El Cangrejo
Calle Habana
29780 Nerja
El Cangrejo is on calle Habana, a side street off calle Cristo almost as you reach Plaza Cantarero.
The bar looks quite innocuous from the outside, but once you step through the door you’ll find it is quite large and with a vibrant, local atmosphere. It gets very crowded at lunchtimes.
Fish is the speciality although numerous meat and salad dishes are also on offer. The range of tapas is excellent and are included in the price of beer and wine.
They also serve raciones and full meals.
Sue says:
a little gem of a spanish establishment
Diane Dean says:
Great bar, delicious tapas!!
Danstheman says:
Love this place. Frequented mainly by locals but extremely welcoming to those tourists who do go i, absolutely nothing to be daunted about. Great selection of drinks & tapas.
Anne McMahon says:
A very good tapas bar, always good food and excellent tapas, super busy a lunch time, nice owners and a good selection of drinks. busy with locals, worth a visit and not expensive at all.
Tony says:
Don’t pass this establishment by because of first impressions!
The Tapas especially the fish is fantastic and probably the freshest to be found out of the sea.
Steve says:
Another great tapas bar added to our ever growing list thanks to the positive comments on here. A warm welcome and a good variety of Tapas. The shark and ray were very nice
John says:
These reviews unfortunately do not conform with my own.The tapas are undoubtedly good but i found the service not at all friendly,in fact i felt it to be almost hostile especially from the older man whom i take to be the owner/father.I’ll not rush back.
Jim says:
I agree the old man does appear to give off very negative vibes but he once gave me a taste of some home made brew for free and mumbled something. I think he is just like that. The others are okay.
freddy booth says:
the tapas was nearly thrown at us! but it was very good that’s spain.
John says:
No Freddy,Cangrejo’s attitude problem is not at all representative of Spain.I have lived here over 7 years and have found the locals friendly,very polite civilized people.Try a central London pub for ‘service with a snarl’.
Barry says:
“No, John”, I have lived in both London and Nerja for over 20 years – I love the people of Nerja, but have found that over that period the service and friendliness in London bars, restaurants and shops is generally far better than in Spain. Whilst I love the traditional qualities of Spain, the Spanish need to modernise their attitude to customer service. Also the quality and variety for food and drinks is far greater in London. However, on the down side London lacks the glorious weather !
John says:
I agree that London is better for the extensive range of cuisine on offer but it’s a city of 10 million not a town of 200,000.On te other hand after lunch with a friend at ‘Zedel’-a beautiful Art Deco restaurant at the old Regent Palace Hotel we decided to have a coffee and brandy at Bar Italia on Frith Street.The expresso was good but you could hardly taste the ‘double brandy’ it was so small.The bill?£16.London can be great value but you have to have an intimate knowledge of it.
Regular VIsitor says:
I do not agree with the comments made, been coming to nerja for several years this is a favourite bar for me and my family, always made to feel welcome , perhaps you should stay in the uk. How can you compère nerja and London , there is no comparison . Stayed in London many times, nerja is far more friendly.
barry says:
I wouldn’t want to be as prickly as Reg Ularvisitor, and suggest people should ‘stay in the UK’, but it is actually very easy to compare Nerja and London, especially if you have lived in both places for 25 years, as my family have. The tapas in London is considerably better than most in Nerja, but a lot more expensive, and the service and politeness in London is now far more evident than in Spain. And being a large city London benefits from a wealth of other cuisines. But we still love Nerja, it is not supposed to mimic a huge city, God forbid.
Also for amusement, compare the picture of El Cangrejo and food above with http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/londons-best-tapas-1
Lynne says:
Hi, I live in Benamocarra, 30 minutes drive from Nerja, 15 minutes inland from Torre del Mar. It is a totally Spanish village and has many bars serving tapas at very reasonable prices – ie cheap!! It is not a tourist place so you need to speak Spanish – Benamocarran actually. Come here and experience the real Spain.
barry says:
Sounds good, not been to Benamocarran, so will make an effort to get there – it will be good for my Spanish too.
John Chairfear says:
One of the best kept secrets in Nerja. As authentic as it gets. Tasty tapas and speedy service. What more could you want? Oh, yes. Sturdy metal chairs!