Malaga has the best beach bar in Spain in 2025: this is El Balneario de los Baños del Carmen

The best among the best. If these past days we recalled the best beach bars in Málaga this past year, we now know the best beach bars in all of Spain in 2025, with a pleasant surprise for the city. The Balneario de los Baños del Carmen has been recognized in this edition of the Tapas Best Chiringuito 2025 awards as the best of all, synonymous not only with excellence and authenticity, but also with the best cuisine just meters from the beach and the sea.

"Founded in 1918 and with a privileged location facing the Mediterranean, the Balneario de los Baños del Carmen stands out for its cuisine that combines tradition and avant-garde, with offerings such as sardine skewers, fried fish, or their most innovative creations," highlighted by Tapas, in an event that took place this past Monday where El Balneario was crowned as the best beach bar in all of Spain in 2025.

From Tapas, they remember the symbol that was and is El Balneario, which "revolutionized the concept of leisure in Málaga by allowing men and women to share space for bathing in the sea" for the first time, thus becoming "a meeting point for the Málaga bourgeoisie, offering such innovative facilities as a dance floor or a Jerez wine fountain."

El Balneario is today managed by Gerardo Lumbreras –responsible for collecting the Tapas Best Chiringuito 2025 award– along with other entrepreneurs and "continues to be a beloved place for the people of Málaga, with a great gastronomic offer by the sea." It is worth remembering that the restaurant has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest for its ethnological value.

Two other beach bars from Málaga on the list

El Balneario has been recognized as the best in Spain in this edition of Tapas Best Chiringuito 2025 but it was not the only one from the province of Málaga that made the list. Both El Saladero, in Caleta de Vélez, and La Milla, in Marbella, were also included in a list with 25 notable names.

"A small white house on the sand, paper tablecloth, and the smell of skewered sardines floating in the air. So simple and so perfect," they say about El Saladero at Tapas, from which the Michelin-starred chef Dani Carnero asserts that it is "the best beach bar in Málaga". Pay attention to the recommendations they offer: "Fried anchovies, langoustines, prawns, razor clams, shrimp and leek croquettes, potatoes with scarlet shrimp and fried egg, or the legendary tuna with tomato."

On the other hand, about La Milla they highlight that "it is not easy to maintain a decade on the front line," as done by Luis Miguel Menor and César Morales, leaders of the project where "seafood and fish of the day, skewers, fried dishes dominate...". "In the cellar, more than 900 references await you. On the sand, beds and under the palapa, the luxury of eating well, by the sea, and doing so in one of the greats of Andalusia," they conclude.

All the beach bars in Spain recognized as Tapas Best Chiringuito 2025

• Be Papagayo
• Beso Beach
• Blue Bar
• Cala Clémence
• Cala Jóncols
• Ca’s Patró March
• Cap Sa Sal
• El Balneario
• El Cranc
• El Miradoriu
• El Puntal
• El Refugio
• El Saladero
• Es Bruc
• Es Fumeral
• Jondal
• La Fontanilla
• La Milla
• La Siesta
• La Xancla
• Marxa
• Oli Ba Ba
• Ses Boques
• Toc Al Mar
• Xuroy

*In bold, the beach bars recognized from the province of Málaga.