La Cabrera — Restaurant in Málaga

Absolutely awful. Plenty of superior restaurants and dining experiences to have throughout Malaga and Spain.

Party of 6 - Greeted by the manager and made a reservation for 20 minutes. We left and came back about 25 minutes later. The manager informed us we were late and it was "a long 20 minutes" (not in a joking manner). We apologized for the delay, which he ignored. Definitely set the tone.

When ordering, the manager was pushy and almost seemed offended that we didn't order wine, pointing to a plaque on the wall and claiming the restaurant is known for its wine. All 6 guests had placed their order for drinks and no one had shown interest in wine.

We ordered two starters to share among each other. Blood pudding and mince meat pastries. Quite bland but just a starter so we ignored it. When the manager asked one of the guests why they didn't finish she informed him it wasn't good. He didn't say anything and walked off...

3 guests ordered short ribs and, honestly, it was pitiful what came out. Chewy, bland and next to no meat. I understand the cut is fatty, but this was exceptionally bad. One of our party called the manager over and told him she was unhappy with the meal, to which he began to argue with her! Claiming 50 people have had no problem, suggested it's our fault.

He continued to bark various comments as he walked inside... At this point, we asked for the bill so we could all leave as none of the other party members were particular happy with their meals either and the atmosphere was completely ruined anyway... The manager then became agressive with one guest, before eventually going inside to get the bill so we could leave.

When we received the bill, we found the manager had charged €12 for a basket of bread which we didn't order and was just placed on our table. Two small white bread rolls, one small brown bread roll and two packets of small bread sticks... wow! Tourist trap? At this point, it wasn't even worth arguing. We paid and left as fast as we could.

Terrible experience, awful service, bland, tasteless and chewy food. My advice - Malaga is full of amazing restaurants with some of the best service around. 100s of options nearby which would have made for a much better experience.

This place isn't worth your time or money. AVOID

EDIT In reply to La Cabrera's pathetic response - A manager having "experience" is irrelevant when he can't control his temper, is pushy, arrogant, and simply can't accept criticism. True experience would have taught your manager how to quietly deal with situations rather than...

This used to be a great restaurant with excellent service. However, two recent visits have made it clear that you only get excellent service if you are ordering the really expensive steaks and wine. The head waiter (possibly the owner or manager) seems to assess you based on your initial order. The level of service you receive is deemed at that point. And I'm afraid our measly order costing €125 for two people just wasn't impressive enough for the main man. We ordered a mixed salad (which was expensive at €10 and was very basic, certainly not a €10 salad) and we felt partly bullied into ordering it. Note to owner - I can tell you about an Italian restaurant close by that serves a highly impressive mixed salad with top quality ingredients and presented well, at a much cheaper price. They might be able to offer you some advice. We ordered two medium striploin steaks described by the head waiter as "small". If they are "small" describe them as such on the menu, not as medium. We asked for both steaks to be cooked medium rare. When the steaks were served, fat wasn't rendered down, they were definitely small, and one of the steaks was very rare in our opinion. No consistency in the cooking, suggesting a lack of skill or care. You used to get a number of small dishes described as "on the house". These have been reduced and are hardly worth the bother anymore. They used to be excellent.

The dessert menu was given to us but no one bothered to take our order, so we paid and left. A €2 per person cover charge was applied to the bill. I'm not sure what that was for.

The first time we went to this restaurant a few years ago, we were really impressed with the service, food quality and cooking, and the little extras that made the place stand out. I'm afraid those days appear to be gone. We won't be back. We aren't keen on being treated as second...

Disappointing Experience – Overpriced and Overhyped

We visited on a Sunday and found the terrace completely empty. Wanting to enjoy their best dishes, we asked for a proper table outside. Despite several larger tables being available, the waiter insisted on seating us at a small table for two. We explained that we’d be ordering the large vaca rubia steak, along with wine and sides, and needed more space—but the waiter, who was quite impolite, refused our request.

We decided to move forward anyway and ordered the premium steak at €12 per 100g, expecting a great experience. Unfortunately, it was far from it. The meat arrived medium rare and was meant to be “finished” at the table, but the setup was incredibly poor—a small metal pan on a flimsy plastic tray stand that stayed hot for barely a minute. It wasn’t enough to cook the meat, just to warm it.

The wine (Marqués de Murrieta), fries, and avocado/tomato/palmito salad were all fine—but the steak was a major letdown. It was roughly 600g total, with at least a third of it just fat. The fat was burned and tough, possibly due to poor dry-aging technique. Calling this Argentinian meat is misleading.

As a lifelong meat lover, I’d strongly suggest avoiding the premium cuts here. This place feels more like a tourist trap than a true steakhouse. If you do visit, stick to basic dishes and skip anything that claims to be high-end meat like wagyu, T-bone, or lomo alto de vaca rubia.

I’ve attached photos to show what we experienced. Definitely not worth the hype...