Malaga opens another La Pecera ice cream parlour with savoury Japanese treats
This will be the brand's fourth establishment in Spain, but the new parlour in Malaga city centre offers savoury taiyakis
Martina Martínez
Friday, 3 April 2026, 10:14
Do you know what a taiyaki is? It's a Japanese fish-shaped waffle traditionally filled with sweet red bean paste. Spain offers a popular variation filled with ice cream.
The La Pecera parlour made the ice cream filling viral. With two locations in Madrid and one in Malaga (a kiosk in the Plaza Mayor shopping centre), La Pecera wants to go further and revamp both its image and concept, incorporating savory flavours and other new options.
The new establishment opens at Alameda Principal 27 on Thursday, 9 April. "It will be larger and more diverse, transforming the taiyaki format to offers many options," CEO Pablo Piqueras says. He believes that Alameda Principal will be the brand's flagship location and a "benchmark" with a "unique" concept: savoury taiyaki. For now, they will offer salmon, pesto, falafel and Caesar flavours.
The idea, as Piqueras explains, is "to offer something different, to surprise with a Japanese-Mediterranean fusion and a touch of savoury, but with that cake-like texture inside, slightly sweet like brioche and crispy on the outside".
They've also added other new items: an updated version of their signature 'sweet taiyaki'; the introduction of taiyakitos for dipping; the 'Baby Sweets', new Japanese sponge cakes filled with crunchy cream; and different types of drinks, such as homemade shakes and smoothies, as well as specialty coffee, matcha tea and protein yoghurt.
From breakfast to afternoon snacks
"Our intention is to be seen as more than just an ice cream shop. We've evolved. We're actually a taiyaki shop where you can come for breakfast, brunch or an afternoon snack. Our base is a Japanese recipe and we wanted to give it that taiyaki connotation, which is a concept with over 100 years of history in Japan, improving recipes and introducing new flavours and combinations," Piqueras says.
The 70-square-metre Alameda establishment can fit 20 people. "Here, we've moved from takeaway to table service. We want it to be a place where you'd want to linger and where both adults and children can enjoy themselves."
Why the city centre? "We believe the city centre is an emblematic location for a Malaga-based company like this. It also gives us a lot of visibility and more flexibility than a shopping centre," Piqueras says.
Today, La Pecera's headquarters are in Teatinos. The goal is to continue growing from there. The team already numbers around 30 people and they have an ambitious expansion plan: the next two openings will be in Barcelona, with the intention of reaching 30 locations nationwide within two years. They also plan to offer delivery, which will begin operating in Malaga this summer.
Their commitment is unwavering: "Is there anything more quintessentially Malaga than fried fish?"
