Saladentro — Restaurant in Málaga

Unimaginative, overpriced and flavourless!

Having read other people’s reviews I felt the need to write about my own experience because I have a very different opinion. I eat everything personally but I am a general foodie and I really appreciate good vegetarian and vegan food. When my friend told me about this restaurant and showed me photos I was really excited and went in with high expectations. €27 for a five course menu sounded good to me, although for Málaga this could be considered a little pricey. The meal started on a fairly good note, a strawberry and beetroot gazpacho style cold soup which had good flavour and served as a good amuse bouche, even if it was not a very big serving or filling at all. The second plate was probably the best, a Málaga style “Russian Salad” but made without the seafood/fish used in typical “rusa”, the flavour was good and the idea interesting but once again the serving pretty small and lacking in anything filling. The third plate was without doubt the worst, two very thinly sliced pieces of grilled courgette with what the chef described as a “tomato jam” on top (but seemed to have the flavour of Mercadona’s tomate frito - the cheaper variety) with some tiny cubes of cheap supermarket style brie as a garnish. Not only did the flavour combination not really work but also this dish struck me as incredibly unimaginative and basic, with all of us thinking “I could make this… and I could make this better than this”. I couldn’t help but starting to feel at this point “are we going to be eating anything that fills us up this evening or will we be leaving starving?”. The fourth plate was tortiglioni pasta with a creamy pesto style sauce and some grated cheese. The taste was good - I made a very similar dish at home just last week! When the dish was served you could actually count the individual pieces of pasta in each bowl… 13! As a regular buyer of Mercadona’s tortiglioni pasta I am also 99% sure this was bought from Mercadona, as I was beginning to think the majority of the meal was. A minuscule portion of shop bought pasta with a half decent sauce that I can (and do) make at home. When we were served this dish the chef also announced this was “the final plate of the menu” and that there was a dessert but you must pay extra for this. We were a little confused and I assumed that the olives we received at the beginning were being considered the first course, however after sitting chatting for another half an hour we then noticed the table next to us receive a couscous dish that we had not had. When we asked the chef he was very apologetic and said he’d actually completely forgotten to serve us the fourth plate and skipped straight to the pasta. We waited another 15 minutes and then he brought us the couscous too. We needn’t have waited for the forgotten course, couscous grains with finely chopped gherkins and some paprika dusted over the top. Given the 45 minute wait I was without doubt hungrier after this extra course than I had been before it. In addition to the food we all drank wine. The red was a very drinkable rioja, the dry white I tried after was awful. Overall it was just a really poor restaurant experience. I don’t rate myself particularly highly in the kitchen but I could easily recreate at least 4/5 courses we ate. Moreover, despite the apology we received for the mistake on the fourth course, he didn’t offer any discount, free drink/dessert, not even for the birthday boy in our party which he was aware of! I have been to many restaurants in my life and I can categorically say this is the hungriest I have ever left one. There is no value for money, no invention and no depth of flavour whatsoever in the food. It’s no wonder Spanish people have such a negative view of vegetarian and vegan cuisine when this is what people think the best a city like Málaga has to offer. If you’re looking for great food with interesting flavours go to Mimo! (100% vegan, incredible flavour and an all round...

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As a vegan with several food allergies, eating out is often stressful and sometimes nearly impossible. Before visiting Saladentro, I sent an email to ask if there was anything I could safely eat. To my surprise, Manuel not only responded with kindness and understanding, but he also went above and beyond by preparing a completely personalized three-course menu just for me.

Each dish was beautifully crafted, full of flavor, and completely safe for my dietary needs which is something I rarely experience in restaurants. The care, creativity, and effort Manuel put into this meal truly made me feel welcome and looked after.

This was honestly some of the best food I have ever had in a restaurant, not only because it was delicious, but also because I could enjoy it with complete peace of mind.

Thank you, Manuel, for your dedication and for turning what could have been a stressful dining experience into a memorable and joyful one. Saladentro is a place I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone, but especially to those with special dietary needs who still want to enjoy...

Easily the best vegetarian meal and restaurant experience I've had in all of Europe. Everything was top notch - ambience, service, food. It's a cosy, intimate restaurant where the chef Manuel prepares and serves a 5-course meal. The chef also explains how each dish is prepared which is quite nice. All of the dishes were really well made and we enjoyed it a lot. The menu changes every month and it is shared on their Instagram account - if you would like to know before going. The attention to detail is amazing and everything was just perfect - even the amount of time between serving each course. And coming from London, we were pleasantly surprised looking at the bill. I would definitely recommend trying it...