Marbella is one of the tourist jewels of the Costa del Sol, famous for its beautiful old town with a pure Andalusian flavour, but also for its evenings of luxury, glitterati and opulence. However, if one thing stands out from Marbella culture, it has to be its rich gastronomy. In Marbella’s restaurants, visitors can enjoy Mediterranean cuisine including everything from the most traditional dishes to concepts of fusion cuisine with an enormous international influence.
Without a doubt, it is a city to be discovered for visitors to the Costa del Sol, with a cosmopolitan atmosphere and a pleasant climate practically all year round which invites you to wander its streets, from the old town to the beachfront and discover everything it has to offer.
Thanks to its generous cultural and gastronomical offer, hiring a car in Málaga for your trip will be ideal so you can move around when you get to the airport, enabling you to reach the lesser known corners of the city with so much to offer its visitors.
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Restaurants in Marbella by the beach
Among the best restaurants in Marbella, those that stand out the most allow the visitor to eat while enjoying views of the coast. For that reason, on the beachfront you can find numerous establishments where you can enjoy eating the best produce combined with an atmosphere which enables you to enjoy a long and leisurely meal.
La Milla Marbella
La Milla is one of the best restaurants in Marbella, with a sophisticated atmosphere and unbeatable sea views. Its menu offers the highest quality fresh fish and seafood with a modern cuisine which reinvents the concept of the beach bar (‘chiringuito’), presenting typical products from the local cuisine of Malaga and adding a creative touch. Highlights are the prawn tartare toast with Iberian bacon and the red prawn ceviche, although guests will also be able to try rice dishes, stews and meats.
Kanaloa Marbella
Kanaloa is a restaurant with Mediterranean fusion cuisine which combines traditional dishes with cutting-edge cuisine at an affordable price. Boasting a terrace with unbeatable views to enjoy the best sunset, this restaurant in Marbella stands out for its smoked gaspachuelo soup with shrimp carpaccio and steak tartare with slow cooked bone marrow.
Garum
In welcoming and modern surroundings and situated on the beachfront, Garum Marbella offers a varied menu which involves an innovative culinary experience with Nordic touches. Its extensive menu features Scandinavian herring tartare with egg or a prawn bisque perfumed with cognac, cream and port. Garum also offers a select cocktail list which fits perfectly with the popular Marbella evening.
Michelin star restaurants in Marbella
Without a doubt, Marbella is one of the cities in Andalusia that brings together the area’s best restaurants. Proof of this lies in the sheer quantity of Michelin stars that its gastronomy holds, with up to four options that are established as the best restaurants in Marbella and the entire province.
Messina
Situated next to the famous Hotel Amare, Messina is a cutting-edge restaurant with an urban and minimalist style, with an intimate ambience where you can try local produce with hints of the Mediterranean, Latin America and Lebanon. With one Michelin star, Mauricio Giovanni’s project offers two tasting menus, although you can also order items from the menu and pair them with exquisite wines that turn them into an experience for the senses.
Restaurante Skina
In the old town, you can find one of Marbella’s best restaurants. Skina boasts two Michelin stars and a wine menu with more than 950 items which focusses on local and seasonal foods, opting for local ingredients that recreate the cuisine from the south of Spain and giving it its own unique personality. This restaurant, belonging to chef Marcos Granda, offers three different tasting menus centred on seasonal produce and the star dishes of its menu.
Restaurante El Lago
Restaurante El Lago is situated within the Greenlife Golf Marbella golf complex and is characterised by an offering based on the slow food movement, with local producers who try to close the gap between them and the guest to promote sustainable and local cuisine. In a natural and relaxed environment, El Lago offers an affordable tasting menu with local produce which is led by chef Fernando Villasclaras and boasts more than 300 different wines that you can pair with its dishes, with one Michelin star.
Nintai
While the other Michelin star restaurants in Marbella focus on local Mediterranean cuisine, Nintai offers something different, an offering of Asian cuisine where only twelve diners will sit around a bar to watch the itamae meticulously prepare all of the items from the menu. Also belonging to Marcos Granda, of restaurante Skina, this space boasts one Michelin star and two tasting menus, one of which is for lunchtime only.
Sushi restaurants in Marbella
As is the case with Nintai, Japanese cuisine is one of the most highly demanded among consumers. For that reason, an increasing number of chefs are opting for this popular oriental cuisine. These are some of the best-known sushi restaurants in Marbella:
Ta-kumi
With one restaurant in Málaga situated next to the popular Alcazaba and another in Marbella, Ta- kumi is one of the province’s most popular Japanese restaurants. This group was awarded a Sun from the Repsol Guide in 2021 and is situated in the heart of the city. They are characterised by their traditional Japanese cuisine with an innovative touch, coupled with wine pairing for the best culinary experience. Noteworthy dishes included bull usuzukuri and egg and truffle onigiri.
