Hello all,
We are a group of four adults and we are planning a visit to the Costa Del sol in September.
Nerja is on our list of places to go. I watched Rick’s program and the spot that showed Nerja and I was intrigued by the segment where he shows this gentlemen’s cooking a huge paella near a beach. Now since this segment was recording some years ago, I was wondering if this gentleman is still at it? Has someone here been there recently?
Thanks in advance,
Here’s the website of the place. It’s on Burriana Beach.
Been there. We did not eat at the restaurant, but it was more a tourist destination than a local restaurant. Beach is nice, but you may find a more authentic experience elsewhere.
The trick is to find a small beach town with few tourists to get an authentic experience.
When we were in Nerja, we asked at our hotel for a dinner recommendation. She pointed to the tourist area. When asked where she would go, she pointed in the opposition direction. We walked into a residential area. Heads turned when we walked in. We had fabulous tapas in local bars. Locals offered suggestions. Language was not a problem as gestures and common words worked for us.
That was a real local experience.
I visited almost exactly a year ago. I would say my personal experience was that it was a bit underwhelming. To be fair, I arrived just before closing time in April, so I trust it would be better if I had enjoyed it fresh off the pan on a busy summer day. Also, I had really built it up in my head and was excited to try because that clip on Rick's show made it look so amazing! No sign of said gentleman when I was there, but maybe you'll get lucky.
As mentioned above, it is not in the main square area of Nerja, but a couple beaches up the coast. I enjoyed the stroll there and back.
Hi,
Four of us (adults) are in Spain now for 7 weeks. YES, I strongly encourage you to go. The older gentleman has essentially retired, but is still there around the restaurant and I took a picture of him with me and the Rick Steves book which I happened to have with us that day. A younger man is cooking the seafood paella and it was excellent. We had paella in Barcelona and I don’t believe it was cooked properly..I have to say I do find the Spanish dishes at the café or lower end restaurants very plain. We did eat at a restaurant in Sevilla recommended by Rick and it was very very good. I would recommend if you buy the Jamon spend the extra money and get the Iberico.
