# Good restaurants in Fuengirola



## shoemanpete (Jan 4, 2010)

Hi, I would appreciate some recommendations of decent restaurants around Fuengirola on a Saturday night. Price around 15-20 euros total per person for a 3 course meal and wines.
Many thanks.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Last time I was in Funghirola there was just a rough market square, a couple of low rise hotels, and a dutch run bar on the main road.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> Last time I was in Funghirola there was just a rough market square, a couple of low rise hotels, and a dutch run bar on the main road.



...um.. its changed a bit since then Strav lol!!!! I dont go to Fuengirola much for meals so I cant really help - Theres certainly no shortage of restaurants etc - I'll have a think and ask around! ........"Lynn" on here may know, she gets out and about quite alot I believe!!!!!!

Jo xxx


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

jojo said:


> ...um.. its changed a bit since then Strav lol!!!! I dont go to Fuengirola much for meals so I cant really help - Theres certainly no shortage of restaurants etc - I'll have a think and ask around!
> 
> Jo xxx


1974 I think it was 

I went there after reading a book centered in Spain called the Drifters by James Michener ... dreams of hippydom!


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## Debz79 (Jan 25, 2011)

Fish Alley has a whole selection of resturants, but some will be closed for winter! It all so depends on what kind of night your having as they can range from, casual up. If its a special occassion and can up the budget a little Aroma is a lovely Resturant on Fish Alley but reservations are needed.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> 1974 I think it was
> 
> I went there after reading a book centered in Spain called the Drifters by James Michener ... dreams of hippydom!


ahhh


that explains a lot


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

A *decent* meal ...with wine...for 20 euros a head??????
I wish I could find a restaurant like that...


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> A *decent* meal ...with wine...for 20 euros a head??????
> I wish I could find a restaurant like that...


Here, you can get a decent meal with wine for less than €10 a head.
It's the North South divide you see


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Stravinsky said:


> Here, you can get a decent meal with wine for less than €10 a head.
> It's the North South divide you see


Obviously!
The cheapest fixed price two-course menu at a 'good' restaurant in our village is 15 euros low season...without wine, water, coffee. It goes up to 20 -25 in high season.
There are cheaper but basic places but I wouldn't consider them as 'eating out' places.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I guess it all depends on ones definition of "decent"!!!

Jo xxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

jojo said:


> I guess it all depends on ones definition of "decent"!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


For me it means not wearing jeans and making an effort to 'dress up'..


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

40 euros for two?

Its a rip off!

Hepa


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Hepa said:


> 40 euros for two?
> 
> Its a rip off!
> 
> Hepa


Not around here. Its what you could expect to pay for a "decent" meal out

Jo xxx


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

jojo said:


> Not around here. Its what you could expect to pay for a "decent" meal out
> 
> Jo xxx


You are being ripped off if you pay that anywhere, but carry on, the catering trade can be very lucrative,

Hepa


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Hepa said:


> You are being ripped off if you pay that anywhere, but carry on, the catering trade can be very lucrative,
> 
> Hepa


No, it's not always a rip-off. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
Better quality fresh local ingredients, well-trained waiters, a good chef, a good wine selection, quality of table linen, glassware etc.....all will cost more than a meal at a 'greasy spoon'. I like eating at greasy spoons and don't expect to pay over the top but when I am with friends out for a 'special' meal I am willing to pay more because I want and expect more. I am paying for an 'experience'.
When we were in business we charged more per hour for work done than many other businesses in town yet were always busy. Why? Because our overheads were higher -we paid higher wages to attract quality staff, had the most up-to-date equipment, pleasant waiting rooms with coffee machines, up-to-date magazines and so on - and people found that in the end they could end up paying less!
But I must admit I've been treated to expensive (£100 a head) dinners at 'famous' restaurants and been left hungry and feeling cheated.
I once dined at the Roux brothers place and had such miniscule portions of admittedly nattractively presented food that I had to eat when I got home.


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

shoemanpete said:


> Hi, I would appreciate some recommendations of decent restaurants around Fuengirola on a Saturday night. Price around 15-20 euros total per person for a 3 course meal and wines.
> Many thanks.


Can you be more specific? Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vegetarian etc? What do you want? It all depends on your taste! 

