A Taste of Sotogrande: Best Restaurants and Year-Round Dining Experiences

When I made my first visit to Sotogrande on a March evening, many, many moons ago, I drove here from Estepona where I was staying in a very small hotel on the seafront which was about the only hotel open in the entire area. Sotogrande was completely empty and the only place that was open for dinner was Hostal Bernardo where you will now find CaixaBank in Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro. Bernardo was a lovely man and I enjoyed many meals in his restaurant until his retirement. I noticed driving back to Estepona that there were very few restaurants to be seen and the very few I did notice were closed anyway. Puerto Duquesa didn’t even exist then!

I always think of that first visit because even until quite recently the perception has been that Sotogrande had little to offer in terms of restaurants and the winters were too quiet. As Sotogrande has now become a year round destination, this perception couldn’t be further from the truth. As I sit in my office in Pueblo Nuevo, I have just jotted down the names of fifty restaurants within a ten minute drive – and I have eaten in all of them, even the brand new Restaurante Plaza Blanca about which is outstanding. Now that’s not bad is it?

Please no more fake news about the lack of places to eat!

The four of us here in the office thought we would each divulge the names of our two favourite restaurants so here goes.

I go for La Verandah at the end of Torreguadiaro and Fresco in the Marlín Marina. There is a certain nostalgic element to the La Verandah as its owners, José and Carlos, worked with me when I was General Manager of Valderrama in the late 1990s. José was front of house and Carlos the sous-chef and their restaurant has a most impressive consistency in providing magnificent Spanish food with a touch of French influence. Fresco has a great variety of choice and Guillermo, the Head Chef, is an award winner. I often have lunch there on Sundays on the terrace soaking up the atmosphere of the market and then after lunch dipping inside to watch some big televised sporting event in great comfort.

Rita loves Trocadero, the Beach Club, and Brosco in Pueblo Nuevo. Apart from the excellent food on a menu of great choice, ‘’I just love the location which particularly on a sunny day in winter is just spectacular’’, says Rita. Her other choice is Brosco in Pueblo Nuevo where the sushi is the best in town and the service immaculate.

Siobhean has gone for a newly opened restaurant called Hincha which seriously impressed her with regard to the quality of food. ‘’Particularly delicious deserts in a great Puerto atmosphere’’ comments Siobhean. Another village restaurant is her second choice, the Argentinian grill, La Reúnion, which has a great informal atmosphere as well as excellent meat served almost as large tapas so you are spoilt for choice and can choose more than one dish.

Gloria´s picks are in sharp contrast to each other: Río Seco sits right over the sea at the entrance to Torreguadiaro and serves excellent fresh fish and classic Andalusian food and her second choice is Cancha II which overlooks the San Enrique polo fields – ‘I love the quiet country location and the steaks are always perfect’, says Gloria.

Well, those are our own personal choices but the general quality of food in Sotogrande is outstanding and unlike all those years ago restaurants are open year round and there are so many to choose from.

To get a taste of the lifestyle that goes hand-in-hand with this culinary richness, I invite you to watch the short film my daughter Alexandra and I produced together:

Happy dining!