Best restaurants in Estepona – add these to your must-try list

Estepona might be small but when it comes to certain things, the town stands very tall. One of them is food and over the last few years, the Garden of the Costa del Sol has established itself as something of a foodie paradise. And although you won’t find any Michelin stars, you will enjoy great food at wallet-friendly prices and in lovely settings. To help you savour the most delicious, we’ve put together a list of the best restaurants in Estepona. Be sure to add them to your must-try list.

If you would like a more dynamic version of this content, please feel free to also explore our Best Restaurants in Estepona Web Story. Also here you can check out our listings for properties for sale in Estepona. 

Best restaurant in Estepona for breakfast – Etcetera Café Bar

And it’s served all day too along with a wide range of fresh salads, organic acai bowls, creative tapas and homemade cakes. Vegans have a good choice here too. And coffee connoisseurs will want to discover whether Etcetera really does serve the best brew in town as the café’s fans claim.

The venue sits on a leafy square – great for a shady breakfast in the summer heat – or you can eat inside in the contemporary interiors. Service comes with a smile, always an added bonus.

Don’t miss – the black chanterelle croquettes with truffle and parmesan mayo.

Where to find it: Calle Real 19, Estepona town centre. Etcetera Café Bar

Best restaurant in Estepona for fresh fish and seafood – La Escollera

This friendly restaurant has been serving fish for over 80 years so they know a thing or two. Tucked away in Estepona Port, much of the menu is literally the catch of the day and you’ll find all the typical local dishes from pescaíto (small fried fish) to grilled squid via gambas pil-pil. But their fortes are crab, octopus and more unusual shellfish such as barnacles.

La Escollera is a very busy restaurant in Estepona – locals flock here at weekends – and you can’t book a table. So, to be sure of yours, go early or be prepared for a bit of a wait – well worth it!

Don’t miss – the display cabinet packed with the freshest fish and seafood in Malaga.

Where to find it: Calle del Puerto Pesquero, Estepona Port. La Escollera

Looking for a good beach restaurant? These are the best chiringuitos in Estepona.

Best restaurant in Estepona for traditional dining – La Alcaria de Ramos

Another oldie and another goodie, this restaurant near El Paraiso Golf Course is now in its second generation of the Ramos family. This is your must-try if you’re a fan of hearty Spanish cooking. Start with a traditional favourite such as serrano ham and melon before you move onto the zarzuela fish and seafood stew, a signature Mediterranean dish. But there’s room for non-Spanish culinary touches too such as the homemade paté with Cumberland sauce and Tataki tuna.

Dine outside under the stars in the garden in the summer and indoors by the cosy fire in the cooler months.

Don’t miss – the roast duck with apple, the restaurant’s most famous dish.

Where to find it: Calle Jardín, Urb. El Paraiso. La Alcaria de Ramos

Best restaurant in Estepona for meat lovers – Mu-Mú Asador Argentino

Carnivores will find paradise on earth at this Argentinian restaurant in the heart of the old town. The giant grill takes pride of place and cooks up a long list of sirloin steaks and T-bones as well as lamb and ibérico pork. Non-meat eaters will enjoy the octopus or fish, also grilled. Starters include typically Argentinian empanadas, provolone and chorizo criollo. You can also order salads, but the star of the show here is definitely meat.

Eat inside with your eye on that grill or outside on the shady terrace.

Don’t miss – the Tomahawk steak for two, big enough even for the largest appetites.

Where to find it: Calle Real 48, Estepona town centre. Mu-Mú Asador Argentino

Like to get to know Estepona better? Read our Area Guide.

Best restaurant in Estepona for wine – Casa del Rey

Over 120 types in fact with no less than 50 available by the glass – ask the waiter for suggestions because this restaurant in Estepona specialises in more unusual labels. To accompany your vino, there’s a good choice of meat and fish dishes (sharing plates and mains) as well as smaller pinchos (tapas on a slice of bread).

All served outside in the pretty pedestrian street, inside the 200-year-old historic mansion or in the indoor patio. Book ahead if you plan to dine here during the week or lunch at weekends because it’s a busy venue.

Don’t miss – the pincho of the day, never the same and always perfectly paired with one of the wines.

Where to find it: Calle Raphael 7, Estepona town centre. Casa del Rey

Best restaurant in Estepona for cucina italiana – La Tarantella

Also in one of the older mansions in the old town, La Tarantella does fine wining and dining Italian style. On the menu are the typically dishes you’d expect from antipasti to pizzas via a good choice of salads, plenty of pasta and a selection of fish and meat dishes. But don’t expect the usual run-of-the-mill Italian food in Spain – La Tarantella brings the very best of Italy to Estepona and you’ll find your tastebuds transported across the Mediterranean.

Eat inside the elegant dining room or al fresco in the patio with a striking vertical garden providing a verdant backdrop.

