Eating, drinking and dancing
We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Marbella.
Restaurants
La Taberna del Pintxo
Offering the whole country's cuisine in microcosm, this rustically dressed eatery serves a vast selection of hot and cold tapas, inspired by the staff's travels around Spain. Eat whatever you like, then tot up your bill by counting the discarded cocktail sticks.
7 Avenida Miguel Cano, 29600 Marbella
(+34 952 829 321)
Zozoi
This modern, colourful restaurant in the old town centre is set in a converted house, and there's a lovely terrace too. Here you’ll find Mediterranean cuisine with a menu that changes by the season and includes some great daily specials.
1 Plaza Altamirano, 29600 Marbella
(+34 952 858 868)
Altamirano
A chatty people-watching hangout serving good value seafood tapas in the Marbella's old-town centre.
3 Plaza Altamirano, Marbella
(+34 952 824 932)
Babilonia
If you’re heading off to Puerto Banus, book a table at this extremely exclusive Italian and international restaurant, located just off the Golden Mile on the road to Istan, in the deliciously posh piano bar of the Olivia Valere nightclub.
Km 08, Caretera De Istan, Marbella
(+34 952 828 861)
Le Bijou
The chef at Hotel Claude's black-and-white restaurant is Marbella's only Michelin-star-bearer, and the international cuisine on offer is as finely tuned and delicious as you'd expect. In summer, nab a table on the roof terrace and enjoy views of Marbella's terracotta-tiled rooftops.
5 Calle de San Francisco, 29601 Marbella, Spain
(+34) 952 900 840
Bars and clubs
Buddha de Sol
Wafting incense from the street-side tables entices you towards this ever-stylish hangout, where you can dine, sup cocktails or toke on a hookah – until 4am during the summer.
31 Avenida del Mar, Marbella,
(+34 952 772 891)