4 Best Restaurants in Costa del Sol and Costa de Almeria, Spain

Mediterranean cuisine based on fresh, local produce takes center stage at this restaurant, which has both a minimalist, intimate dining room and a pleasant terrace that's heated in winter. Highlights on the seasonal menu (it changes four times a year) include local fresh produce including fish. Service is excellent, and there's a good-value tasting menu (€52 for seven courses) and an extensive wine list.

Set among the Palm Walk near the cruise-ship terminal and with first-class views of the harbor, this restaurant has become a firm favorite with locals and visitors. Sit inside the modern glass cube for elegant dining or outside for a more informal meal (or just coffee). Try the homemade croquetas (croquettes) with squid and red pepper or octopus carpaccio for starters, and follow with one of the paellas—the highlight is the arroz caldoso con bogavante (creamy rice with lobster) or fresh fish. Make sure you leave plenty of room for the canutillos de almendra con mousse de chocolate blanco (almond snaps with white chocolate mousse). Service is friendly but slow when busy.

Between the casco antiguo and the seafront, this innovative restaurant has an unpromising plain exterior, but forge ahead: the interior's chocolate browns and deep reds make for cozy surroundings for a quiet dinner from chef Mauricio Giovanni, who renewed his Michelin star in 2023. The menu has an international slant, with more than a sprinkling of Spanish cuisine in its unusual fusion dishes. Try the three-way cauliflower (creamed, confit, and roasted) or the lobster legs with Tom Kha kai cream. Finish off with cherry pie. Two different tasting menus are also available.

Perched on the hillside on the way up to Benalmádena-Pueblo, next to the small municipal golf course and with panoramic views of the coast, this restaurant is a favorite with locals for lunch in winter and dinner in summer. The glass-box-on-stilts exterior gives way to a modern interior, where wooden beams and steel pipes crisscross the ceiling. Start with a classic ensaladilla rusa (potato salad), and follow with spicy pimentos with shrimp or the house oxtail stew. Most dishes come in half or full portions, ideal for sharing. Closing time is 9 pm, so late dinners are not an option.