Mercado Municipal de Marbella — Local services in Marbella

This is a review I write with considerable reluctance. We have been coming to Marbella for well over 15 years, and almost always visit the market. The market has always been a highlight for us - generally high quality and friendly. In the last couple of years a feature of the market has been that some of the fish market stalls now offer their produce for consumption on site, which is a plus. We visited one such stall today - see photo below. Food was very fresh and good but we honestly felt we deliberately and completely ripped off. It was my wife and I and our 8 year old son (who barely ate). We had octopus and some tuna sashimi, which were pretty expensive at €24 and €18, respectively. But we didnt complain about those pretty high prices (for comparison, we had the same quantity and quality of octopus in a restaurant in Marbella the night before for €16.) However, the bill initially included a charge of €70 euros just for 2 large prawns (yes 2 prawns, 70 Euros...). We said that particular item was surely mistaken. They then weighed two identical prawns at 290g, suggesting these prawns were over c€220 per kilo - huh? They then brought back a revised and unexplained bill, charging €56 for 2 prawns, which is c€180 per kilo, which is still absurd. They not only had no price list but, by this stage, did not even display the retail price of the prawns for purchase for consumption off site (which is surely illegal under consumer law). I have very reluctantly come to the conclusion that we were deliberately shaken down, and that this is not a reputable business but one that opportunistically seeks to rip off tourists. AVOID this place at all costs. I hate having to say this about a small business - not least since it may affect other (honest) businesses in the market - but people should be aware of this particularly dishonest and underhand stall. We speak basic Spanish so it was not ignorance on our part. We have also, as noted, visited the market for many years and have purchased similar prawns of similar quality and size before in the UK for for...

This place is amazing for food lovers, more so if you like to cook your own food. Seafood market is great with the variety that I could never see in UK, most products are fresh, foraged mushroom are amazing but you may find warm inside portobello mushroom (a necessary evil :( try red shrimp which are expensive but really big and fresh, there are few spice shop and artisan knife shop inside, parking nearby is expensive, the market closes by 3 pm, so... Early bird get the worm!! The cheese and wine shop is worth a try if you love local cheese with Rioja, the cheese and wine is moderately priced but definitely better than super marckets, most of the hard cheese are produced locally from sheep and goats milk bursting with flavour. If you fancy you can try rabbit and suckling lamb meat which is sold by the local vendors in the market. You will definitely find many things that satisfies your cullinary/ gustatory inquisitive thinking and you will not be...

Der Mercado Municipal de Marbella ist ein echter Geheimtipp für alle, die frische, regionale Produkte lieben und das authentische spanische Markterlebnis suchen. Der Markt ist nicht riesig, aber genau das macht ihn so charmant – er fühlt sich nicht überlaufen oder touristisch an, sondern eher wie ein Ort, an dem Einheimische ihren täglichen Einkauf erledigen.

Was mir besonders gefallen hat: • Frische und Qualität: Die Fischstände sind unglaublich gut sortiert – fangfrischer Fisch und Meeresfrüchte in bester Qualität. Die Metzgereien bieten hochwertiges Fleisch, von iberischem Schinken bis zu hausgemachten Chorizos. Auch das Obst und Gemüse ist saisonal und von erstklassiger Frische. • Atmosphäre: Es gibt keinen übertriebenen Trubel, aber ein lebendiges, freundliches Markttreiben. Die Verkäufer sind hilfsbereit und beraten gerne – besonders an den Fischständen bekommt man oft Tipps zur Zubereitung. • Preise: Im Vergleich zu Supermärkten bekommt man hier oft bessere Qualität zu fairen Preisen. Natürlich gibt es Luxusprodukte, die teurer sind, aber für frische Lebensmittel lohnt sich der Besuch auf jeden Fall. • Tapas-Bars und kleine Essensstände: Einige Stände bieten kleine Gerichte an, die man direkt vor Ort genießen kann – von frischem Fisch bis zu iberischem Schinken mit einem Glas Wein.

Was man beachten sollte: • Öffnungszeiten können variieren, daher lohnt es sich, vorher nachzusehen. Sonntags ist der Markt meistens geschlossen. • Am besten früh kommen, um die größte Auswahl zu haben, besonders bei Fisch und Meeresfrüchten.

Fazit: Wer Marbella nicht nur von der touristischen Seite kennenlernen will, sollte dem Mercado Municipal definitiv einen Besuch abstatten. Es ist der perfekte Ort, um frische, hochwertige Lebensmittel zu kaufen oder einfach nur das lokale Flair...