Döss
Döss is an elegant venue which combines the Asian and Mediterranean concepts with live shows and music to offer the customer an immersive experience which never fails to surprise. Its menu features Japanese options like sushi, although you will also find pizzas, risottos or meat dishes.
Luxury restaurants in Marbella
If there is one thing that has characterised Marbella for decades, it is luxury. Hence, the city has numerous hotel complexes and the most elite culinary establishments which offer visitors a comprehensive experience.
Marbella Club Grill
One of the best-known places to eat in Marbella is this grill with Mediterranean cuisine which mixes traditional local cuisine with Greek, Italian and Lebanese recipes. With an elegant and welcoming atmosphere, Marbella Club Grill is notable for its summer terrace where guests can enjoy a candle-lit dinner surrounded by vegetation, while during the day, the Beach Club is the best choice. The highlights of its menu include the Parmesan cream cheese soufflé and its grilled meats, like the chateaubriand with Béarnaise sauce.
Olivia Valère
Olivia Valère is pure luxury. This restaurant combines European cuisine with a popular dance club reflecting the purest style of the infamous Marbella nightlife. It is characterised for its terrace service with the best atmosphere in the area where guests will be able to enjoy a vast menu with pasta, sushi, meat and fish and a wide variety of cocktails and drinks. In this select atmosphere, guests will have to spend a minimum of €100.
Hotel Don Pepe
Part of the Melia Group, Hotel Don Pepe is a luxurious five-star hotel complex with vast tropical gardens where visitors can enjoy peace and quiet on the shores of the Mediterranean. Its premises are home to some of Marbella’s most famous restaurants, including Asador Erre & Urrechu, one of the best steak restaurants in Marbella, with Basque cuisine, Tahini Restaurant & Sushi Bar, specialising in Asian food, and Bardot, a restaurant situated next to the pool with cocktails and an international menu.
Puente Romano Beach Resort
Puente Romano Beach Resort is another luxurious hotel complex by the sea, one of the most prestigious in Spain. This Andalusian style complex is home to 15 restaurants which include two belonging to famous chef Dani García. One of them is BiBo, with a concept of innovative tapas, while Leña is a steakhouse focussing on meats of the highest quality.
Another jewel within this complex is Nobu, the trendy Japanese style restaurant, although you can also find other concepts based on healthy food, like Rachel’s Eco Love, the Italian Serafina or the American eatery and cocktail bar, Cheat right by the swimming pool. All of this is designed to create an atmosphere with all of the comforts and treats for the visitor, with areas for drinks and one of the most popular spas in Marbella.
Restaurants in Marbella’s old town
A place where you will find some of Marbella’s best restaurants with a special atmosphere is in its old town, a typically Andalusian part of the city that breathes the true essence of this city. With narrow and cobbled streets, this area stands out for its white houses splashed with a multitude of colours and terraces where you can enjoy traditional and innovative cuisine. Here are some of the best restaurants in Marbella old town
Taberna La Niña del Pisto
One of the top restaurants in Marbella old town, a typical restaurant with cuisine from Cordoba where you can enjoy the best tapas in Marbella and stews from Andalusian cuisine. Stepping foot into La Niña del Pisto is like going into any bar in Cordoba but without leaving Marbella, with characteristic décor and the most traditional tapas. Highlights are its salmorejo soup, oxtail, meat balls or ratatouille.
Entre Limones Bistro
With a delightful and relaxed exterior terrace, Entre Limones Bistro has a short yet flavoursome menu, which guarantees the best care is taken of each dish, in addition to using select products as raw materials. The salad with lemon dressing, duck Magret and marinated scallops stand out.
Zozoi
Situated in Plaza de Altamirano, Zozoi is a special spot in the heart of Marbella. With a cosy and intimate interior terrace, this restaurant in Marbella is characterised by its Franco-Belgian inspired local cuisine. Its vast menu features meat dishes, pasta, pizzas and Mediterranean inspired starters, all meticulously presented and with an excellent service.
Map of the restaurants in Marbella
Too much information? Here you have a map where you can locate all of the restaurants in Marbella, as well as the CarGest office where you will be able to hire your car to travel with complete freedom around the jewel of the Costa del Sol.
