You’re on holiday in Carboneras and you don’t know where to eat without falling into a tourist trap?
Here is my personal selection of 8 restaurants, all tested more than once and recommended depending on your preferences, your budget and your style.
🥇 1. Café Bar Bella Mar – For good food, fast and at a low price
📍 Calle Sorbas, 53
💸 Price: €10–20
⭐ Best: generous tapas, grilled sea bream, quick service
⚠️ No view, but full of soul
“It’s an authentic neighbourhood bar-restaurant, full of locals. Homemade food, inexpensive and delicious. No fuss, just flavour.”
💡Nico’s tip: order 3 or 4 tapas and a dish to share, and you’ll leave with a smile!
🐟 2. Chiringuito Mariano – Fresh fish with sea view
📍 At the beginning of the paseo marítimo
📞 950 454 018
💸 Price: very reasonable for the quality
⭐ Must-try: baby squid, grilled fish, tapas at the bar
This place is an institution in Carboneras. It’s usually full, and for good reason:
quality, local atmosphere and fish freshly landed from the port.
“Delicious tapas at the bar, friendly service, fresh catch of the day. Everything here is authentic.”
💡 In summer: booking is essential
🍤 3. Sol y Playa – Ideal for paella and zarzuela
📍 Next to Mariano
💸 Price: mid-to-high, but worth it
⭐ Specialty: mixed paella, zarzuela, fish of the day
For those looking to eat well in a quieter place, this is the perfect spot. Classic Andalusian cuisine, well presented and plentiful.
“A little slow when it’s busy, but highly recommended. We always leave happy.”
💡 Open on Mondays, when many others are closed. Important!
🍖 4. La Chumbera – The best rotisserie in the area
📍 Between Carboneras and Agua Amarga
📞 +34 634 67 62 98
💸 Price: a bit higher, but top-quality products
⭐ Signature dishes: grilled meats, sole carpaccio
A charming restaurant surrounded by nature, where everything is cooked over a wood fire. Ideal for a special dinner.
“Warm atmosphere, excellent dishes, very attentive service. A ten out of ten.”
💡Advance booking is essential.
🥩 5. Asador La Quesería – For meat lovers
📍 Calle Mirasol, 18
📞 +34 677 51 28 11
💸 Price: €20–25 per person
⭐ Signature dishes: chuletón, homemade croquettes, grilled breada
Here, everything is made with love. Aged meat, tasty starters and good, affordable wine.
“Quality food, family atmosphere, homemade desserts. It feels like home.”
💡 Ask for the white Macabeo wine: a gem for only €10.
🐙 6. Restaurant Alborán – Sea view and refined cuisine
📍 Paseo Marítimo, 11
💸 Price: moderate, very good value for money
⭐ Must-try: Galician-style octopus, Iberian secreto, homemade desserts
Perfect for a relaxing dinner facing the sea, with well-presented dishes and excellent service.
“Well-prepared tapas, delicious dishes and a terrace that makes you want to stay for hours.”
🥘 7. Restaurant Felipe – Perfect for takeaway paella
📍 Calle Sorbas, 6
📞 +34 950 13 03 44
💸 Price: affordable
⭐ Best: paellas made to order
It’s not my favourite place to eat (the atmosphere is a bit noisy), but if you want to take a good paella back to your apartment or to the beach, it’s an excellent option.
💡 Call ahead and bring the container back the next day.
🍽️ 8. Chiringuito El Jabegote – Feet in the sand, authentic flavour
📍 Av. Faro Mesa Roldán, s/n
🌐 Web oficial
💸 Price: fair, quick service
⭐ Don’t miss: Mariana’s seafood paella, molletes, mofletes
A truly authentic chiringuito (beach bar), loved by locals, unpretentious, with tasty dishes, good music and a magnificent view. Karaoke on weekends for budding stars. Paellas available to take away.
“The mollete is incredible, the tinto de verano goes down so easily. Perfect for lunch in your swimsuit.”
📌 Nico’s tips for eating well in Carboneras
- Most restaurants close on Mondays — keep this in mind.
- Always book, especially in July and August.
- For cheap tapas, choose the bar rather than the terrace.
- Spaniards dine late: going at 8 pm helps avoid queues.
- Portions are generous: better to share and try several dishes.
🍷 My tips for drinks
- White Macabeo wine: local, inexpensive, fresh, ideal with fish.
- Reds: look for a young Garnacha for meats
- The local draft beer is tasty — order a caña or a tubo.
- Sangria? Better a good tinto de verano, lighter and more authentic
✉️ Nico’s word
Carboneras is not just beautiful beaches and hidden coves. It’s also food with a soul, made by locals who cook as if they were at home.
If you’re wondering where to eat in Carboneras without going wrong, here is my honest selection, tested and updated.
And if you stay with me, just ask and I’ll tailor my recommendations to your tastes, your mood… and your budget!
Because here, I don’t send you just anywhere: I recommend the places where I’d go with my friends.
| Other beaches we recommend (click on the beach name) | Advantages of this beach |
|---|---|
| Playa del Algarrobico | A spectacular, vast, quiet, and little-visited beach |
| Playa de las Marinicas | The beach at the foot of both apartments, the favourite of local families and children |
| Playa Cala del Enmedio | A lost paradise, reserved for those who truly seek it… a short hike required! |
| Playa del sombrerico | A beach at the end of the path… yet close to everything |
| Playa de La Galera | A haven of peace near Carboneras |
| Cala San Pedro | Lose yourself in its unique turquoise waters in Cabo de Gata Natural Park |
| Cala del Plomo | A hidden treasure in Cabo de Gata Park |
| Playa Sopalmo | Our favourite landmark spot near Mojácar |
| Cala de los Toros | An oasis… and then the sea! |