Don’t miss – the freshest pasta this side of Rome.

Where to find it: Calle Santa Ana 15, Estepona town centre. La Tarantella

Read our guide to the best restaurants in Marbella.

Best restaurant in Estepona for beach views – La Bulla Gastrobar

If you’re looking for a restaurant in Estepona with sea views and open all day, you can’t go wrong at La Bulla Gastrobar. Start your day at the beach with a homemade cake and coffee. Later on, whet your appetite for lunch with some plates of cold cuts and cheese or gourmet tapas (think suckling lamb roll with oyster-lime sauce). Or stay for dinner and sample the house special – Almadraba tuna cooked any which way.

Sit outside on the sunny terrace with the sands and sea almost at your fingertips or inside in the leafy boho interior.

Don’t miss – the cocktails served in funky glasses and jars.

Where to find it: Avda de España 38, on the Estepona seafront. La Bulla Gastrobar

Best restaurant in Estepona for sunsets – Como pez en el agua

And also the perfect stop-off if you’re walking, cycling or running the Senda Litoral coastal path on the east side of Estepona. Literally on the path itself, this friendly venue serves up traditional beach chiringuito fare such as croquettes, Spanish tortilla, fried fish and grilled octopus, some claim is the best in Estepona.

A few tables are outside on the path so be prepared for a ‘narrow’ eating experience but you have the sand and sea at your feet, which more than makes up for it. Plus, service is excellent and the staff could not be friendlier. You really will feel, as the restaurant’s name says, like a fish in the water and totally at home.

Don’t miss – the cachopo, a breaded steak recipe from the north of Spain served with hand-cut chips.

Where to find it: Plaza de Contramaestre 6, Urb El Pilata on the east coast of Estepona. Como pez en el agua

Best restaurant in Estepona for a prime steak – Restaurante Sur

No one knows more about a good steak than the Argentinians. From how to source a prime bit of beef, store it and then cook it, they are world experts in bringing the delicious cuts to your plate. No wonder then that Sur has been serving the best chops, entrecots, ribeyes, t-bones and tomahawks on the Costa del Sol since 1994.

You could be on the Argentinian pampa when you sit down in the welcoming restaurant – rustic decor, lots of wood and country touches give Sur a real gaucho feel. And if you’re not a steak lover, the menu comes packed with a ton of other options including a good range of salads and starters plus a few surprises. They include sole ceviche, lamb tagine and a veggie-friendly cous-cous.

Don’t miss – the long list of desserts that go way beyond the usual brownie and crème caramel. Pumpkin with mascarpone anyone? Or how about a slice of Brazilian cassata?

Where to find it: Plaza Ortiz 10, under the palm trees at the east end of the seafront promenade. Restaurante Sur

Best restaurant in Estepona for fine dining on fish – El Pescador

If you’re looking for a more sophisticated feast of fresh fish and seafood, you can’t go wrong at this restaurant on the seafront promenade. While the outside tables sit on the seafront with full sea views, the white interior gets white accessories including the table linen to give maximum stage space to the food.

Fish and seafood are the star turns on the menu that lists all sort of shellfish beyond the usual list of scallops and mussels. This is the place in Estepona to try the renowned local concha fina and coquinas. The fish too comes varied and any which way as the menu caters for lovers of baked, grilled or fried fish. And if you enjoy a hearty paella, choose from five different types including the signature arroz a la banda.

Don’t miss – whole squid grilled to perfection and served with squid-ink black spaghetti.

Where to find it: Paseo Marítimo Pedro Manrique 1, on the beach opposite the old town. El Pescador

Best restaurant in Estepona for veggies – Wild Café & Restaurant

Being a non-meat and fish eater in Spain has always been a challenge but finding a good restaurant that caters for vegans too is usually beyond tough. Until Wild came along and transformed the flexitarian eating scene on the Costa del Sol. The rustic and homely style plus friendly service sets the tone while the menu caters for all tastes. Yes, even carnivores have a choice of meat and fish dishes.

But you’re here for the veggie/vegan creations, all beautifully presented in a riot of colourful deliciousness. From the spicy seasonal porridge and kimchi waffle for breakfast to the latino fries and truffled edamame sharing plates via the coliforest and rainbow rolls lunches, even diehard meat eaters will find themselves opting for a veggie or vegan meal instead.

Don’t miss – the avocado croquettes topped with chili sauce and pansy flowers.

Where to find it: Calle de Mare Nostrum, in Urb Garden Beach near the Kempinski Hotel Bahia. Wild Café & Restaurant

Like the sound of these restaurants so much that you’d love to have them on your doorstep? Take a look at our selection of prime properties in the area and pick yours.

And if you can’t find what you’re looking for, get in touch – we’re more than happy to help.