Extra CasaBlu

Zafir opens on the Costa del Sol

A fine dining restaurant born from the soul of Andalusia, on the heights of Mijas

SUR in English

Mijas

15/07/2026 a las 17:38h.

CasaBlu, the boutique hotel nestled in the hills of Mijas, Málaga, announces the opening of Zafir Restaurant, a fine dining concept born from the extraordinary richness of Andalusia: its history, its land, and the people who work it.

Andalusia carries eight centuries of Arab civilisation in its very soul. The Moors left behind not only the architecture of the Alhambra or the layout of its medinas, but a culinary legacy still alive in every kitchen that knows how to pay attention: the use of spices, the pairing of sweet and savoury, the art of slow cooking, the reverence for olive oil and almonds. At Zafir, this heritage is not just a theme, it is the foundation.

That foundation is built on the work of local producers who, just a few kilometres from the restaurant, dedicate their lives to making something extraordinary. The olive groves of the estate itself. The small-scale fishermen who work the Strait of Gibraltar and bring in the bluefin tuna caught by almadraba: one of the oldest fishing traditions in the world, unchanged for two thousand years. The goat farmers of the Guadalhorce Valley. The market gardeners of Málaga province, whose tomatoes, peppers and aubergines still taste the way they always should have.

Executive Chef Julio Jiménez was born into one of Sevilla's restaurant families — and chose to forge his own path. Andalusian to the bone, with a growing fascination with the Moorish roots of his land's cuisine, he designs each dish as a conversation between history and the producers who keep it alive. The tasting menu changes with the seasons, never with the trends. The intimate dining room opens onto a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean: the same sea that connected Andalusia with North Africa, with the Levant, with the world.

Zafir is not only a restaurant for hotel guests. It is conceived as a destination for discerning diners on the Costa del Sol. A place where every dish is, in its own way, a fragment of Andalusia.

“I've become convinced that the best cooking doesn't begin in the kitchen. It begins much

earlier: in the soil, the olive groves, the orchards, the sea… The more I get to know Andalusia, the more I realise that almost everything here has Andalusi roots. It's not something you learn from a book; it's something you breathe. You find it in the way spices are used, in the patience of slow cooking, and in the belief that great produce must always come first. At Zafir, we want to cook from those roots, working hand in hand with the people who keep them alive every day. Because the Andalusi legacy doesn't belong to the past. It's still alive. And every dish is our way of proving it".

Julio Jiménez

Executive Chef, Zafir Restaurant

About Casablu

CasaBlu is a 12-room boutique hotel located on a 14-hectare finca in Mijas, Málaga. The property combines Arab and Andalusian aesthetic influences with a commitment to authenticity and personalised service. CasaBlu is home to Zafir Restaurant and a portfolio of private villa experiences.

CONTACT & RESERVATIONS

zafir@fincamariadelaluz.com | casablu.es | (+34) 952 48 56 08

CasaBlu Boutique Hotel, Finca María de la Luz, Puerta 6 — Camino Rancho de la Luz — 29650. Mijas, Málaga, Spain.