La Despensa Familiar, Benalmádena: a Review

I am a regular visitor to Benalmádena. And I think La Despensa Familiar has been open about three years or so. The staff are knowledgeable about what they sell. On several occasions I have visited advising what I intended to cook and have been recommended a perfect wine to accompany the food, and without breaking the bank.

On the last occasion, having done a supermarket run next-door, on a hot & sticky day we were fully ready for some refreshment. There is seating inside, which I think is air-conditioned - at least it is cooler than on the terrace. We sat outside on stools at barrels which serve as tables. I had a deliciously fruity, chilled rosado/rosé at €2,30 and my companion a caña/draught beer, for €1,25. Perfectly reasonable prices.

At Spanish lunch-times and dinner-times, the place is packed. So popular is it with locals that the place is open seven days a week, including Sundays now.

[Image description: the platter of four types of charcuterie plus cheese]

 
From the deli counter we ordered a platter of Iberian charcuterie & cheese for two. This was very reasonably priced at €15 for take-away (take-out). The assistant's attention to detail meant that when he noticed a slice of cheese had slipped from its position, he unwrapped the platter and started afresh - dedication! We had it that very evening for our evening meal, over a couple of hours, with a lovely bottle of Rioja.

[Image description: the platter as centre-piece of our dinner on the balcony]

Staff are friendly and helpful. I speak Spanish; but English is spoken when needed.

Recommended.

Maracas 2017: a Review

Back in my second home of Benalmádena, I naturally gravitated to my favourite café-bar, Maracas, on Playa Bil-Bil. The popular venue celebrates fifteen years of business and international friendship this year. This is my fourteenth year of frequenting. Dani the waiter raised his eyebrows in greeting whilst serving elsewhere, but once free came over for our order. Sunday is always the busiest day of the week for the staff as the tourists are augmented by the locals on their day off who also want to enjoy the benefits of their blessèd municipality, now grown to seventy thousand registered residents. Maracas is not the cheapest place to eat and drink, but obviously one must expect to pay a small premium for being able to enjoy a cocktail or paella right on the beach and within a couple of metres of the gently lapping sea.

It was a warm Sunday, so we commenced with a caña apiece @ €2, that’s a small draught beer. In Spain, one will observe even respectable-looking women as well as the menfolk taking a small beer first thing of the morning. This does not signify a nation of drunkards or alcoholics: recent research has proven the benefits of this small pick-me-up.

As the afternoon progressed we moved on to tinto de verano @ €2.50, a cocktail of chilled red wine with a sparkling lemon drink, often Sprite or lemonade. It is surprisingly refreshing and not as sweet as perhaps one might anticipate. We chatted with: a group of four German, late middle-aged chaps on a friends’ break; an extended queer family and their beautiful bairn; a very middle-class family from Holland; and, a Spanish mother with her brood of peckish children. One has probably gathered that Maracas is a friendly place for all: child-friendly; gay-friendly; alien-friendly…

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The time to eat arrived. My chum ordered a hamburguesa de ternera - this strictly-speaking ought to be a veal hamburger, but is often made from beef cuts. My companion loved the burger: tasty, juicy and not over salted. He was also content with the filling. The bread roll was not the best and crumbled. Over all, at €4.50, he was very content.

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I opted for a dish Maracas introduced about three or so years ago, ensalada pasta tricolor. In a large bowl were three colours of perfectly cooked pasta twists, with sweetcorn, chicken, walnut halves, diced cheese, and hard-boiled egg slices. One has the choice of several speciality dressings or one can use the balsamic vinegar &/or olive oil brought to table whenever one places an order for food. At €8 this represents great value for such a substantial meal.

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We shared a large bowl of perfectly cooked French fries, patatas fritas (in Spanish this can mean chips [US fries] or crisps [US chips]). Accompanying our luncheon we enjoyed a medium, chilled rosé, vino rosado, @ €2.

After three hours of chilling on the beach in the sun, we were were ready to head back to our hotel for a siesta (nap). Of course, we shall return to Maracas.

Highly recommended. %D

Café Capricho, Benalmádena, Andalusia: a Review

We have been frequenting Café Capricho for several years. It is located in the Torrequebrada district of Benalmádena, which also happens to be the location of my favourite supermarket chain, Supercor.

[Image description: the eatery's outside terrace, partly covered]

The vast majority of the staff are professional and affable, speaking to one with genuine smiles. Occasionally, one encounters a member of staff having an off-day - do not let that put the reader off from returning. The most difficult aspect at Capricho is trying to pay, for the café is invariably busy and frequented by locals and tourists alike, surely good signs.

We often just pop by for a coffee prior to doing the shopping; but we also stop for longer periods to enjoy a light luncheon.

[Image description: luncheon at table]

 
Whilst there for our first visit of this holiday, we ordered two dishes to share. It being Friday, we requested a plate of queso manchego, traditional cheese from central Spain which goes well with a glass of Rioja. However, we chose to drink draught, light beer instead, a small glass of which is called a caña. We also selected bacalao frito, a small serving of French fries (NB not English style chunky chips!) surrounded by the most lightly battered cod chunks, the flesh of which was moist, and flaked only when one broke off a forkful. This latter dish cost €10, but is highly recommended, especially for Brits who like their fish & chips of a Friday.

[Image description: club sandwich]

 

 [Image description: huevos rotos]

On the second occasion, we started by ordering a caña apiece, @ €1.60, whilst we mulled over the menu. I plumbed for the club sandwich, which contained a substantial amount of chicken breast, lettuce, delicious & sweet beef-tomato, and a light dollop of mayonnaise. At €6 better than anything one might obtain at certain burger chains: a substantial and tasty, quality meal. My chum opted for huevos rotos, a plate of lightly cooked Spanish ham with fried eggs with a slash through the yolk, on a bed of shredded lettuce and French fries, @ €7, my chum wolfed down and said he would be more than happy to order again. We also shared a plate of home-made French fries at €3. They arrive golden and unsalted, so one can season to taste. Very little remained of this repast, as ever.

Recommended.

La Despensa Del Mar Restaurant, Benalmádena: a Review

 

Meeting up with Spanish chums in the commercial district of Benalmádena, called Arroyo de la Miel, we needed a restaurant that could cater for a large electric wheelchair. Despensa was perfect. A waiter willingly re-arranged furniture so that the wheelchair could fit at table.

 

La Despensa del Mar literally translates as the pantry of the sea, an appropriate nomenclature for an eatery specialising in fish and seafood, but as it is attached to a sister restaurant meat-eaters are permitted to select from its menu too.

Between six of us we shared: two house salads; mixed, deep-fried fish & seafood (top image below); lamb meatballs (bottom image); stewed lamb; cheese; and jamón. Almost everything was consumed, but what was not eaten was left only due to each & everyone of us feeling totally stuffed.

 

 

 

Various drinks were consumed, but I personally heartily recommend the draft beer, una caña, which was malt-flavoured and refreshing, served ice-cold.

We did not have dessert as one of the party was celebrating a birthday. We took along our own cake which the staff were happy to bring out after our repast.

Staff were friendly, polite and efficient; well, until it came to paying the bill - apparently, a common issue across Spain!

We all shall be returning.