La Galeria Gastro Bar in Estepona: A Review

Having just returned from a weekend in Estepona, I can’t wait to tell you about a few places, and La Galeria Gastro Bar is certainly one of them.

Estepona may not be spoiled with culinary splendor as the nearby Marbella, but there are a few local gems worth trying out and I’m glad I found this one!

Normally before I travel, I do extensive research on google maps, checking recommendations from local guides and always trying to find local blogs where possible, instead of heading out to Tripadvisor or even Lonely Planet (Lonely Planet can be helpful in many respects, but when it comes to food recommendations I find their tips rather disappointing and not very well researched).

The Restaurant

La Galeria Gastro Bar is a small restaurant is located in the old town in Estepona, just a short walk away from the beach, on one of the prettiest streets lined with restaurants and small bars.

La Galeria Gastro Bar stands out with its dark purple facade and what lured me in was the menu options – it’s very refreshing to see something that’s not just presented beautifully but doesn’t involve the usual offering of fried fish, burgers with fries and heavily meat focused menus.

The restaurant has fairly limited seating outside on the terrace and it’s not huge inside either, which adds to its charm and exclusive feeling. The inside is very nicely decorated and feels very welcoming and charming. The tables inside are much bigger, suitable for bigger groups.

We came shortly after opening and the whole terrace was empty and started filling up slowly. The weather was just about right to enjoy the outdoor eating while watching the locals stroll past.

The Food

The menu was short but very refreshing, compared to the other restaurants in the area, which seem to work almost with the same food template.

For someone who doesn’t eat meat, I found lots of options to choose from, all of which sounded delicious.

As we were not at all starving and came in for a very late lunch, we opted for a feast of a few tapas. The tapas were all under 5 euros, so very reasonably priced.

We shared an Italian salad with fresh tomatoes and generous shavings of parmesan, topped with balsamic vinegar, made from the freshest ingredients and tasting very refreshing indeed.

After that, we had a selection of tapas, all of which were super delicious.

Bruschetta with mushrooms, something I would not normally order but glad I did – the sauce with the mushrooms was decadent and very well seasoned, it tasted delicious!

Another bruschetta came in later, this time with tomatoes and cheese on top, a new take on a classic dish – this one was full of flavour and wasn’t soggy as it’s normally the case.

We also had a portion of patatas bravas, and I can always tell good bravas by the sauce they use – this one certainly didn’t disappoint. Some of the bigger potatoes were a bit raw still, but apart from that they were really nicely done.

Last but not least, my husband had a duck pate bruscetta and we also shared a portion of garlic bread.

To finish off the feast, we shared a very generous portion of a chocolate brownie cake (the biggest one I’ve seen ever served in a restaurant) with a dollop of ice cream and whipped cream. It was a soft, melt in your mouth sponge served with quality ice cream.

Needless to say, for around 40 euros – including drinks and coffee – we had a feast worthy of a king!

The service was very fast, super friendly and attentive.

Can’t wait to be back for more!

PS – Scroll to the bottom of the post for the restaurant details!