I went to a nice Japanese restaurant in the centre of Fuengirola on my birthday in December - restaurante Makati - which was quite reasonable. We paid less than 20 euros per head with wine for a 3 course meal. You can choose from a set menu, the sushi menu or a la carte and it is nice and friendly. It was quiet when we went, but it was a Monday night and we had torrential rain (as usual on my brithday . ) But it was good. The cooking is done in front of you on a hot plate at the table, and the chef used to work at another Japanese restaurant, the Tokyo, on the Paseo Maritimo in Torreblanca, also good. You can make an online reservation and their website shows you the menu and the prices, so you can see what is on offer. However, I tried to post the link but the link seems to be broken at the moment. (But Google it for reviews and the phone number.)

There is a nice Thai restaurant on the road to Mijas pueblo, halfway up on the right, past the Valparaiso restaurant (which is also popular but much more expensive, and IMO over-rated.) Unfortunately, I can remember what it is called though. Maybe someone else here knows.

A good Italian restaurant is Paganini's on the Paseo Maritimo at the Torreblanca end.

As someone mentioned earlier, Aroma in fish alley is good, serves modern European cuisine, although it is not my personal favourite.


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

Of course, you can find cheaper restaurants everywhere, but it depends what you want. I am pretty sure you could have a meal for half that price in one of the other numerous restaurants in fish alley but most of them are pretty average in terms of taste as well. It depends if you are going for "survival" or "enjoyment" lol.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> No, it's not always a rip-off. Sometimes you get what you pay for.


Like I said in my previous post, please carry on, catering can be very lucrative, there are many rich owners of restaurants and hotels. It was our family business the trade in which the younger members still ply, but you continue to spend your cash, I can assure you it will never be refused,

Hepa


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Hepa said:


> Like I said in my previous post, please carry on, catering can be very lucrative, there are many rich owners of restaurants and hotels. It was our family business the trade in which the younger members still ply, but you continue to spend your cash, I can assure you it will never be refused,
> 
> Hepa


Tis how it is! Good restaurants will always be able to charge more than not so good ones and different areas charge different prices - its the same the world over

Jo xx


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

Hepa said:


> Like I said in my previous post, please carry on, catering can be very lucrative, there are many rich owners of restaurants and hotels. It was our family business the trade in which the younger members still ply, but you continue to spend your cash, I can assure you it will never be refused,
> 
> Hepa


Dont think there are that many rich ones round here, most are probably just fighting for survival at the moment.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Hepa said:


> Like I said in my previous post, please carry on, catering can be very lucrative, there are many rich owners of restaurants and hotels. It was our family business the trade in which the younger members still ply, but you continue to spend your cash, I can assure you it will never be refused,
> 
> Hepa


But I notice you haven't contradicted my post!
You simply can't deny that a restaurant which serves fresh lobster with good wine on starched linen cloths with knowledgeable waiters is giving a higher quality experience at a higher price than fish'n' chips on a plastic cloth at a formica table.
It's all down to choice. I don't object to a restauranteur making a profit out of me if I've had a good time at his/her establishment. That's a sign of a good businessman/woman.
Personally, I prefer good quality fish and chips but in a nice setting so I would recommend to anyone visiting London to visit the North Sea Fish Restaurant just off the Euston Road.
They have a take-away as well as a pleasant but not too 'posh' diningroom and a plate of beautifully cooked plaice,or cod,or haddock, chips and peas with a glass of excellent house wine will cost you less than £15 a head....a snip considering this is Bloomsbury and overheads will be high.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Caz.I said:


> Dont think there are that many rich ones round here, most are probably just fighting for survival at the moment.


That is the nature of the business, you take the good with the bad and the fittest will survive,

H


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

depends on what you want really but Moochers on Fish Alley is a good all round experience if you go later - they have live music on and have a big menu, service is very friendly and it's generally a good place - loud though due to the music but the ambience is good


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## taffinspain (Jan 25, 2011)

shoemanpete said:


> Hi, I would appreciate some recommendations of decent restaurants around Fuengirola on a Saturday night. Price around 15-20 euros total per person for a 3 course meal and wines.
> Many thanks.



If you like your golf, saying that they do a good set price evening meal for €15.

Try Casa Roberto just off the beach front past Maxi's on the left hand side.


