Casa Pepa, like in your grandmother's house
** THE OLIVE TREES (FRIGILIANA) **
Seven kilometers from Frigiliana is The Acebuchal , which is reached by a narrow and curved road and a good stretch of dirt track. It is a village evicted by the Civil Guard back in the 40s of the last century that maintains its original essence of white lime facades and beams and hurdles on the ceilings.
A local family was determined to restore the village and now they manage rural houses and the only restaurant in the area . They opened it in 2005 after hikers in the area insisted over and over again while they saw them renovate the houses and everyone is involved in it: from the great-grandmother who takes care of the little ones in the house to the grandfather Antonio 'the Zumbo' , who peels potatoes at the door every morning or the youngest, Sebastián, who is in charge of the kitchen.
Entrance to the Acebuchal
His letter highlights the culinary richness of the area , with a good range of mountain meats and dishes with a Moorish touch such as potato soup with garlic and fried almonds, as well as classics such as good migas or tripe. The offer is completed with an extensive and surprising menu of wines and delicacies such as Axarca craft beer , the local Tropical pale ale with an intense aroma of mango. Must try spinach and pine nut croquettes (out of menu) and it is essential homemade apple pie to finish the menu, although the taste of any of the desserts catches you.
Do not miss the artisanal Axarca
The bread loaf To accompany it, it is made in the home oven every morning and you can take it with you **(ideal for dipping with oil, oregano and salt)**, because at the entrance to the bar it is sold together with the day's harvest from the family garden. The village has a chapel, so think about it if you want to get married in style and in the countryside.
Acebuchal loaf bread
**PEPA'S HOUSE (CARRATRACA) **
In Carratraca there is a five-star Villa Padierna hotel with hot springs, but we recommend that you take a few more steps and get closer to the Casa Pepa inn . It is about your own home of Pepa Baeza, the owner and cook And, if you don't have a grandmother in a village, this is the closest thing to having one.
It has a few tables scattered throughout the rooms and corridors where you can eat as if there were no tomorrow. And if she touches you in the living room, you will have lunch next to the typical grandmother's furniture with porcelain, photos of the communion grandchildren and her wedding portrait.
When you sit down they put you a pitcher of water, a bottle of peleón wine and another of revoltosa It is what it is, no more, no less. There is no menu and the dishes are classics that vary depending on what Pepa wants to cook.
First of all, stews and soups -gazpachuelo, stew, stew- that you serve yourself from the pot that they leave on the table until you get fed up. Second, chips, loin in tomato, meatballs, meat in sauce, fried anchovies... Always accompanied by chorizo with cinnamon house gift and, as grandmothers always say, a fried egg on top . Homemade desserts, seasonal fruit and ice cream complete a menu that you pay for as if you were at a buffet from many years ago: eight fixed euros of which you will never spend. But never ever. There's no coffee, but that's good news, because two houses down is the Bocach, It is run by Pepa's granddaughter and it is a particularly peculiar place with some special-flavored biscuits.
In family'
** SAN BENITO FARMHOUSE (ANTEQUERA) **
To cross the door is to approach the 18th century. Alpujarra curtains, rural tools of the time or some huge wooden beams allow you to teleport without much problem: so much so that a good part of the Bandolier series was filmed there.
In winter the migas and in summer the porra antequerana are two of its star dishes. The kitchen –directed by Esperanza Muñoz de León - offers a lot of dishes with local products, from rice with partridges to spinach porrilla. Without forgetting the Bienmesabe , a local dessert based on almonds, angel hair and biscuits that the cloistered nuns of Antequera have been making for centuries.
It's worth going when the cold presses: is to sit at the table and they approach you a brazier with a chimney for warmth . The attention is exquisite. Next to the Caserío San Benito rises a small hermitage where Antonio, the owner of the restaurant, collects all kinds of old objects and which has become a magnificent museum of popular uses and customs where you can see old sewing machines, cameras, toys, tobacco packets or a beautiful loom. To throw away the day. Or almost.
