Where should you eat in Marbella? Where do I start??
(Quick note: If you want to read about where we stayed and what we did while in Marbella, be sure to read A Day Out In Marbella, Spain!)
The lovely photo above is a fabulous super food quinoa bowl from Manuka. I absolutely LOVED this dish! A dollop of fresh hummus. A generous helping of avocado. Chopped kale. Pretty red pomegranate seeds in addition to a sprinkle of nutty pumpkin and sunflower seeds. All on a bed of quinoa. And a drizzle of dressing to finish it all off. Loved loved LOVED it!! It was so good that, when we went to Manuka a second time, I ordered the same thing! It also inspired me to think up how to make it at home. Recipe coming soon! 😉
My family was also very happy with what they ordered...chipotle-infused chicken quesadillas, pad thai, and we all shared guacamole with lentil chips. To drink, I ordered some ginger-mango type smoothie and my husband had a berry protein smoothie. Freshly made and oh so refreshing. Of course, we couldn't NOT try their gluten-free brownie. Everything tasted great and considering it was our first meal upon arriving in Marbella, it was a perfect start to the trip!
Where else did we eat in Marbella? There are so many good options! One restaurant with excellent food is Da Bruno A Casa. My husband had eaten there when he visited Marbella once before, and he said we might like it. Suffice it to say, we dined at Da Bruno twice, and got delivery take-out once! Undoubtedly, I think it's safe to say we liked it!
Steak was cooked to a perfect medium and properly seasoned. We asked for a side of vegetables, no potatoes, and they happily obliged. The porcini mushroom risotto is creamy and tasty and satisfying. Yummy roasted tomato soup. Spaghetti Amatriciana with tomatoes, onions, and bacon. Caesar Salad with chicken and Parmesan shavings. Excellent service. You can't ask for anything more! We loved it all! Furthermore, with more than one location in Marbella, it is easy to make a visit to one!
If you can't make it to a restaurant in person, they also do delivery! We wanted to stay in for dinner one night, but I didn't want to cook a full dinner...I'm on vacation, after all! It was probably the best take-out delivery food we've ever had! All the food that should be hot, like soup and steak, arrived hot. We were very impressed and is something you might consider when trying to decide what to eat in Marbella!
If you happen to be walking along the Paseo Maritimo and get hungry, stop into La Bodega Del Mar. Right by the sea, inviting outdoor seating, and great tapas make this restaurant an appealing choice. We all shared a meat and cheese platter, grilled steak, grilled vegetables, and smoked salmon. All I can say is that the boys became huge fans of tapas after eating here!
If you want to enjoy a good meal with great views of the Mediterranean, try going to Restaurante Los Sardinales. This was another suggestion by my husband, and it was a good one! I could not get enough of looking at the crashing waves while I sat comfortably and shared paella with my family. It's a very scenic venue, very relaxing, and will not disappoint.
Look at the outdoor seating area! You get blown away before you even sit down!
And what a view to have while eating lunch!
Let's see...where else can you eat in Marbella? Well, if you have a gluten allergy, you might want to make a stop into Celicioso, a restaurant that serves only gluten-free food. I happened to spot the restaurant by chance as we were driving towards the main part of town one day, and made a mental note to look more into it. Considering we prefer to eat gluten-free whenever possible (especially my husband), we decided that it was worth trying out for dinner one night.
What sorts of items are on the menu? Consider their Puente Romano sandwich on gluten-free bread. The bread is actually pretty good...not cardboard-dry like many gluten-free breads. It was nicely toasted, and the chicken and bacon filling was tasty! I was impressed!
In the mood for a burger? They have cheeseburgers!! Want pasta? Try the lasagna! Everything is gluten-free! Sweet potato fries come with the sandwiches and burgers. And while we didn't get anything, they have a large selection of gluten-free sweets and baked goods for dessert. Overall, the restaurant was pretty good and we were glad we tried it.
How about where to eat in Marbella Old Town? Again, there are so many options...the Old Town has many restaurants. And so many of them have outdoor seating, which is part of the appeal of Old Town. With so many choices, it's hard to decide on which ones to try! One night we decided to visit The Farm.
The Farm specializes in organic and locally-grown foods. Part of their charm is the "Secret Garden", which is an outdoor seating area that you have go through the restaurant to access. The Secret Garden has walls on all sides, so it's like a courtyard within the buildings while still being outside. It quite cute and charming! They even have a pet bunny rabbits!
As I mentioned, they specialize in organic foods grown and produced locally. We tried their charcuterie platter and chicken paella. It was plenty of food for the four of us and tasted really good.
Finally, if you're looking for dessert, but you'd like something different than gelato, consider Llaollao. Llaollao serves natural plain frozen yogurt with your choice of toppings. Surprisingly, we found the plain yogurt so good that you can easily eat it by itself! But of course, considering the yummy toppings available, we didn't! In addition to fruits and sauces, you can choose nuts, granola, coconut, or chocolate candies, to name a few. We liked it so much, we went twice! We could easily have gone every night had we had learned about it sooner!
So in terms of where to eat in Marbella, my list is FAR from exhaustive. However, it gives you a sampling of some of our favorites and the variety that is available. I love checking out what restaurants have to offer when we go traveling, and Marbella didn't disappoint! Whether you are in the mood for steaks or pasta or fish or paella, you will find many options to satisfy your cravings!
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