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## shoemanpete (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks all for the tips. Will investigate Makati, Aroma, Casa Roberto. They sound good. 
Taffinspain......where is this Maxi's, the castle end of the seafront? It sounds familiar, but can't place it.


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## taffinspain (Jan 25, 2011)

shoemanpete said:


> Thanks all for the tips. Will investigate Makati, Aroma, Casa Roberto. They sound good.
> Taffinspain......where is this Maxi's, the castle end of the seafront? It sounds familiar, but can't place it.



Got their card in front of me here Maxy - just one street along from Hotel el Puerto. The restaurant is on the same road as the post office, Calle Espana.
( If you know where the sex shop is it's around there....lol )


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

taffinspain said:


> Got their card in front of me here Maxy - just one street along from Hotel el Puerto. The restaurant is on the same road as the post office, Calle Espana.
> ( If you know where the sex shop is it's around there....lol )


That'll be fairly close to Fish Alley and the main square where the church is and theres an underground car park there too - so kinda central then??........... not that I know where the sex shop is, but I know where the main post office is LOL

Jo xxx


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## shoemanpete (Jan 4, 2010)

taffinspain said:


> Got their card in front of me here Maxy - just one street along from Hotel el Puerto. The restaurant is on the same road as the post office, Calle Espana.
> ( If you know where the sex shop is it's around there....lol )


Thanks for that, I know the post office street, and think I saw a sex shop, but didn't take much notice of that! Yeh right, I hear some say!


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## shoemanpete (Jan 4, 2010)

BTW, taffinspain.....where in Wales are you from? I was born in Carmarthen.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jojo said:


> I guess it all depends on ones definition of "decent"!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


For me it means a clean white linen tablecloth, and the neighbouring tables far enough away for you not to hear their conversation. Good home-cooked food from fresh local ingredients, a waiter who doesn't try and persuade you to have things you don't want, and no telly on in the corner. (Unless Barça are playing of course.)

At places in our town which meet these criteria, we can get a good starter, a hefty _retinto_ steak and a bottle of decent Rioja for €20 a head, or a _menu del día_ including a glass of wine for €7.

I don´t think it´s a north-south divide as much as a _campo-costa_ divide.


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## taffinspain (Jan 25, 2011)

shoemanpete said:


> BTW, taffinspain.....where in Wales are you from? I was born in Carmarthen.


Swansea lad here...
Although been around the world and back...lol


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> But I notice you haven't contradicted my post!
> You simply can't deny that a restaurant which serves fresh lobster with good wine on starched linen cloths with knowledgeable waiters is giving a higher quality experience at a higher price than fish'n' chips on a plastic cloth at a formica table.
> It's all down to choice.
> .


No need to contradict, we have a restaurant here, probably superior to those you describe, with views second to none, dinner for two will cost you 25€ or more if you so wish, link below

Mirador de La Pea


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## shoemanpete (Jan 4, 2010)

Hepa said:


> No need to contradict, we have a restaurant here, probably superior to those you describe, with views second to none, dinner for two will cost you 25€ or more if you so wish, link below
> 
> Mirador de La Pea


Sounds good to me. Trouble is the fare there and back makes it a touch on the expensive side.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

*restaurant prices*

When I first came to Spain I worked near Tarragona with a group of people who had already been here a year so they knew the ropes. Money was tight so if we went out for the day some of the morning was spent trying to suss out where we'd be able to have lunch. I soon found that Spain offered a great variety of restaurants and a wide range of quality and prices. I also found out that, with few exceptions, you got what you paid for and that I prefer to pay more rather than less. 
Around where we live now, that translates into if you go to a restaurant with a menu for 8E you'll get tinned veggie in your mixed vegeyables (menestra) and your hake (merluza) will most likely be thin and frozen. Your dessert will be a Danone yoghurt or a Yoplait Flan. By no means unedible but if it's cheap it's for a reason. Higher prices generally mean "nicer" surroundings, unfortunately not always better service, but nearly always simply better food.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> When I first came to Spain I worked near Tarragona with a group of people who had already been here a year so they knew the ropes. Money was tight so if we went out for the day some of the morning was spent trying to suss out where we'd be able to have lunch. I soon found that Spain offered a great variety of restaurants and a wide range of quality and prices. I also found out that, with few exceptions, you got what you paid for and that I prefer to pay more rather than less.
> Around where we live now, that translates into if you go to a restaurant with a menu for 8E you'll get tinned veggie in your mixed vegeyables (menestra) and your hake (merluza) will most likely be thin and frozen. Your dessert will be a Danone yoghurt or a Yoplait Flan. By no means unedible but if it's cheap it's for a reason. Higher prices generally mean "nicer" surroundings, unfortunately not always better service, but nearly always simply better food.


