Breakfast returns to El Diamante bar in Málaga

Marina Martínez

He was a regular customer at El Diamante. Then, the owners mentioned they were retiring and wanted to transfer the business. The idea started spinning in his head. What if he took over? "I was intrigued by the idea for a while, because I was really excited to take the baton and preserve its essence." So much so that, three months after it closed, Rafael López Taza ended up taking over the iconic bar on Pozos Dulces street, where signs announcing its return can now be seen.

"We don't want to lose a part of our city's history and what it has represented for the people of Malaga, so we want to keep it the same, with its breakfasts, the classic 'pitufo con salchichón' and strawberry milk," López Taza says about this new challenge he is taking on, with the intention to open before July 1st.

Family Connection

"It’s a bar with great appeal which I have a special affection for because not only have I been a customer, my grandfather worked there many years ago and my mother used to go there as a young girl to drink strawberry milk. I also see this as a sort of tribute to my family, who are from Pozos Dulces," acknowledges the former senior brother of the La Cena brotherhood for 16 years, something that for him "as a person from Malaga was already a pride and now also as a Malagan it is to rescue a business that has been open since 1949."

Professionally dedicated to construction as a building site manager, and lately in the supervision of railway works, he did not want to miss this train from El Diamante, no pun intended. "I thought it would be nice to invest the 10/15 years I have left of my working life in continuing a story like this. Now was the time," acknowledges Rafael López Taza, who had his first experience in the hospitality industry at just 25 years old, when he set up his own bar.

Rafael López Taza, former senior brother of La Cena, takes over the business, which will offer tapas at noon.

He now assures that he does not plan to "change the imprint" of El Diamante, but he does intend to give it a "facelift." By that he means cleaning, painting, and making better use of the spaces. As for the menu, there will also be some novelties. He emphatically agrees to keep the breakfasts, but also plans to open at noon.

"It used to be done, so we are going to bring it back with a concept of tapas based on local products, from the local pantry, that will be the strength," Rafael López Taza advances, with the intention of making El Diamante a meeting point again for families, friends, work colleagues... a place to share." And, he warns, with competitive prices.

• More topics
• Restaurants
• Gastronomy
• Málaga