We run Picas Bar Tapas, so the prices on this page come from our own menu.
Local dishes to spot on a Málaga menu
The food Málaga is known for starts at the coast: the espeto, fish grilled on a cane over a wood fire on the beach, is a typical Málaga dish. In the old town, look for boquerones (fresh anchovies) and fritura malagueña, the cold soups porra antequerana and ajoblanco, and fried aubergine with cane honey.
Some dish names carry their origin with them, and on a Málaga menu that is the quickest way to spot a local dish. Look for three words. Antequerana means ‘from Antequera’, a town in the province of Málaga. Malagueña means ‘Málaga-style’. And de Málaga after an ingredient, as in salchichón de Málaga, the local cured sausage, tells you where it comes from.
The other thing worth knowing is a translation. Boquerones are fresh anchovies, whatever a translated menu says. The fish you will see grilled on a cane at the beach is a different one.
Below are the traditional dishes you are most likely to meet, what they are, and what they cost on our own menu when we serve them. Two of them, espetos and ajoblanco, we don’t serve, and we say so.
From the sea: boquerones and fritura malagueña
These are the names from the sea you will meet first on a Málaga menu. For the frying itself and the nine dishes of our fried fish section, see our page on Málaga’s pescaíto frito.
Boquerones (fresh anchovies)
In English, boquerones are fresh anchovies: small silver fish, served fried or marinated. On our menu they cost €7 as a tapa on the tapas list, and €16.50 for a half portion or €23.50 for a full one in the fried fish section of our menu, where you will also find boquerones al limón, marinated in lemon. The tosta de boquerones y anchoa, a bruschetta with boquerones and anchovy, costs €12.50.
Fritura malagueña
Fritura malagueña is the Málaga-style plate of fried fish. We serve fritura malagueña as a half portion for €19.50 or a full portion for €27.50, not as a tapa. Our menu doesn’t list which fish go into it, so ask your waiter if you want to know before you order.
Adobo, calamares and the rest
Adobo is fish marinated before it is fried; ask which fish it is on the day. Calamares (squid), calamaritos (baby squid), jibia (cuttlefish) and gambas fritas (fried prawns) are all €7 as a tapa. Fried fish is meant to be eaten hot, so order it first and let the cold dishes wait.
Espetos: fish on a cane, by the beach
An espeto is fish, traditionally sardines, threaded on a long thin cane and grilled over a wood fire on the beach. It is a dish of Málaga’s coast, and you eat it at the beach bars along the seafront, the chiringuitos, where the fire is often set in a boat filled with sand.
The sardine on the cane and the boquerón in the fryer are two different fish. Picas Bar Tapas, in the old town, does not serve espetos: they belong by the sea. If you want to try them, head for the beach. If you want fish in the centre, the closest dish on our menu is fried fish.
Cold soups: porra antequerana, ajoblanco and gazpacho
Málaga has several cold soups, and they are easy to confuse.
- Porra antequerana is a thick cold soup from the gazpacho family, made with tomato and bread and named after Antequera. It is often eaten as a tapa rather than as a soup. Ours comes with serrano ham, eggs and croutons: €6.50 as a tapa and €12.50 as a starter. The vegetarian version costs the same.
- Ajoblanco is a white cold soup made with bread, crushed almonds, garlic, olive oil and water, usually served with grapes or melon; in Málaga the tradition is Muscat (Moscatel) grapes. We don’t serve ajoblanco.
- Gazpacho is thinner than porra. Ours comes with a side of chopped red and green pepper and onion, €12.50 among the starters.
Aubergines, croquettes and pil-pil
- Berenjenas con miel is fried aubergine served with sugar cane honey. It is a vegetarian dish: one of our vegetarian tapas at €6.50, and it comes in half and full portions at €11 and €17.
- Croquetas are croquettes, and our menu has eight kinds, among them rabo de toro (oxtail), jamón (ham), bacalao (cod) and salchichón de Málaga. Each is €7 as a tapa, €12 as a half portion and €18.50 as a full portion, so you can try two or three flavours side by side.
- Gambas al pil-pil are prawns in a hot garlic sauce. On our menu they cost €20 in the fish and seafood section, and the same sauce goes with spaghetti for €17.
