Bardal
Best for: fine dining
If you’re into fine dining then there’s only one place in Ronda you need to know about. Bardal first opened ten years ago, and has been perfecting its craft ever since. Expect a set tasting menu of perfectly prepped dishes from creative dishes like trout aspic with smoked cream to riffs on Spanish classics such as Quisquillas, chards and Andalusian “majado”. Interiors are smart and sophisticated (not something especially easy to come by here) and everything is top tier, from the service to the story behind each dish.
Address: C. José Aparicio, 1, 29400 Ronda, Málaga, Spain
Website: restaurantebardal.com
For tapas: Toro
Tapas in Spain is a rite of passage, and the best part about it is that it’s considered an all-day event. When we were teens, we’d be dragged from one tapas bar to the next by our parents who ordered much the same from every menu but treated it like an English pub crawl until finally, someone claimed that one more potatas bravas would tip us over the edge. Toro was always in the mix and I can still taste their particular iteration of salty anchovies, folded and stabbed onto a cocktail stick next to a juicy, locally grown olives.
Address: Carrera Espinel, 7, 29400 Ronda, Málaga, Spain
Website: torotapasronda.com
Panoramic
Best for: panoramic views
I’ve been to my fair share of rooftop bars in Europe, and I’m a sucker for a good view but often, they’re much the same as each other. Not here. Take the lift inside Hotel Catalonia to Panoramic and find yourself a perch on the very edge of the bar to watch the skies transcend over the mountains and the bullring. It’s the kind of place where it’s maybe best to play it safe with a G&T rather than order a fancy cocktail – mixology is not what you’re here for – but it’s a popular place to be so book ahead or arrive early for the best seat in (or on) the house.
Address: C. Virgen de la Paz, 16, 29400 Ronda, Málaga, Spain
Website: ebocarestaurants.com