Georgina recommends …. La Taberna del Pintxo
If you’re bored of always ordering the same things and would like to widen your tapas horizons, I can recommend the busy and fun Taberna del Pintxo. As well as serving traditional cold tapas at the bar, in the evening from around 9pm they start to bring round trays of delicious nibbles for you to try. Tapas is charged by counting the cocktail sticks at the end of the evening, each type of cocktail stick being worth a different amount. It’s a lovely way to eat and the place has a great atmosphere too.
Here’s the lowdown:
The location: This is well located on Avd. Miguel Cano, N.7. This is the road down from the centre of Marbella with the horses and taxis to the sea, it’s a little before the road turns to the right on your right hand side. They also have restaurants in Fuengirola and Puerto Banus, visit their website for the addresses www.latabernadelpintxo.com
The food: The tapas in here really is delicious, but I’d wait until the hot stuff comes round, rather than fill yourself up on the cold tapas. There are loads of options to choose from – little hamburgers, pork, fish, goat’s cheese, chorizo, the list goes on. Take a look at the website for the full list of 42 hot tapas, the choice is amazing. They also have some normal dishes like steak, pasta and puddings that you can order if you don’t fancy the tapas.
I think eating this way is really nice as you end up with much more variety than you normally have when ordering tapas. The waiters come round to all the tables with one dish and they tell you what it is, if it looks good take one – it’s that easy! Many of the waiters speak English if you struggle with the descriptions.
The service: I like the service in here, there are lots of staff constantly going round with food, so you’ll never go hungry, just make sure you get your drinks orders in too, as they focus more on the food than the drink. When you first go in they will come and take your drink order and give you a plate each so they know to come round with the food.
The decor/atmosphere: I rather like the decor in here, as it’s nice and traditional; tiled floors, wooden tables with stools, dark wood exposed beams and a wooden bar. It has a rustic Spanish charm. The atmosphere is fun and bustling and it’s always busy in the evenings from around 8pm onwards. This is not the place to go for deep and serious discussions as you’re constantly interrupted by waiters offering you food, but it’s a really good fun place to be with a nice buzz all year round.
The price: Each tapa is good value and priced by the type of coctail stick you have in it. If you’re on a budget try to stick to the wooden sticks, which are around 1.50€ as if you indulge on a lot of the plastic swords and hearts it can get expensive. The alcohol is good value and you can keep costs down by choosing wisely, or just go for it and enjoy it, either way it won’t break the bank, but it can surprise you once it’s added up!
Contact: Visit their website which is in English as well as Spanish for more information about the concept, the list of food and the locations and contact numbers of their restaurants. La Taberna del Pintxo