It’s been a while since I tried a new restaurant, and this week a new establishment close to Fuengirola Marina caught my attention.
Nilo Restaurant has been open for over a year, and really stands out from the setting as it’s located in one of the most run-down buildings in Fuengirola. The owners made sure you can’t miss it as you pass, with its wooden and black exterior and beautiful design all around, with a pretty outdoor terrace. If you wouldn’t know you were in Fuengirola, you would think you were sitting in a posh beach club somewhere in Malaga.
It has a vibe that reminds me of the Cambara Restaurant in Muelle Uno (Malaga), with a lot of natural wooden elements and beautiful lighting added to enhance the interior and exterior features. Their website is also beautifully done, with gorgeous videos celebrating the food and ingredients.
Unfortunately, that’s all there is positive to say about the restaurant. Read on to find out why.
The Setting
I used to be easily impressed with beautiful interiors, but these days I’m more cautious – in many cases, the fancy decor is reflected in the prices, accompanied by bad quality food. And that’s exactly what happened in Nilos restaurant.
They have a decent size outdoor terrace with comfy chairs, unfortunately, it’s right next to a busy road with a view of a parking lot, so not the prettiest setting. I also said that the restaurant is in a really neglected area, right next to KFC and a strip with nightclubs, where you see street sellers spreading their fake goods on the pavement, and the buildings look like they haven’t been touched since they were built in the 60s.
The interior is of course done to a high standard and it feels very cosy, especially with the atmospheric lighting. There were plenty of seats which were distributed in three different sections, with comfy chairs and light up bar at the center.
The Food
We started the evening by ordering some wine, unfortunately, the waitress misunderstood my request for a ‘bottle of wine with two glasses’ and only brought two glasses of wine.
When it came to the menu, there wasn’t much to choose from for me as I don’t eat meat, and they only had two options for salads and two fish dishes. For those who love a good meaty place, there is a lot to get excited about (check the menu here).
They also say on the menu that they charge you 2.50 euros for bread and cutlery, but luckily the waitress asked and we didn’t want any bread and were not charged the extra fees – in most places they bring the bread and charge it whether you want it or not.
I chose the confit cod loin with veggies and fries (16.90 euros), and my husband had only a starter which was the prawn gyozas (12.75 euros).
Unfortunately, the cod they used was not fresh but cooked from frozen, and it tasted like a rubber sole that has been dipped in some oily chicken soup type of sauce. It was so rubbery I felt like I was eating chewing gum, not a tender piece of fish. There were I think 5 pieces of potato wedges, some of them undercooked, and some veggies, which were mostly green peppers and courgette, with a few carrots.
To say I was unhappy with the meal was an understatement.
My husband said his starter was good, but you can see from the pictures they were a bit burned, and most certainly not done from scratch but again cooked from frozen ready made food.
My Verdict
I would love to give this place a second chance, but given the first experience, it’s a hard NO for me. If you would like to visit, I would recommend popping there for a drink, but I would stay away from the food.
For any meat lovers coming for a holiday in Fuengirola, I can highly recommend a place quite close by – Kudam Berlin, which is in Fuengirola Marina. I have written about them in this post.
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