THE BOARDWALK

After living in Marbella for a number of years I am surprised that this was my first visit to The Boardwalk along Marbella’s Paseo Maritimo, it was a wonderful find! The restaurant decor has a beach theme with a comprehensive menu and is stunningly set along the Marbella golden sand with both inside and outside dining. The restaurant is open for Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner and Cocktails! So whatever time of day you wander by you will be able to find something to make you happy that caters for every taste.
I have now found a new favourite place over summer to bring guests and meet friends for many outings. The staff were obliging and had good knowledge of their menu and the ingredients in each dish as well as on their drink lists. They were able to recommend good options for me which I enjoyed. However it is going to take a number of lazy Sundays or week day brunches in order to appreciate the full selection of tastes offered. I can understand why the restaurant was voted Best Restaurant in the Marbella Awards, the annual awards ceremony run by Marbella Rocks Magazine.

FANTASTIC FOOD
I was impressed by their vibrant lunch menu and got carried away with all the selections on the especially well priced menu. We agreed to try a number of dishes and share them between the two of us. All of the food was thoroughly tasteful with extra care and attention taken on the presentation of the food.
Starting with a sharing platter with the ingredients made in-house and fresh, Hummus and Guacamole, pita, quesadillas, spring rolls and crispy prawns which was a lovely start and had a good mix of tasty appetisers.
Followed by a goat cheese salad that had a nice addition of beets and caramalized walnuts and sizeable enough to share also. There were many salad selections for healthy alternatives on the menu.
We then tried the Prawn Pil Pil Pizza which had a chilli zing from the sriracha sauce to wake up your senses, your tastebuds need to like a little bit of spice as with any Pil Pil flavour.
The ribs with the red cabbage slaw and fat fries were the highlight of the meal. I loved the fat fries and the ribs were perfectly slow roasted and succulently marinated in a bbq sauce.
It was a hard decision to select an option for desert as this is my favourite part of the meal and I get carried away with sweet selections. I chose the decadent warm brownie with a vanilla ice cream, a dish I can never go past and this pleased my sweet tooth cravings and was the perfect finish to a wonderful meal.
The restaurant has a Happy Hour for 1/2 price burgers, pizza and pasta every day from 4:30pm – 6:30pm every day (except Sunday) which is a great time to sit relax and enjoy a glass of wine before the dinner rush starts.
There were so many other options that I will be returning to try including gluten free if needed. The breakfast menu had many options that caught my attention, also to return for high tea is a must! I have not found anywhere else that serves high tea on the coast and it is a rare find to have a fresh, homemade scone with a nice selection of teas and a lovely idea for a baby shower where they will help you organise and decorate the event to make it special. There were so many desserts and cakes that need to be tasted but over time not to over indulge!

FAMILY FRIENDLY FOR KIDS
This is a family friendly restaurant that has an atmosphere suitable to come with children. Especially with the great idea for kids to be able to put their own ingredients on the pizza on a separate buffet table where they are given chef hats. They get to participate in creating their own meal which makes a fun dining experience for them! There were many other different dishes for children to choose from which is a nice change from the usual unhealthy menu options children are given.

DRINKS
The cocktail list is extensive, it will take many sun soaked evenings over summer to sample, especially with their current happy hour special of two for one per person every day except Sunday from 4:30pm – 7:00pm. They offer the classic cocktails to many specialities which have a variety of flavours with different liquor bases. There is no better way to spend an afternoon or evening with good food and a good cocktail and a lovely beach view.
For the people that really love their cocktails or looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon with friends or colleagues the restaurant bar offers cocktail classes where you can make 3 of your favourite cocktails for only €20 per person. This is a great addition to a birthday or hen party or even a team building activity with your work.
Every wine on their comprehensive wine list is available by the glass. Being a kiwi I was pleasantly surprised to find a New Zealand renowned Sauvignon Blanc on the list, something that I believe every good wine list should have! As well as many other international selections from Argintina, Chile, Spain, France.. So of course I couldn’t go past trying the Sauvignon Blanc which was fresh and crispy with a hint of passion fruit and reminded me why NZ is so well recognised for good wine!!

IN SUMMARY
The overall experience at Boardwalk has made this a restaurant I am looking forward to returning to and showing to my summer visitors and meeting friends for a casual drink or something to eat. The variety from morning breakfasts for early risers to dinner and cocktail evenings with a sunset will allow anyone an easy relax and escape with the beach in front of you, just to sit and enjoy a good meal, atmosphere and service.

WORDS BY: Tanya Vegar