La Tabenna Del Puerto, Marbella

Located in the fishers harbor of Marbella is La Tabenna Del Puerto. I have eaten here a number of times and I can honestly say that they serve some of the best sea food. If you decide to eat at this restaurant you must try their “pulpo a la Gallega” , Galician octopus, it is so good that I now no longer order this dish in any other restaurant. Another mouth-watering dish is their “pimientos al piquillo”, fire roasted peppers stuffed with a seafood mousse and accompanied by the most delicious, smooth, creamy sauce. If you’re on a low-carb diet then I say don’t order this dish because I can guarantee that you’ll be ordering extra bread simply to dip into that sauce. And for those of you who aren’t planning on kissing anyone, try their “gambas pil-pil", a hot sizzling prawn dish with lots and lots and lots of garlic. And I also highly recommend their “puntillitas”, battered and fried baby squid, so crispy, so delicious and probably so fattening but worth the calories. These are just some of the dishes they have to offer. I suggest you start by sharing a number of dishes with your friends and family and then as a main course order some fresh fish such as sea bass or sea bream. When it comes to sea food, other restaurants could really learn a thing or two from La Tabenna Del Puerto. But in terms of décor… ouch, this place is an eye soar. Luckily the restaurant is set on the beach so on a beautiful day you can sort of overlook the ugly décor or maybe I should be saying the lack of décor. The place is somewhat run down and not much thought has been given into creating a warm atmosphere. As a matter of fact, you definitely do not want to sit inside; it’s cold and darn ugly. But like I said, outside on their terrace it’s not too bad. This restaurant might not score high in a beauty contest and might be in need of a facelift but what it lacks in beauty it makes up for with friendly staff and fabulous food. Proofing that real beauty really does come from the inside!

La Tabenna Del Puerto, Purto Pesquero, Local 6, Marbella, Málaga, Tel.: 952 82 83 25

Restaurant Azúl Marino, Puerto Banús

I have never eaten in this restaurant and I never will. Keep reading and you’ll understand why. The following is based on a true story: In the land of Gucci, Prada, Lamborghinis and Ferraris also known as Puerto Banús, there is a restaurant called Azúl Marino. One day my friend decided to have lunch there with her friend. They sat outside on their cozy terrace, watching the parade of people go by, “oh look a Ferrari… oh look another Ferrari… Is that another Ferrari?”… I guess if you want to be unique you should drive by in a Seat Ibiza. Anyway, back to matters at hand. My friend wanted to treat herself so she ordered their overpriced lobster …. So here’s my question Azúl Marino, since when is the inside of a lobster brown? I mean was this a lobster with a tan? I really don’t understand why, but my friend didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere and so she said nothing about the damn lobster. To all you people who are always too nice, I say “don’t be so nice and tell the cook to stick it!” After all, you are paying for it, so you should expect something in return. But this is not where the story ends. To make matters worse, when my friend was about to leave the restaurant, the maître asked her if everything was ok. This is when my friend confessed that her lobster was indeed not so fresh, and that was putting it nicely. As a result, my friend was “fired” from the restaurant. The maître literally told her never to come back. Honestly people, this is not a joke. This really did happen. My friend spoke-out and now she is a “persona non grata” in this restaurant. Ouch… I wonder what the maître will do when he reads this blog?

Azúl Marino, Muelle Ribera, 14 E, Puerto Banús, Marbella, Málaga, Tel.: 952 81 10 44