Caserío San Benito, perfect to spend the day
** SALE OF ALFARNATE (ALFARNATE) **
His main proposal is called Eggs to the beast (as is well) . Migas, eggs, loin, chorizo, black pudding and some seasoned olives make up a dish that is worth sharing, although in your Instagram photo it doesn't even fit . Scrambled eggs with tagarninas, grilled meats or anise porridge with croutons and cane honey from Frigiliana also appear on a menu made up mostly of original recipes from the days of the bandits. One of them, Luis Candelas , he spent a day in the dungeon of this inn for stealing two horses and a mule back in 1824 and you can even eat with him; well, rather, with a sculpture with which he is remembered.
The Venta de Alfarnate is the oldest in Andalusia -it is from the 13th century- and its walls are full of rural objects of which it is difficult to know their use or name. The place is among almond trees, cherry trees and limestone formations that make up a spectacular landscape. And cold: Alfarnate is one of the few towns in Malaga where it snows year after year.
Venta de Alfarnate, the oldest in Malaga
**POSADA DEL BANDOLERO (EL BORGE) **
Following the bandits, we would also find ourselves in another time The Cross-eyed of El Borge: a guy with more aim than anyone no matter how much he says his name. They say that with a rifle or pistol, he was always right. And they say of him that he was a brave vigilante whose raids through Sierra Morena are historic. The house where he was born is today the place where all those who come to El Borge , a beautiful town in the Axarquia of Malaga, come to eat.
The Mesón El Bandolero is located on its first floor. , a small restaurant dominated by an old and well-preserved oil mill whose menu is dominated by meats and products from the region: goat with garlic, migas, fish and even pringá lasagna. It has rich reds from the area, almost always with sweet touches in the flavor. In the middle of winter you can find yourself the cook knitting in front of the fireplace until she decides on your dinner and starts to cook it.
For breakfast, in addition to tomato and oil with garlic , you can accompany your toast with fried eggs and bacon. And, of course, ham. There you can buy products from the area such as oil fresh from the mill, the kind that stings when you dip the bread, difficult to find elsewhere and highly recommended by Spain Food Sherpas. On the second floor there are rooms to spend the night, something unusual in the area.
the borg
**SALE THE CURRO (ARCHEZ) **
Wherever you go, to get to the Sale The Curro you have to go through enough curves to think about it. Be brave! The restaurant is located in Árchez, a small town in the Axarquia Malaga that does not reach 500 inhabitants . It is run by Curro (who gives the place its name) and Bea, from Argentina, who live upstairs. If you ask for a dish from the mountains, the usual thing is that you end up ordering a bag to take the loin in butter that you have left over for home: accompanied by fried peppers, chorizo and black pudding, the portion is infinite.
Grilled or cross-grilled Argentine meats are the atypical specialty of this place , rare in establishments in the area. Every weekend it becomes a regular meeting point for the different rural tribes that inhabit this mountainous region: parishioners, bikers and foreigners. The percentage of English, Dutch or Germans who live there or in the nearby municipalities of Cómpeta or Sayalonga makes it more common not to understand what is being told at the next table. Take a biodramine for the curves. Who knows.
Sale The Curro
**BARÓN RESTAURANT (ISTAN) **
istan is found north of marbella , surrounded by mountains and valleys. Very close to such exclusive areas as The Zagaleta , where it is said that he himself has a house Vladimir Putin n. But Istan is something else. It is a beautiful village of Arab origin , located on top of a cliff and whose are called panochos, the official name. It is precisely what the most famous dish in the area is called, made up of loin steaks, peppers and chips, black pudding and a delicious cinnamon chorizo like few others.
The Baron's Delights
It is one of the most recommended dishes of the Baron Restaurant , located in the center of town and has magnificent views towards one of the valleys and the reservoir of La Concepción. Traditional cuisine, with the house's stuffed aubergines as the great star, mark a menu that can also be tried for tapas at the bar next to the many images of bullfighters that flood the wall. Istán is also famous for its rich waters, so in the Barón restaurant the jug is served from the tap. No bottles. What for with how rich it is? Note: they do not accept credit cards, only cash.
Follow @sfsherpas
*** You may also be interested in...**
- Málaga sin espetos: in search of the route of the expert gourmet
- Hipster Malaga
- The 51 best dishes in Spain
- Basic dictionary to defend yourself if you travel to Malaga
- 10 essential steps in Malaga City
- The 40 photos that will make you want to travel to Malaga without a return ticket
This is what the Baron looks like