Málaga · 18 Citorah Picks

Where to eat in Málaga

In the order Citorah recommends them: the order the guides rank them, and never by commission. How Citorah is paid

Markets

  • Market

    Mercado Central de Atarazanas

    Citorah says Málaga has 15 municipal markets, and Atarazanas, which the city council says is popularly called the mercado central, is the biggest, with 260 stalls. It’s the place to see what Málaga eats, and to eat some of it. The building is worth the visit on its own. The site was a 14th-century Nasrid shipyard, and its marble gateway survives: it was moved to the centre of the main façade when the architect Joaquín de Rucoba built the market, between 1876 and 1879, the year it opened.

    The catch Afternoon, Sunday and holiday opening is the exception

  • Market · Soho

    Soho Urban Market

    Citorah says The Soho Urban Market, with more than fifty local artisans, designers and producers, is held on the fourth Sunday of every month.

Restaurants

  • Restaurant · Centro Histórico

    El Pimpi

    Citorah says Pepe Cobos and Paco Campos, two men from Córdoba, founded the bodega in 1971, in an 18th-century house built on an old Roman road. The menu is local and seasonal, El Pimpi says, and it names the huevo de toro tomato, jamón de castaña and sweet muscatel wine among it.

  • Restaurant

    Blossom

    Citorah says The chef, Emi Schobert, is from Buenos Aires, and Michelin describes the cooking as contemporary, with South American touches. There are two tasting menus: Esencia, at €140 a head (€75 with wine pairing), and Confluencia, at €190 (€95 pairing). Allow about three hours.

    The catch Blossom recommends smart casual dress, and doesn’t recommend bringing children.

  • Restaurant · Centro Histórico

    Kaleja

    Citorah says Kaleja is the Sephardic word for “alley”, Michelin notes, and the restaurant is in Málaga’s old Jewish quarter, a few steps from the Picasso Museum. The chef, Dani Carnero, revives traditional Andalusian recipes, cooking slowly over hot coals in what the restaurant calls “candle cooking”.

  • Restaurant

    Palodú

    Citorah says Cris Cánovas and Diego Aguilar call their cooking cocina dual: market cooking, served as two tasting menus, each with its wine pairing.

  • Restaurant · La Malagueta and the port

    José Carlos García

    Citorah says After 15 years in the Port of Málaga, the restaurant has moved to a more intimate space in La Malagueta, next to the Centre Pompidou Málaga.

  • Restaurant

    La Cosmo

    Citorah says Dani Carnero, the chef at Kaleja, also runs this more casual place, with an open kitchen, and Michelin says it’s committed to transparency about its produce and where it comes from. Michelin recommends eating at the bar and ordering the hake salad.

    The catch Bread costs €2.50

  • Restaurant · María Zambrano

    Base9

    Citorah says A young pair of chefs, Cristian Fernández and Pablo Zamudio, serve a short menu of tapas and dishes to share. Michelin picks the canelón de gallina vieja and a Spanish tortilla made like a Japanese omurice.

  • Restaurant

    La Taberna de Mike Palmer

    Citorah says Michelin places it in an equestrian club on the outskirts of Málaga, behind the hills that frame the city, and recommends a terrace table. The dishes are slow-cooked, mainly on the open grill: mostly meat, with some fish and vegetarian dishes.

  • Restaurant · La Merced

    Cortijo de Pepe

    Citorah says A mesón since 1971, with separate menus for the bar, the dining room and the terrace.

  • Restaurant · Pedregalejo and El Palo

    Chiringuito El Merlo

    Citorah says Right on the beach, it advertised its sardine espetos at €2 in October 2026. Its menu also has sea bream and sea bass on the espeto at €23 each, squid at €27, and fried boquerones, fresh anchovies, at €8.

  • Restaurant · Pedregalejo and El Palo

    Chiringuito La Concha

    Citorah says Run by the same group as El Merlo, Grupo La Revuelo, it calls sardine espetos, grilled on its own embers, its star dish, alongside fresh shellfish.

  • Restaurant

    El Balneario

    Citorah says It opened in 1918, part of a project that brought open-sea bathing to Málaga, it says. It’s a restaurant by the water, serving espetos from the grill, fish from the bay, rice dishes and seasonal produce.

  • Restaurant

    El Tintero

    Citorah says Come here for pescaíto frito rather than espetos, sold by auction: the waiters walk past calling out the dishes, and the first to raise a hand gets the plate.

  • Restaurant · Pedregalejo and El Palo

    Espigones

    Citorah says One place for them is Espigones, at Paseo Marítimo el Pedregal 50, which the tourist board lists on the Pedregalejo seafront with espetos “as its main attraction”. Its own site says it opens every day of the year.

  • Restaurant · Centro Histórico

    Balausta

    Citorah says Its restaurant, Balausta, is run by the chef Sergio Solano.

Cafés

  • Café · Centro Histórico

    Casa Aranda

    Citorah says For breakfast, not tapas. It has served coffee, churros and chocolate in the centre since 1932: Antonio Aranda opened it on 2 February that year with his sister, Lolita, and the history on its site calls it a Málaga institution for breakfast and the afternoon merienda.

Plan the trip

Some of these are affiliate links: if you book through them, Citorah may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the guides recommend. How Citorah is paid