Spanish Travel Blog

Are you dreaming of a white Christmas this winter? No? Then you’re in the right place.

While Costa del Sol temperatures during winter may not reach the heady levels of summer, they’re certainly a whole lot more agreeable than the freezing conditions felt in the UK or anywhere else north of the Iberian peninsular at this time of year. You can typically expect delightful December highs of 24°C and unspeakable lows of 12°C. Not too shabby at all, in other words.

What’s more, from traditional and expertly prepared roast dinners to more exciting and innovative takes on the notion of ‘Christmas lunch’, many of the area’s finest restaurants go all out with their Christmas menus to ensure that the most important part of the festive season remains intact.

To help you make your decision about where to eat on the Costa del Sol over the festive period, here’s our roundup of a few of the best restaurants offering mouth-watering Christmas and New Year’s Eve menus.

Christmas Eve / Christmas Day

Lively Vibe & Great Food at Bibo Marbella

Hanging Plants at Bibo Marbella

Bibo’s long been one of our favourite restaurants in Marbella. The interiors are stylish but relaxed, the vibe’s lively and fun, and the food’s superb – as you’d expect from Dani Garcia – without being challenging or overly ‘haute’.

This Christmas there are two lunch menus and three dinner menus from which to choose. These include suitably high-end takes on the humble croqueta along with creamy rice dishes, choice Iberian pork cuts, salmorejo, oxtail brioche, grilled hake on a bed of risotto and slow-cooked beef with wild mushrooms – to name but a few things that had us salivating.

To see the full 2017 Christmas menus at Bibo Marbella, go here.

Details: +34 951 60 70 11; reservas@grupodanigarcia.com; Grupodanigarcia.com.

Spectacular Seafood at Sea Grill – Marbella

Outdoor Dining at Sea Grill

Just across the road – well the plaza, technically – from Bibo is Sea Grill. Their 2017 set Christmas Eve menu is a thing of beauty: given the name of the place it’s hardly a surprise that seafood features, with oysters and corvina making up two of the courses. But there’s also something for meat-lovers in the shape of a rather tempting sounding char-grilled wagyu beef dish. (You can see the full menu here.)

Perhaps even more temptingly, though, they’ve got a Christmas brunch menu (from 1pm on Christmas Day) on this year. So you can sit back on their outdoor decking with a glass of Champagne and enjoy a range of traditional festive dishes, from turkey to lobster through to delicious desserts, while you soak up a bit of December sunshine.

Details: tel: +34 952 82 09 00; email: restaurantes@puenteromano.com; Puenteromano.com.

Luxury Dining at Finca Cortesin – Casares

Open Kitchen at Finca Cortesin

If you’re looking to push the boat out this Christmas then look no further than Finca Cortesin. This hotel, complete with its own golf course, is regarded as one of the most luxurious in Spain and often hosts celebrities and royal family members. There are three separate restaurants: El Jardin de Lutz (Spanish/traditional), Kabuki Raw (Japanese) and Don Giovanni (Italian). Each is run by a top, distinguished chef and offers cuisine of the highest standard.

Details: tel: + 34 952 93 78 00; email: reservas@hotelcortesin.com; Fincacortesin.com.

Socialites’ Favourite at El Grill, Marbella Club – Marbella

Garden Views at El Grill, Marbella Club

For a very special treat you could take advantage of El Grill’s exquisite Christmas menu options at the incredibly chic Marbella Club. Diners can choose between the restaurant’s beautiful terrace or the tastefully decorated dining room where the grill takes centre stage. Juan Gálvez is El Grill’s award-winning chef, who ensures that all ingredients used are seasonal and locally sourced and that only the very best cuts make the grade.

Details: tel: +34 952 822 211; email: hotel@marbellaclub.com; Marbellaclub.com.

Marbella Club’s full 2017 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus can be seen here.

Louche & Laidback at The Playwright – Elviria

Bar at The Playright

Sleekly decorated and dimly lit, this popular bar and live music venue in Elviria looks, upon arrival, for all the world like a place to order a couple of dirty martinis and settle in for the night at one of the banquettes.

But it also does a very nice line in food, too – as their Christmas menu more than proves. There are quite a few dishes on offer this festive season that caught our fish-loving eye: Ceviche of tuna and seabass? Seafood chowder? Tempura of lemon sole? Salmon gravadlax rolls? Yep. That’ll do nicely.

Details: tel. +34 952 83 08 68; email: info@theplaywrightmarbella.com; Theplaywrightmarbella.com.

To see The Playwright’s full Christmas menu, go here.

New Year’s Eve

Party the Night Away at La Sala – Puerto Banus

Dining Space at La Sala

La Sala in Puerto Banus brings you the ultimate buzzy dining experience on the Costa whatever the time of year. Their rear terrace is the ideal place from which to kick off festive proceedings in style, before moving on to one of their Christmas or New Year’s Eve menus featuring a range of international and Spanish classics. This year two different live music acts will be performing to ring in 2018.

You can see this year’s full Christmas and NYE menus here.

Details: tel: +34 952 81 41 45; email: reservations@lasalabanus.com; Lasalabanus.com.

Friendly & Relaxed at Sloanes Bistro – Elviria

A Festively Decorated Sloanes Bistro

As well as their set Christmas Eve/Day menus, Sloanes have a very inviting New Year’s Eve gala dinner planned for this year. The five-course menu features the rather indulgent likes of cod au gratin, veal and foie gras with canapes to start, accompanied by the dulcet tones of owner-cum-resident singer, Alex, and a glass of Cava to toast the new year.

You can see their full Christmas and New Year’s Eve menus for 2017 here.

Details: tel: +34 952 835 560; email: sloanesbistro@gmail.com; Sloanesbistro.com.

Dinner & Dancing at El Gran Gatsby – Puerto Banus

View of the Port from El Gran Gatsby

El Gran Gatsby is one of those places that’s set up to cater for a proper ‘nose to tail’ night out. You start with cocktails and views of the boats bobbing in the harbour, before moving onto dinner, and a food offering that’s really strong without being too fussy or fancy; then, afterwards you can sidle through to the terrace-lounge bar for well-mixed cocktails and decent DJ sets.

And never more is that the case than during the festive season. This year they’ve really got things sorted for New Year. You’re welcomed with a glass of Champagne on arrival, before being treated to a luxurious set menu of caviar, black cod, prawns, crayfish and Wagyu beef, all of which is paired with wines from their very fine list, followed by entry to the bar and a long night of partying. All in all, it’s all set to make for a very happy New Year.

To see here El Gran Gatsby’s full NYE menu, click here.

Details: tel: +34 951 77 87 97; email: reservations@elgrangatsby.com; Elgrangatsby.com.

To take the hassle out of making your festive restaurant reservations, our expert local concierge team will be happy to assist when you stay in one of our villas. Find out more about our concierge.

Private Chef & Christmas Menu 2017

Chef Curro at Villa El Chorrito

Alternatively, if you just fancy a Christmas holed up in your luxury getaway, we would be thrilled to provide you and your family with a private chef. They will take care of the shopping, cooking and the clearing away, leaving you to enjoy family time together. Take a look at the excellent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and NYE menus that our chefs have created for this season, which can be downloaded here.

Can’t face another year of endless cooking and washing up for the whole family? Thinking of an indulgent Christmas 2017 in southern Spain instead? Have a look at a few of our available Christmas break villas.