Probably the most popular dish on a typical menu from the province of Malaga will be Pescadito Frito Malagueño or Fritura Malagueña which is literally a large assorted platter to share of locally caught fried small fish, the dish normally incorporates a mix of Chanquetes (whitebait) and Chopitos (baby squid), Salmonetes (red mullet) and Sardines, amongst others. The fish can vary from day to day depending on what the restaurant buys from the fisherman that day. It's a great dish to share with friends and family if you want to pick, but fancy seafood, rather than tapas.

Continuing with seafood is the delicious Sardinas al Espeto, Sardines on the Spit. If you head down to a beach Chiringuito (beach restaurant), many will have little boats positioned next to the restaurant in which they set up a barbecue-style fire and cook the sardines on skewers. The smell of the sardines and fire is divine and the result delicious. Sardines have their season, beware that many restaurants will try to sell you smaller sardines out of season, make sure you take a look at the sardines cooking before you agree to order them; they should be nice and big and meaty.

Gazpacho, Gazpacho and more Gazpacho! During the summer months, Malagueños live on Gazpacho. This cold soup, or refreshment – as it can be served in a bowl like soup, or in a glass like a refreshing vegetable drink, is made from mature tomatoes, green pepper or cucumber (it should be one of the other), garlic, onion, stale bread (softened in water), lots of olive oil and a little vinegar or lemon juice. All the ingredients are basically whizzed to a liquid, strained and served chilled. It is normally served as a starter, in a glass or bowl topped with green or red peppers, egg, parsley and cucumber.

A similar dish to Gazpacho from the same family, is Porra Antequeraña, derived from the town of Antequera, which is located around 50 kilometres inland from the city of Malaga; it's thicker in consistency than Gazpacho, as it does not add water, it also incorporates Paprika. Porra is served with a garnish of eggs, Serrano ham and tuna. It is served as a centre tapa and you can dip raw vegetables, bread sticks or just a good old rustic barra (slightly fatter than a baguette).

Another Gazpacho-style dish, is Salmorejo, even denser than Porra, it is again served with the garnish and eaten as a starter, best shared.

Staying on the cold soup tip, you should also try a very typical soup dish from Malaga, Ajoblanco; a soup made with garlic, almonds and moscatel grapes.

Pimientos a la Malagueña (Malaga-style Peppers) are literally roasted peppers and onions, served with olive oil (of course), vinegar from Jerez and salt.

Migas are definitely not healthy; nevertheless they are delicious, if prepared well. Migas are literally just fried breadcrumbs, cooked with olive oil, garlic red pepper, bacon, paprika and chorizo and served with fried eggs.

Gambas Pil Pil is the dish that most visitors to Malaga, return home wanting to try to recreate for their friends. The dish consists of appetising, juicy prawns, which have been cooked at a very high heat in a sauce of olive oil (there it is again), garlic (lots of), paprika, parsley and salt. The best part of Gambas Pil Pil is finishing off the oil sauce with chunks of delicious, fresh bread.

For those chilly winter days, yes occasionally it does get chilly in Malaga and when it does you can't go wrong with a dish of Berza Malagueña, a typical cabbage stew, cooked with chickpeas, meats, pumpkin, garlic and paprika.

The list is endless and I could go on, but I am going to finish the ‘what to eat' section with the sweet calorie bashing dessert of Gachas Malagueñas. This dish is mainly served in the winter and consists of fried bread squares, which has a sweet mixture of flour, sugar, water, milk, wait for it… olive oil and anisette. Honey can also be used, in place of the sugar and milk. The dish is served hot.

Where to eat in Malaga?

The city of Malaga is renowned for both its tapas bars, and the tapas itself. Typical tapas dishes including chorizo, jamon Serrano, montaditos (tiny baguettes with different fillings) and tortilla are served. When in Malaga you must absolutely, definitely seek out the following bars for a splendid evening or lunch of tapas:

Bodega El Pimpi, situated in Calle Granada 62

Mesón Cortijo de Pepe, situated in Plaza de la Merced 2

Matahambre, situated in Calle de la Caldereria

La Garaffa, situated in Calle Mendez Nuñez 5

If you want to save some money. Then we can recommend you to rent a holiday apartment in Malaga with your own kitchen and here you can make you own food.