Marbella’s rise as a fine dining destination

There was a time when Marbella’s quality restaurants were few and far between. Visitors came for the sun, the Andalusian ambience and were happy to limit themselves to traditional Spanish eateries, but over the years things have changed. Today’s visitors, residents and property owners are more demanding, wishing to have a choice not only between a great many different cuisines but also a wide variety of settings, decorative settings, price ranges and types of dining experiences.

Marbella has responded over the years, and now boasts a truly impressive range of cuisines, including Italian, classic French, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Indian, American, Lebanese, Argentinian, Portuguese, Georgian, Mexican and of course Spanish restaurants. In fact, many more national kitchens are available here, and in segments ranging from cheap and cheerful through to Michelin star establishments. Today Marbella caters to those seeking traditional tapas bars and family-run eateries, fish restaurants, modern cuisine, charming bistro style dining and classic top-end establishments.

Though good restaurants can be found throughout the region, from Estepona and Benahavis to Puerto Banús, Nueva Andalucía and Elviria, two distinct fine dining areas have developed in recent years – in Marbella Old Town and the Puente Romano resort. The latter is focused around the Plaza Village, where a truly impressive collection of restaurants including Nobu and Dani García’s Michelin-star establishments has produced a quality dining cluster.

The same is true of the Old Town, or Casco Antiguo, where a series of excellent eateries add to the charm of this wonderfully authentic part of town. They complement the scene very well, offering a good choice of tapas bars, fine dining, quaint little bars and family restaurants in a setting that is hard to equal for its ambience.

Loraine de Zara is a specialist in this area so please contact us if you have any property or lifestyle enquiries about Marbella and in particular its Old Town.