena Costa
The Benalmádena branch of the well-known Málaga seafood family — a big, busy marisquería for shellfish by weight, fried fish and rice dishes on the seafront avenue.
A big, cheerful Tex-Mex and steak restaurant on the marina — fajitas, nachos, ribs and cocktails, popular with families and groups.
Spanish cooking with a modern edge on the marina — tapas, paellas and grilled meats in a lively waterside setting.
A creative kitchen in Benalmádena Pueblo that moves between Italy and Málaga — inventive, well-presented plates in a village setting, and one of the more interesting dinners in town.
Avenida de la Constitución 115, Arroyo de la Miel
An 18th-century roadside inn in Arroyo de la Miel, still serving traditional Malagueño and Spanish cooking in beamed rooms and a shady patio — the most characterful dining room in Benalmádena.
For atmosphere, Ventorrillo de la Perra in Arroyo de la Miel and Casa Fidel or Venetiis in Benalmádena Pueblo. For seafood, Los Mellizos and La Sirena on the seafront. For variety and a view of the boats, the restaurants of Puerto Marina.
Angus Puerto Marina for steaks, Toro for Spanish tapas and paella, Cinnamon Club for Indian, La Parolaccia for pizza and pasta, and Tex Mex Gringos for families and groups. Most have terraces over the marina.
Yes — it's the quieter, more traditional choice. Casa Fidel is the long-standing classic for Spanish cooking, Venetiis is more creative, and the squares around Plaza de España have several tapas bars.
Los Mellizos Benalmádena, part of a well-known Málaga seafood family, is the pick for shellfish and fried fish; La Sirena on the promenade does fresh fish and paella with a sea view, and the beach chiringuitos grill sardine espetos.