We’ve been out for food a lot lately. Last week we were invited for dinner at the house of Rita’s best friend in Montejaque (Málaga). Later that week we dined in a parador, had lunch in a bar near El Torcal, and dinner in Trip Advisor’s no 1 restaurant in Antequera. On Thursday of this week we were invited to dinner with friends who have recently moved to Montejaque. Then on Saturday it was a restaurant from our top three in the Ronda area. On St Valentine’s Day we had breakfast in another from our top three and that same night we celebrated El Día de San Valentín in the third of our trilogy of current favourites.
Potaje de verduras
Our good friend Jill, who has lived in Montejaque for nearly two decades, invited us round for supper. What a treat we had, a delicious fresh salad followed by a tasty and filling vegetable stew.
What a pleasant evening it turned out to be; just the three of us chatting away in Jill’s newly renovated house at the top of one of the prettiest pueblos blancos in Málaga province.
Antequera and El Torcal
We had accumulated enough Amigos de Paradores points from our parador tour to Extremadura in 2021 to pay for a free night in a parador of our choice. We settled on Antequera and booked two nights - one free and one as part of a deal for old people called días dorados.
The first night we dined in the parador restaurant which regularly receives very favourable reviews.
We were not disappointed, although it wasn’t cheap. We had a couple of starters to share and then Rita chose chipirrones a la plancha and I had espárragos de la Vega con foie asado y brotes de vinagreta de frutos rojos . The bill was an eye-watering 98 euros. Blimey!
Breakfast wasn’t included in the “points deal”, so off we went in search of desayuno elsewhere and ended up in a nice little hotel, Hotel El Dolmén, outside the town.
Molletes originated from Antequera, so that’s what we chose, with serrano ham and Manchego cheese, natural fresh orange juice and delicious coffee washed it all down.
After a great ramble around El Torcal parque natural we popped down the hill to Villaluenga del Rosario and stopped at the first bar restaurant we came across.
Bar Oasis didn’t look like much but it was sensational. Rita couldn’t resist trying their version of chipirrones and I had potaje de garbanzos. We learned that this restaurant serves a complimentary salad and bread free of charge. The bill with drinks and coffee came to just 23 euros!
That evening we sought out the number 1 restaurant in Antequera on Trip Advisor, Recuerdos Tapas Bodega. No wonder it’s number one. The tapas were exquisite, inventive and well-priced. We dined really well and escaped with a bill of just 33 euros.
Calle Doctor Vázquez y Gutiérrez, Montejaque
Donkey Street to you and me!
Our friends Chris and Mike Yeatman recently bought a house in the street. Casita de Sueños is currently being renovated, so they are renting a flat lower down the same street until the work is finished.
They invited us for dinner. Well, Mike, a former restaurateur and chef in the South West of England, treated us to a meal to die for. As Rita said: “At last an Englishman who can cook!” (Do you think that was a dig at me?)
Croquetas that weren’t at all fatty and a kind of ragout of pork with a divine sauce were what we dined on.
We quaffed some nice wine too. A champagne (the house champers from their former restaurant in Portishead) to start with, followed by wines from Miguel Domecq (Cádiz), Friedrich Schatz (Ronda) and a plonk from ALDI at the end to see if we could tell the difference!
Frank’s
Otherwise known as El Muelle de Arriate. This restaurant, run by Dutchman Frank Röttgering, has consistently been one of our favourites since he opened 10 years ago.
For our main course we had pre-ordered a stuffed whole calamar, which is plenty for two people. Fa – bu – lous! We knew it would be, since we’ve had it before at Frank’s.
We also had one last October at a chiringuito in Guadalmar on the coast near Málaga airport, but it didn’t compare.
Valentine’s Day Breakfast
We had been filming a documentary about LOVE for Charry TV at the Parador de Ronda that morning and decided to go for breakfast afterwards at another of our favourite restaurants, Las Maravillas on Calle La Bola.
We both chose sandwich italiano which we had never tried before. De-li-cious!
Two cups of coffee each and an orange juice and a bill that makes it the most expensive breakfast in Ronda (apart from the Parador!)
But it was worth it, especially on this romantic day.
Cena de San Valentín at La Cascada
Otherwise known as Ian and Elaine’s, ie the restaurant at Hotel Molino del Puente in Fuente de la Higuera, just 50 steps from our house.
This restaurant has also been in our top three for over a decade.
And guess what? The chef is also an Englishman who can cook! So, there are at least three around here. Mike Yeatman, Ian Love and Paul Whitelock!
Rita chose the house salad and her favourite plato principal, Mussels in a coconut sauce. I had tostas con berenjena, tomate y pesto, followed by fillet of dorada. Coincidentally, they had the same chardonnay from Miguel Domecq that we had tried for the first time at Chris and Mike’s, so that’s what we chose.
Unusually for us we also went for desserts: home made strawberry cheesecake and lemon tart. Rita ate most of both! Which is fine, because I’m a type 2 diabetic, so shouldn’t be eating “sweets” in any case.
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Epilogue
Now it’s back to eating in. Some unexpected expenses, a broken clutch on my VW Transporter and a new pellet oven for Casa Real (our guests are freezing!), have emptied my bank account.
But since Rita’s a great cook and I’m one of three Englishmen around here who knows his way round a kitchen, eating in will be no hardship.
Last night, for example, I baked two great pizzas – courtesy of ALDI!