The best value for money round here is a tapa sized portion of _carne en salsa _(stewed pork) in the campo ventas, which comes with chips and crusty campo bread, for €1.50! And they often give you potato or carrot salad (_patatas aliñadas_) while you´re waiting. Add a beer or a glass of wine for €1 - can´t be bad.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> The best value for money round here is a tapa sized portion of _carne en salsa _(stewed pork) in the campo ventas, which comes with chips and crusty campo bread, for €1.50! And they often give you potato or carrot salad (_patatas aliñadas_) while you´re waiting. Add a beer or a glass of wine for €1 - can´t be bad.


Sounds delicious! But is the carrot salad fresh carrot or that grated stuff that you buy in a jar?. It doesn't really matter because it's good value for money anyway.
Forgot to say that 2 summers ago we had to eat out for at least a month while our kitchen was being done. For 12 €, going up from the cheapest of 8/9E€, we ate something like salad/ gazpacho, lamb cutlets/ beef stew, melon/ yoghurt. Not high cuisine, but a decent meal every day.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Sounds delicious! But is the carrot salad fresh carrot or that grated stuff that you buy in a jar?. It doesn't really matter because it's good value for money anyway.
> Forgot to say that 2 summers ago we had to eat out for at least a month while our kitchen was being done. For 12 €, going up from the cheapest of 8/9E€, we ate something like salad/ gazpacho, lamb cutlets/ beef stew, melon/ yoghurt. Not high cuisine, but a decent meal every day.


The carrot salad, _zanahorias aliñadas_, is rounds of carrot marinated in vinegar and cumin. I think it´s an Andalucian idea, it´s very common round here and easy to make:
Zanahorias aliadas

Serve at room temperature, it is not so nice refrigerated.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Hepa said:


> No need to contradict, we have a restaurant here, probably superior to those you describe, with views second to none, dinner for two will cost you 25€ or more if you so wish, link below
> 
> Mirador de La Pea


Looks good.
But it will cost me more than 25 euros to get there.......
I'm not doubting you but it seems incredible that you can get all the things I included in what you should expect from a 'good' restaurant anywhere for 12.50 a head......
How do they manage to cover their overheads?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Looks good.
> 
> How do they manage to cover their overheads?


Simple it is a teaching restaurant


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Hepa said:


> Simple it is a teaching restaurant


Thats all well and good, but some people want to go out and enjoy a meal in a "posh" restaurant, either because they want to splash out or because they have the money and can afford to. 

Restaurants can charge as much as their customers are willing to pay. 

Jo xxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Hepa said:


> Simple it is a teaching restaurant




Aahhh....
So it should be good and yes, I understand why it is so inexpensive.
But it proves my point: good chefs, trained waiters etc. are able to command higher salaries than trainees, even if the food the latter provide is as good as or even better than the 'professionals'.
So the costs will be passed on to the customer.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

jojo said:


> Thats all well and good, but some people want to go out and enjoy a meal in a "posh" restaurant, either because they want to splash out or because they have the money and can afford to.
> 
> Restaurants can charge as much as their customers are willing to pay.
> 
> Jo xxx



Cannot disagree, it is called in nautical terms, "Bleeding the bloods," the customers being referred to as the bloods,

Hepa


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Hepa said:


> No need to contradict, we have a restaurant here, probably superior to those you describe, with views second to none, dinner for two will cost you 25€ or more if you so wish, link below
> 
> Mirador de La Pea


Wow, what a view! Is the restaurant actually in the Manrique building? Book me a table _now_!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Wow, what a view! Is the restaurant actually in the Manrique building? Book me a table _now_!


Yes, look below the building for the glass, that is the restaurant. There is also one similar on La Gomera,

Hepa


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