What is an espeto? Can you only eat sardine espetos? Where to eat the best espetos in Malaga? If you want to solve these doubts about espetos or know much more about them and about the espeto culture, don't miss this post.
Sardine Espeto
Before going into detail about the espetos we are going to go to the point with the most popular one which is none other than the espeto de sardinas. It is a very popular dish on the coast of Malaga and Granada.
The espetos de sardinas is a dish consisting of about 5 or 6 sardines cooked on the grill and it is a very healthy dish because it only contains salt and a little oil so they do not dry. The price can range from 2 € to 5 € per espeto.
Sardina al espeto is a dish that can be found all year round, but it is important to know that the best espetos are concentrated in a specific period of the year. Maybe you already know the trick to know when to eat the best espetos, but if not, we'll reveal it to you. It has to be during the months that do not contain the letter "r", i.e. May, June, July and August.
If you come to Malaga out of season don't worry, you will be able to find this dish all year round but the quality of the sardina al espeto will go down, especially during the months of December, January and February, as some of the sardines will be pregnant and their flavour is more sour.
What is an espeto?
The word espeto comes from the verb espetar, which could be a synonym of ensartar. The technique consists of taking an espeto, which is a kind of stick and piercing the fish, placing it on the grill to cook it.
As we have already mentioned, the most popular espeto is that of sardines, but a wide variety of fish is cooked, some well-known and other species native to the bay of Malaga.
The fish espetado is a very good option because it is fresh fish cooked on the grill and does not have any kind of breading, so it is a very healthy and delicious option.
We recommend you try fish such as sea bass or sea bream, as grilled have a different flavor but certainly what you can not miss is the squid espetado. They are pieces of about 700 grams and the price is usually around 30 € but certainly worth a try because it is a unique and exquisite taste.
Espetos in Malaga
Now comes the jewel in the crown, as we are going to tell you where you can find the best espetos in Malaga in our opinion. We assure you that it has been a hard effort to have to go to the beaches of Malaga to try many restaurants to draw conclusions about the best places.
The most important thing is that the espeto should be eaten on the beach, sure to enjoy a great day of sunshine as in Malaga we have 320 days of sunshine a year.
On the beaches of La Misericordia and Huelin there are many restaurants on the beach where you can eat good espetos, but in our opinion, in Malaga city, the best espetos can be found on the beaches of Pedregalejo and El Palo.
Pedregalejo and El Palo are traditional fishermen's neighbourhoods in Malaga. On your visit to Malaga we recommend that you spend a day in this area, as the beachfront is made up of traditional two-storey houses and it is a pleasant walk.
We have to warn that from the center is about an hour walk, the other options are the city buses (lines 3 and 11), taxi (about 12 €) or by car, although parking is usually quite complicated.
To finish the article and as an honest recommendation, we will tell you that according to our opinion, the best value for money options are with the number 1 the restaurant Los Cuñaos in Pedregalejo and with the number 2 the Restaurant Gabi in El Palo.
If you have any questions about this, do not hesitate to write to our email freetourmalaga@gmail.com