No Spanish summer is complete without endless days spent at your local beach restaurant, aka chiringuito.
Nowhere is this more true than the Costa del Sol, which is home to hundreds of such venues thanks to its 150km of coastline.
But no matter which stretch of beach you find yourself in, the quality and value for money can vary widely.
In a bid to sort the good from the bad, each year, experts at Tapas magazine create a list of the best chiringuitos in Spain.
This year, El Balneario de los Baños del Carmen, in Malaga, was crowned the best chiringuito in Spain, while a further two in Malaga province made the top 25.
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Balneario de los Baños del Carmen
Unlike the string of luxury new venues popping up in resorts like Marbella, Baños del Carmen has been serving customers for over 100 years.
Tapas writes: ‘Founded in 1918 and with a privileged location overlooking the Mediterranean, the Balneario de los Baños del Carmen stands out for its cuisine that combines tradition and avant-garde, with dishes such as sardine skewers (espetos), fried fish, and its most innovative creations.
‘With this award, Tapas Magazine and SpainMedia reaffirm their commitment to Spanish gastronomy and the spaces that best represent the culture of the sea, authenticity, and the enjoyment of a good meal.’
El Saladero: good enough for the Spanish princess
Founded in 1965 on the eastern shores of Malaga, El Saladero is part seafood shack, part institution.
What began as a humble beachside bar has become a benchmark for no-frills, maximum-flavour fish.
‘A little white house on the sand, a paper tablecloth, and the smell of espeto in the air,’ Tapas wrote, summing up the place’s enduring charm.
The fish – anchovies, crayfish, shrimp, tuna – comes in daily from the local port, just 400m away.
There are croquettes, rice dishes, and paellas too, but the heart of El Saladero is still the espetos: sardines skewered and grilled over open flame.
Michelin-star winner Dani Carnero, one of Málaga’s most acclaimed culinary figures, calls it ‘the best beach bar in Málaga.’
Even royalty agrees, as Spain’s Princess Leonor reportedly chose El Saladero during a recent holiday.
La Milla: where fine dining meets the surf
Sitting a few beaches to the west, on Marbella’s Nagüeles coast, La Milla plays a very different tune.
Here, just steps from the Mediterranean, sunbathers sip wine from a cellar with over 900 labels, and the menu shifts with the tide and the season.
Opened 10 years ago by Luis Miguel Menor and Casar Morales, La Milla is a chiringuito reimagined – with crisp white linens, five-star service, and a kitchen that blends Andalucian tradition with modern flair.
There are classic fried fish and daily-caught seafood, but also white shrimp brioche with lemon, and a sharp Andalucian ceviche.
Since 2023, it’s carried the Repsol Sun award, one of Spain’s top gastronomic distinctions.
The idea, Menor and Morales have said, was never to leave the beach behind but to ‘elevate it.’
Read more Spain news at the Spanish Eye.
