Papalo — Restaurant in Nerja

It is nice to see this space being used again after it being closed for a number of years. We have lots of memories of it, both as Sollun and as the tapas place where we first got to love jamon, manchego, mejillones etc, so looked forward to being back here.

The amuse boche we were offered was amazingly tasty it was a small round Queso de Cabra con nuez y balsamic. A great way to start.

I then opted for the Papalo’s Antipasti for my next course. A nice mix of three meats, two cheeses, pickles and olives served with hummus and flatbread drizzled with olive oil. Yum, yum.

My partner opted for Ensalada estilo tailandes - a thai beef salad. He thought the red cabbage was tasty, the meat was soft and perfect, the peanuts were crunchy, but he felt it lacked the nam pla and chillies that would have made it a real thai dish. So, it was more like an English attempt at Thai, rather than a real Thai flavour.

I opted for Paletilla de Cordero deshuesada con pure de coliflor, tufa negra, patas bebé y aciete de cebolleta, I realised this was pulled lamb not on the bone, but on reflection I shouldn't have relied on the menu but asked what they were putting in it. As the lamb tasted more of sweetness than of any other flavour. I don't know how you can take the lamb flavour out of lamb, but they managed it. The baby spuds and the herbs were nice, though not a very generous portion.

My partner had Trio de pescado y hierbas al vapor, crema de verduras, patatas especias - the three fish were sea bass, cod and salmon each was well cooked in its own right. The flavours were again turned down, perfectly nice, but not exciting. The sea bass had a nice crisp skin and the other fish were also perfectly cooked, but the sauce lacked any punch, the flavours needed to be turned up a little, as it seemed bland for what could have been a delightful flavour.

Our dinner was served with a very small bowl of bok choy y guisantes.

For dessert my partner opted for Mousse de chocolate blanco con frambuesa y mango - the chocolate tweels was wonderful and the rich chocolate itself was delightful. The coulis was more like a fruit soup than a sauce but there was enough chocolate on the plate to make him happy.

I opted for the Plato de queso and this had five very nice cheeses on the dish. A sheep's cheese, a soft goat's cheese, a manchego, a hard cow's cheese and a blue cheese. These were served by oat crackers, which were very tasty and were a very generous portion.

Overall - this place is on our list for the future, but we won't be rushing back. There were a few misses in flavour terms, but the ambience was lovely, the service attentive and the general...

If I could give Pápalo Restaurant in Nerja more stars, I would! I went with my daughter on a Saturday evening and everything from start to finish was superb. The menu I found, had the right amount of dishes to choose from and not overly elaborate. To start, I chose the goats cheese salad and my daughter chose the prawns. Both were divine! Packed full of flavour and using only the freshest ingredients.

For our main course, we both chose a fish dish, myself the salmon and my daughter the cod. Again, I was bowled over by the flavours! My salmon was succulent and cooked to perfection served with beautiful crunchy broccoli, and bok choy with baby new potatoes in a tandoori crust. In fact, the best salmon I have ever tasted. All the flavours packed a subtle punch, with the melt in the mouth salmon still retaining it's flavour.

I must mention the wonderful presentation of each dish, works of art that had been put together with love and care. The service was first class. Unobtrusive but attentive with an easy going vibe.

Dessert was a shared dish of creamy chocolate ice cream finished off with a white chocolate tweel. Perfect!

I recommend anyone who visits Nerja to check out Pápalo, definitely a restaurant to add to your list.

Thanks Pápalo for an unforgettable dining experience, we...

We stayed one night in Nerja and I was so happy that Papalo was open for dinner. We had a fantastic meal and the service was excellent.

We were warmly greeted on arrival and given a choice of tables to sit at. Immediately the menus and wine list were brought, there was a very good range of wines by the glass at very reasonable prices. We chose a delicious verdejo.

We explained to our delightful English waitress that my husband does not have much appetite at the moment and she was extremely understanding. We both chose the ceviche as a starter which was full of interesting flavours and beautifully presented. After I had finished, my main course of turbot, new potatoes and vegetables was brought which was also delicious. The turbot was perfectly cooked and was a really tasty fillet of fish.

Totally unexpectedly our waitress poured me a complimentary glass of wine to go with my main course which was a very kind thing to do.

To finish off such a wonderful dinner I chose the chocolate mousse dessert which was spectacular and we both enjoyed it to the full.

This was a perfect last dinner of our holiday and I thoroughly recommend you go there if you can. Thank you to all the staff who gave us such a...