RESTAURANTE LAS GITANILLAS This restaurant, which we have visited several times, is located in a wonderful spot on a pedestrianised street in the heart of Estepona. The family have had a restaurant in Estepona since 1970. In 2004, Paco Bazán, son of Francisco Bazán Hormigo and María Peña Gil, who learned from a young age both behind and in front of the bar alongside his parents, opened Las Gitanillas (which is Spanish for the little gypsy girls). Paco’s daughter, Gema Bazán (

RESTAURANTE LA ESCOLLERA La Escollera has been in Puerto de Estepona since 1940. The long-standing harbour-side restaurant, with a large terrace, is one of the best places to enjoy stunning, fresh seafood in Estepona. The restaurant is old school and not fancy. There is an extensive menu featuring freshly caught, local fish, right from the fish market. Fresh fish arrives from the sea in the morning, and you can enjoy it at your table for lunch or dinner within hours. You will

RESTAURANTE BALANDRO Our friend, Bill Benham, visited this excellent Restaurant in Cádiz, offering a varied and high-quality menu featuring local fish. They serve designer tapas in a modern, hip, and vibrant place. There is a Restaurant area that requires reservations, as well as a bar area featuring high stools. It does get extremely popular, so get there early (8 pm) if you want a seat at the bar. Tataki de atún Ensalada de langostinos and mango Albondegas de merluza Gambas

ASADOR BEDUA On the banks of the Urola River, just outside the village of Zumaia, you will find Asador Bedua, a restaurant with generations of family history, based on fresh produce from its own garden. It all started four generations ago, when their ancestors offered potato omelettes with green peppers to the residents of Zumaia who came to the grill by rowing upriver in their boats. The Bedua grill is a benchmark of Basque gastronomy. Over its embers, you will see roast be

RESTAURANTE SALTXIPI Chef Jon Ortega is at the stove, grilling a delightful selection of gambas, hake, monkfish, turbot, and T-bone steaks. Known for its famous spider crabs, which are kept in the basement, this restaurant has become a popular spot for trendy thirty-somethings. Be on the lookout for the upcoming Ibiza-style chill-out area! The food is traditional, so if you order turbot or red sea bream, you get that —no extras, expertly cooked. The menu is quite spider crab

RESTAURANTE ELKANO One Michelin Star Getaria is the picture-postcard Basque Country fishing village that produced designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, Plácido Domingo’s mother, and Juan Sebastián Elcano, the first mariner to circumnavigate the globe. Getaria is a fishing port. You can wander down the old streets to the harbour. Walking past various shops selling their wares. There are a couple of lovely beaches in and around the town. Set on a crossroads above the harbour of G

O SOLAR DOS LEITOES This hidden restaurant is located on the outskirts of Monsanto and serves delicious traditional Portuguese cuisine, including some of the best grilled fish in Lisbon. This family business has been operating for three generations and is located in a remote, run-down residential area in Buraca. It’s not easy to find and is definitely off the tourist track. Even taxis with GPS often struggle to locate it! Don't let this discourage you. You'll be dropped off a

RESTAURANTE O LUSITANO This is our second visit to this restaurant in Matosinhos, just north of Porto. All the seafood is cooked on the outside grills. It is near the sea and the fish market, so all the fish should be fresh. Restaurant after fish restaurant greets you on this street with the beaches a stone’s throw away, but this is our place to go. You can eat at the outdoor tables (which now have glass borders since covid; in the past, they were just in the street) or insid

RESTAURANTE O LUSITANO Jonathon Lipsin adds his second trip across the border into Portugal and Porto. I am writing this because I promised the woman who presides over this place that I would. A few weeks ago, according to my Portuguese sources, she asked about it, so if I ever wanted to go back, I had better do it, and I did! There is a special restaurant I would like to tell you about in Matosinhos, Porto, near the water and the fish market. On this street with the beaches

RESTAURANT CAÑABOTA One Michelin Star Recently awarded one Michelin Star in the 2022 Michelin Guide, it is only Sevilla’s second. If you are looking for fish, this is the place to go to in Sevilla. This is a restaurant specialising in fish and seafood, offering both the informal ambience of a tapas bar and the bright appeal of an open-view sushi bar. The superb display cabinet of fish and its charcoal grill are the star attractions. We returned to the restaurant in October