Two cold tapas: ensaladilla and pipirrana
- Ensaladilla rusa (Russian salad): potatoes, carrots, peas and piquillo peppers with crab sticks, prawns, green olives and eggs, bound with mayonnaise. €6.50 as a tapa, €15.50 as a salad.
- Pipirrana: a chopped salad of red and green pepper, red onion and tomato; ours adds crab sticks, prawns and black olives. €6.50 as a tapa, €14.50 as a salad.
Both also come in salad-sized versions, and both are a fresh contrast on a table full of fried plates.
Málaga wine: a sweet glass to finish
Málaga wine is traditionally sweet and fortified, made mostly from Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel grapes. A glass of Málaga Moscatel costs €3 on our drinks list, and so does a glass of vermouth from Málaga. Either makes a good end to a meal. For sangria, beer and the rest, see our drinks list.
Before you order
Many dishes on our menu come in more than one size: a tapa to try, at €6.50 or €7 (five chosen by the chef cost €22), a half portion (media ración) to share, or a full portion (ración) for the table.
Where we serve these dishes
Everything with a price on this page, apart from the breakfast below, is served at our tapas bar on Plaza de la Merced, in the old town; if the square is new to you, start with the square outside our door. The Mercado de Atarazanas, where you can see the fish and produce before they are cooked, is 852 m away in a straight line.
Looking for gluten-free and vegetarian dishes? The menu marks them with a symbol. For a sit-down lunch or dinner, see our restaurant in Málaga’s old town. For the morning, breakfast is served next door, at Picas Brunch & Tapas, where the Andalusian breakfast, with coffee, fresh orange juice and a ciabatta, costs €8.50: see breakfast on the square. When you are ready, book a table.
Quick answers
What food is Málaga known for?
Málaga is known for food from the sea: boquerones (fresh anchovies), fried or marinated; fritura malagueña, the Málaga-style plate of fried fish; and espetos, sardines grilled on a cane on the beach. It is also known for the cold soups porra antequerana and ajoblanco, and for fried aubergine with cane honey. At our own tapas bar, Picas Bar Tapas, on Plaza de la Merced, boquerones, porra and fried aubergine cost €6.50 or €7 as a tapa; we don’t serve espetos or ajoblanco.
Where can I try typical Málaga dishes in the old town?
At our own tapas bar, Picas Bar Tapas, on Plaza de la Merced in Málaga’s old town, you can order boquerones, porra antequerana, croquettes and fried aubergine with cane honey as tapas at €6.50 or €7, or let the chef choose five tapas for €22. Fritura malagueña comes as a half portion for €19.50 or a full one for €27.50.
What is porra antequerana?
Porra antequerana is a thick cold soup from the gazpacho family, made with tomato and bread and named after Antequera, a town in the province of Málaga. At Picas Bar Tapas it comes with serrano ham, eggs and croutons and costs €6.50 as a tapa or €12.50 as a starter; the vegetarian version costs the same.
What is ajoblanco?
Ajoblanco is a white cold soup made with bread, crushed almonds, garlic, olive oil and water, usually served with grapes or melon; in Málaga the tradition is Muscat (Moscatel) grapes. Picas Bar Tapas does not serve ajoblanco. Our cold soups are porra antequerana, €6.50 as a tapa, and gazpacho, €12.50 as a starter.
What are espetos?
An espeto is fish, traditionally sardines, threaded on a long thin cane and grilled over a wood fire on the beach. It is a dish of Málaga’s coast, served at beach bars called chiringuitos. Picas Bar Tapas, in the old town, does not serve espetos; the closest dish on our menu is fried fish.
What is fritura malagueña?
Fritura malagueña is the Málaga-style plate of fried fish. At Picas Bar Tapas, on Plaza de la Merced, it is served as a half portion for €19.50 or a full portion for €27.50, not as a tapa. Single kinds of fried fish, such as boquerones or squid, cost €16.50 for a half portion or €23.50 for a full one.
What are boquerones in English?
Boquerones are fresh anchovies, small silver fish served fried or marinated in Málaga. In English they are anchovies, whatever a translated menu says. At Picas Bar Tapas, on Plaza de la Merced, boquerones cost €7 as a tapa, and €16.50 for a half portion or €23.50 for a full one.