Kaleja restaurant in the historic center of Malaga is a real pearl, located not far away from the Picasso museum.

The day before coming at Kaleja for dinner, we were making our way to the Picasso museum and actually passed by Kaleja without even noticing it because the entrance is so discreet. The night of our dinner we pushed the door and immediately loved the atmosphere, the chic and elegant design of the restaurant and its furniture.

We were greeted warmly by the Maitre d’ and sommelier Julio Barluenga, but also by the smell of wooden fire.

We sat at our beautiful table near the entrance and a waiter arrived with a jar of fresh water to pour in our glasses before Julio Barluenga asked which type of cocktail we would prefer to start. We chose the Kaleja Sour, which is a sophisticated version of Pisco Sour.

The menu proposed by the chef Dani Carnero came with two amuse-bouche and fifteen dishes: three small starters, ten dishes and two desserts.

With the first bite of Zurrapa's little donut, we knew right away that we were in good hands. The creativity, the flavor, the cooking and the products are the work of a great cook with a high level of know-how. The rest of the meal was pretty good with some outstanding dishes like “Foie gras on the tomatoes water”; “Hare ravioli with Bolognese marrow”; “Roasted peppers with Candela”; “Chamomile and anise ice cream, fennel and apple soup” and “Brulée with grilled corn cream”.The wine list was exceptional, as it should be, and Julio Barluenga served us very original and good wines, a tour of Spain’s great wines like Barranco Obscuro Ensayo De Burbujas 2016; Terroir Sense Frontieres Brisat 2019; Sicus Cru Mari 2013, Las Uvas De La Ira 2018.

The service was examplary of how a service in a high-end restaurant should be: welcoming, warm, nice, with a sense of anticipation, flawless, efficient and most of all in French and in English.

This is by far the best restaurant we have experienced so far this spring. We are very surprised that Kaleja does not even have a Michelin star though, as we previously ate at two Michelin stars restaurants that, in our opinion, did not display the same level of cooking and finesse as Kaleja.

Kaleja

Calle Marquesa de Moya, 9,

29015 Málaga, Spain

Tel : +34 952 60 00 00

www.restaurantekaleja.com