If there is one drink to try in Nerja, make it a tinto de verano: red wine with lemon soda, served over ice, ideally at a beach bar. Our favourite place for one is Playa Vilches, where we order a tinto de verano con limón with lunch. Here are the drinks we love on the Costa del Sol and where we like to have them.
Tinto de verano means "summer red", and it is exactly that: an easy, refreshing mix of red wine and a fizzy soda over ice. Ask for it con limón and it comes with lemon soda. It is lighter than a full glass of wine and perfect in the heat of the day.
Our favourite spot is the beach bar at Playa Vilches, a small, relaxed beach about a minute from our house by car. Sit down for lunch, order a tinto de verano con limón and pair it with paella or something from the BBQ, which are the popular choices there.
Coffee with milk is the everyday Spanish coffee. In Nerja we order it with fresh orange juice and tostada con tomate at Anahi for a classic breakfast, or after lunch at El Mirador de Guilche, where we finish with chocolate cake and a café con leche. Our guide to breakfast in Nerja has more coffee spots, including our favourite specialty café.
On the coast, fish and white wine simply belong together. Two of our favourite pairings:
Fish with your feet in the sand. Our order is the grilled dorada with fries and salad, and a glass of white wine.
Rustic and relaxed, with Moroccan cooking by the beach. We share the seafood platter with the house white wine. At the time of writing it was lunch only.
For more places like these, see our guide to beach restaurants in Nerja.
Esquina Paulina, in the heart of Nerja, is our favourite for a glass of red with a sharing platter, but it is also where we go for a mojito. They make cocktails really well, and the small terrace is the right place to sit and watch Nerja go by. For a cocktail with a view, Lamalaka on the Balcón de Europa is lovely before dinner.
In some bars in Nerja, a drink comes with a small tapa on the house. At Los Barriles, every drink comes with a little something, and at La Rienda you get a free tapa with each drink if you sit at the high tables (at the low tables you order from the menu). It is not universal, so do not expect it everywhere, but it is one of the nicest local habits to discover. We have a whole guide to free tapas in Nerja.
If you are planning a whole evening, read our guide to sunset drinks in Nerja and our list of wine bars in Nerja.
Our last tip is the simplest: do not overthink it. Order what the people at the next table are having, ask for a recommendation, and let a drink turn into a long, slow afternoon. That is very much the Nerja way.
Playa Vilches is about a minute from Casa Joya by car, so a beach-bar tinto de verano is never far away. Back at the house, the private terrace has a small table for drinks and tapas and a view of the sea, which is where we like to end the day. Have a look at our holiday home in Nerja and imagine your own sunset drink there.
Tinto de verano is red wine mixed with a fizzy soda and served over ice. Ask for it con limón for lemon soda. It is a light, refreshing summer drink.
Our favourite is the beach bar at Playa Vilches, where we order a tinto de verano con limón with lunch. Most beach bars along the coast will serve one.
Some do. At Los Barriles every drink comes with a small tapa, and at La Rienda you get a free tapa at the high tables. Not every bar does it, so check before you order.