Malaga’s iconic El Pimpi to open in Marbella

Malaga city’s iconic El Pimpi bodega is opening up a new venue in Marbella. The historic Malaga bar has decided to expand and the new venture is expected to open in time for summer in Marbella’s Puente Romano Hotel. SUR has learned that the Marbella El Pimpi will be a more modern space than the original, although it will maintain the traditional style that has made it famous all over the world.

The deal has already been finalised and work has already begun on the new premises. Although the exact opening date has not been announced yet the intention is to have it ready in May.

The opening of El Pimpi will add to the existing wide range of restaurants at the Puente Romano complex, which includes more than 20 international bars and restaurants. Among its star offerings are Peruvian restaurant Coya, haute cuisine restaurant Nobu, Italian restaurant Cipriani and the Leña project by the Malaga chef Dani García.

The hotel complex points out that El Pimpi is a reference point for Malaga province and as such both Puente Romano and El Pimpi are united by their essence and traditional Andalusian aesthetics.

Bodegas El Pimpi has been one of the city’s main attractions, loved by locals and visitors alike, since it opened its doors in August 1971. More than half a century later, the business project started by Francisco Campos and Pepe Cobos now employs more than 140 people.

The opening in Marbella responds to the desire of the Malaga actor Antonio Banderas, one of the partners of the bodega, to expand the presence of El Pimpi all over the world. In fact, since he joined the project in December 2017, it has been one of his priority objectives according to Pablo Gonzalo, another of the bodega's partners, who gave an interview to SUR about the El Pimpi brand. When asked about the possibility of El Pimpi ever expanding beyond Malaga, he said: "possibly one day it could leave" because "El Pimpi has the brand and the strength to be exported".

Banderas is also the founder of Tercer Acto group, which owns five restaurants in Malaga city: Tercer Acto, Doña Inés, La Barra de Doña Inés, Atrezzo and La Pérgola del Mediterráneo. The last of these, located in the Real Club Mediterráneo, opened just a few months ago in the La Malagueta area and has already become one of the city’s most popular restaurants.