ONE OF THE PUEBLOS BLANCOS
The white Andalusian village of Ojén is a good 10 minutes drive from Marbella and the coast of the Costa del Sol. Straight up in the Mountains.
This idyllic location offers the advantage of being close to the lively tourist scene that thrives in this part of Spain without having to be in the middle of it.
Driving along the last winding mountain road, the village suddenly appears before you, white against the green mountainside.
AUTHENTIC SPAIN
Despite the amount of tourism Ojén has been barely influenced. “This is still real Spain” as they say.
A village square where you can sit and enjoy your “Cafe con Leche” in the early morning or your ice cold glass of San Miguel in the late afternoon. Where the Spanish children are playing aroud the fountain. Restaurants where you can still fill the table with tapas for a reasonable price so much so that you don’t need a meal afterwards!
Ojén has a large car park, directly next to the Centro Urbano , and less than 5 minutes walk to the main square. Don’t try to find your way through a maze of small streets in your car – charming as they are!
The coast isn’t the only thing which is quick and easy to get to from Ojén, but also almost 50 golf courses that are to be enjoyed in the Costa del Golf, Malaga airport and the national park of Sierra de las Nieves to name but a few notable things.
RESTAURANTS IN OJÉN
On the main road in Ojén, but especially around the church and the Plaza de Andalucía be found. Many restaurants Mainly specializing in tapas and raciones. Nice to try all portions to share together.
PLAZA DE ANDALUCIA
El Calabazo: opposite the church. Lunch in the sun and also open in the evenings but small capacity inside. El Calabazo is also open at around 19:00 when all the other restaurants are closed. Nice varied Spanish cuisine, specially raciones (portions) and tapas. If something is not on the menu or on big boards, just ask Paqui. Closed on Thursdays.
Just behind El Calabazo is the Vikingo restaurant. The Danish owner, Nikolai has started an Argentinian restaurant with his wife (Argentinian). For a nice piece of meat from the grill, this is an absolute must. The salads are well stocked and the pastas are fresh. Closed on Tuesdays
El Portero is situated next to the fountain. Nice terrace, simple but tasteful food. Outside television, popular during sports-events. Try the gamba’s Pil Pil. On Thursdays it´s closed.
Next to the church is Bar Diego. It is always open and if in the evening, you find the door closed, just push and you will find Carmen within. There is no menu but she will serve some good Spanish food. It doesn’t have a big capacity inside but it has a fabulous terrace.
Next to El Portero is El Fuente, popular because of the morning sun. Coffee and sandwiches with cheese, garlic, tomato and olive-oil.
CALLE CARRERA
Close to the square, on the main road, you’ll find Antico Mulino. Owner Massimo offers delicious pizza’s and Italian icecream. You can sit inside as well as outside. Closed on wednesdays.
Next door there is Tetería Pinchos y Chocolate. They serve very tasty daily specials and others small bites, nice cakes and pancakes during the day.
When you follow Calle Mesones till the end, and there 50 meters uphill to the left, you will arrive in El Tunel. The owner, Rado, speaks good English and he will be happy to serve you his best dishes. He has pizzas, charcoal dishes and Spanish specialties. Possibilities inside and outside. Closed on Tuesdays
Next to the Farmacia is the Panadería. Fresh coffee on the terrace, with or without a sandwich. Also sandwiches “to take”.
In the adjacent restaurant is Asador Daki. He has delicious chickens on the spit, but the Italian cook also makes fresh daily specials. Ask if he prepares a tapas platter.
On the square, you will find Bar Ojén, that´s where the whole village meets.
Going for a late-night drink? Bar Santos is opened till the early hours. Big screen TV for football (always) and cool drinks.
At El Vecino you can order kebab the way you like, with excellent service.
CALLE CARRETERA (MAIN UPPER ROAD)
Along the main road above the centre, we can recommend Gau Txori. Bar/Restaurant with fine steaks.
If you walk a little to the left, you will find Castillo Solis on the other side of the street. This is a restaurant where a the villagers come. Perhaps the restaurant with the tastiest local dishes. Order half portions of everything and, do it the Spanish way: share!
The restaurant at the pool, Fogon de Flore, on the sports centre, has a good reputation.
MARBELLA RESTAURANTS
Marbella has a lot of restaurants, We can advise you where to go, depending on the desire to go into the city, to the beach or into the mountains.
Highly recommended:
Pinchos y Chocolate
Veerle and Richard, who have been with us at the hotel 9La Posada del Angel) for several years, have taken over the Tetería on the corner since October 2018. The Tetería was known for its delicious crepes, but nowadays they also offer homemade cakes and cookies, perfect with a cup of coffee or one of the many fresh tea varieties. But they serve also very tasty daily specials and others small bites. Haro, their friendly dog, keeps an eye on everything.
The Pinchos are prepared with local products and are a little different from the colleagues that can be found on the square. In addition, you will also find a variety of well-filled salads, sandwiches and poké bowls (a traditional dish from Hawaii, where fresh fish in cubes and vegetables are central)
The terrace is a great spot to relax with an ice cold beer, a good glass of wine or a tasty Gin Tonic, surrounded by de locals from the village.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 16.00 – 00.00 – Wednesday and Thursday closed
Hotel La Posada del Angel
In the hotel chef Alex cooks two or three days a week. Mostly dinner is served at the lovely patio or inside on cold evenings. He offers a 4-course dinner, a daily special and the famous paella night in summer. For more information and reservations you can inquire at the reception of the hotel.
THE MOUNTAINS
Sierra de las Nieves
The Sierra de las Nieves Nacional Park stretches from the hills of Marbella, in the mountain village of Ojén, to Tolox and to Malaga and in the north to Ronda. In the middle of the 202 km2 area, you can find the highest peak, la Torrecilla, of almost 2000 meters high.
Apart from a few villages, which form a rural mountain community, this isolated area is largely uninhabited, and has seen very little human influence or activity, such as agricultural cultivation. For this reason, it has an unusually rich variety of indigenous flora (pine, fir, ash, chestnut, wild olive and oak trees, as well as juniper) and fauna, including mountain goat and mouflon.
As the name, “Sierra de Las Nieves” suggests, the park is sometimes snow-covered in winter (especially in January and February). The snow used to remain solid a lot of time. The snow that fell in Winter was stored in Spring in snow wells to use in Summer. Until the fifties, that snow was transported by donkeys through the routes to be used as a coolant for the warehouses on the coast to keep fish and meat fresh. There are still wells in the Park, some of them have been recovered and reconstructed so this old craft does not fall into oblivion. Nowadays, the place is mainly used for hiking trails.
