These are the seven restaurants from the Costa del Sol and wider Malaga province named among the best in Europe

Marina Martínez

Malaga

Tuesday, 18 June 2024, 15:49

Just three weeks after Fuengirola-based Los Marinos José was crowned first place in the Opinionated About Dining (OAD) list of casual European restaurants, more eateries in Malaga continue to position themselves among Europe's best. The Top Restaurants section of the platform, promoted by American entrepreneur Steve Plotnicki, released its new rankings this week.

The Ritz Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Madrid was the chosen venue to unveil the new list of the top 150 restaurants on the continent. Among the top 150 is Malaga-based Kaleja, run by Dani Carnero in the heart of the historic centre of the city.

It is the only one in Malaga that appears in the top 150. Although below the 150 benchmark there are a few more eateries from the province (the list reaches a total of 555 selected): Bardal (Ronda), at number 156; Skina (Marbella), at 169; Sollo (Fuengirola), at 287; Kava (Marbella), at 389; José Carlos García (Malaga), at 464; and Back (Marbella), at number 504.

The gala on Monday 17 June was attended by Pablo and José Sánchez, owners of Los Marinos José, who collected their award as the best restaurant in Europe in the casual section.

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Spain does not fare badly in the new OAD list, where it accounts for almost a third of the European rankings, which was once again led by the Danish Alchemist. The podium is completed by Etxebarri (Axpe, Vizcaya) and JAN (Munich, Germany). Andalucía does not fare badly either, with five restaurants in the Top 150 (in addition to Kaleja): Bagá (Jaén), in fifth position; Noor (Córdoba), in 57th; Aponiente (El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz), in 69th position; Vandelvira (Baeza), at 111th; and Tohqa, also in El Puerto de Santa María, in 142nd position.

Opinionated About Dining started as a blog, but has grown into a respected international guide. It was New Yorker Steve Plotnicki who started it a little over a decade ago as a means of sharing his dining experiences. But he wanted to go further, and from giving his own opinions he went on to offer the results of a series of surveys carried out by nearly 8,000 voters. Today, the basis of the voting system is the experience of the voter.