Eating out in Andalucia can be very cheap, especially if the diner is planning to have a few cervezas (beers) or tinto veranos (red wine with lemonade/sprite – a local speciality and very refreshing in the heat of summer) on the way. Tapas is a local tradition here, and with every drink ordered a plate of something filling and tasty will arrive. The choice of what is on that plate is usually up to the bar staff, rather than the diner, but each drink from the same establishment will usually bring a different dish.
Health Bar, Lanjaron
This bar/restaurant is situated on the street heading eastwards out of the village from the central fountain square towards the main road to Capileira and Pampaniera. It is the best place in town for tapas, with typical specialities including pasta con tomate, lamb curry, bbq ribs, ham and cheese with bread. (The lamb curry is especially good!) All are reasonably substantial fare, and a few of these together will easily pass for dinner. Alternatively they do a wide range of full meals – which are reasonably priced (roughly 8-9 Euros/US$ 6-7). This is quite a smoky bar, but that is fairly typical of Spanish bars.
Gecko Bar, Lanjaron
This is another bar/restaurant with excellent tapas. Specialities include wild mushrooms on toast, and bbq ribs. One unique speciality of this bar is its range of Cerveza del Mundo – beers of the world. This bar offers a wide variety of bottled beers from a multitude of countries – and this makes a welcome change from the standard Estrella. For the wine drinkers, the merlot is also a good choice here. As with all the bars in this article, it is on the eastwards-heading street out from the central plaza.
Cafe Ambienza, Lanjaron
Again situated on the eastwards street out of Lanjaron, this is more of a cafe bar/restaurant than a tapas bar. This is the place for vegetarians, and the owner also specialises in a wide variety of international delicacies including smoothies, paninis, falafel, fresh salads and illy coffee. The traditional British Sunday roast is also an unexpected new option – for those wanting a reminder of Britain (Lanjaron has a reasonably sized ex-pat British community) this is best ordered early – as it has often sold out by evening.Fresh organic ingredients are a speciality of this bar, as is free wifi and a very pleasant outdoor seating area.
Lanjaron is a reasonably large Andalucian/Alpujarran village in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, with a wide range of places to eat and drink in. This article lists three of the best for outdoor dining, tapas and cerveza in Lanjaron. A separate article by the same author lists a fantastic five-day mountain trek starting from Lanjaron – Los Tres Miles.
Chiz Dakin - A keen mountain walker, scrambler, cyclist and occasional climber and sea kayaker for several years, Chiz Dakin has carried a camera with ...
