La Palapa
La Palapa? What is that? Well, that's a very nice beach with Chiringuito Beach restaurants very close to Malaga Airport. The closest to Malaga Airport, I would say. They marketing themselves as "the Malagueian Caribbean". We have traveled countless Caribbean islands and I would not go that far, but it is nice. Very nice.
We went with friends on a Wednesday afternoon middle of September. The wind was blowing strongly, and lots of kitesurfers were wonderful to look at. I would never try Kitesurfing myself, but enjoy watching them.
We chose Chiringuito La Palapa Beach, which is the sister company to our local Bahia Beach Tanit in Torre del Mar. Must admit, never knew that they have a sister company.
When we arrived we noticed easy parking which is always appreciated. Nice setup, nice entrance. Attentive staff greeting us and offering a table. As it was 4 of us, we asked to have a large round table but we were told: "At this table, you have to spend a minimum of 200 Euros". Bit much, we thought, and chose a smaller table without a minimum spend. On a side note: The large table was empty until 5.30 pm when we left. Hmmm..
Our friends had arrived early and went straight onto the sun loungers.
Large, comfy mattresses, front line to the sea, but 6 Euros each. After lunch, we had asked if "sun loungers" are free of charge when you have lunch, but it was refused. During our "Great Spanish Sun Lounger Test" in the summer, we had several Chiringuits offering free sun loungers when you eat. But not here.
The food menu looked very good, with a difference to other normal/traditional beach restaurants. We opted for Falafel bowl 11.50 Euro (it said: "new on the menu" and that's always my choice!), my hubby chose a Hamburger 13.50 Euro, Bernd opted for a Cesar Salad 12 Euro, and Andrea had the Entrecote Tenera 20.50 Euro. To make it short: It didn't disappoint! It was really good! Great presentation. Yummy taste. Fresh ingredients.
On a Wednesday afternoon, it was quite busy which we liked to see. At 5 pm a DJ started playing groovy background music starting with my current favorite song 'Cold Heart - Elton John & Dua Lipa'. I love Elton John but Cold Heart was never my favorite but now it is! What a wonderful remix and combination. Do you like it?
We had a lovely afternoon and our friends enjoyed it, too. They mentioned "that staff should speak better English", which is right. But for a day at the beach (although you hear the planes starting from nearby Malaga airport), for ambiance, atmosphere, food, and drinks quality La Palapa Beach is definitely highly recommended!
Thank you to our friends who judged the place with an overall 8 out of 10 being the guest jury for "The great Spanish Sun Lounger Test". Only 'Staff Outfit' got a 5 out of 10 (I agree!) and customer service could be improved with English speakers.