There are a couple of very large beaches near the centre of town which is why Almeria is a major holiday destination, particularly for Spanish tourists. I’m told the best beaches, and nature, are up the coast at Caba de Gato, but I have never had the time nor the car to go. One day though.
Here are a couple of chiringuitos (beach bars specialising in seafood) at Playa del Zapillo that I’ve been to…
El Tio Pepe (Elementary B), Avanida Cabo de Gata
This was the hotel recommended beach shack down in Neuva Almeria, a good place to go on a Sunday when everywhere else will most likely be closed. The food is fine but nothing out of this world.
I just had a plate of Migas (B) with some perfectly grilled Sardinias (A) alongside a few cervecas.
It takes ten minutes and €6 in a cab to get there from the Hotel Tryp Indalo (see next post), or you could take much longer on the bus. A sun lounger cost me €3.50 for the day.
In 2017 I arrived at El Tio Pepe a bit late at about 2pm (which is when most Spanish people eat lunch) and there was a queue of about twenty people ahead of me so I went to the next chiringuito down the beach where there were plenty of free tables…
Terraza del Mar (Intermediate C), 14 Calle Lopez Delgado
I think this place fancies itself as a bit posher than El Tio Pepe but I don’t rate it particularly highly.
I began with the Caballa; a loin of mackerel with local tomatoes (B).
The Lenguado however wasn’t great as a lot of the flesh was stuck to the backbone, perhaps a symptom of having been frozen until very recently (C).
And I do like my fried potatoes (no pic), the Patatas Alioli, to have a bit of colour (C).
The bottle of Castelo de Medina was very good though (B+) which cheered me up.
The Tarta de Queso was okay but nothing special (C+).
With an Orujo de Hierbas the final bill was €56.
After all this a snooze in the sun was in order. A ‘hamaca’ (hammock) here costs €5.
So treat yourself to a lazy day at the beach!
Here’s the index for other posts about Almeria.
A post for my colleagues next…