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Keeping Kosher in Marbella, Spain

Contributed by: Ashley Spade | Last Date of Travel: June 2011

I recently returned from a trip to Marbella, Spain with a few classmates and my dog, Sir Winston Pugsalot. I know how hard it can seem to find Kosher food while traveling, especially depending on the country.

Luckily, my student health insurance agent is an observant Jew who’d spent some time in Spain and offered great tips on how to keep Kosher while traveling.

Kosher Info:

I found a local market to avoid eating out all the time, my favorite being Supermarché Kosher. I bought basic groceries like breads and deli meats that I could prepare and cook into kosher meals without leaving the hotel, plus they sold delicious kosher wine by the bottle. Attached to Supermarché Kosher, I found that Restaurante Shalom Kosher offered a Shabbat menu, did catering, carry out and import Kosher products from France and Israel as well as locally within Spain. We enjoyed a meal of hot pastrami sandwiches with a glass of wine while listening to noise from the casino down the street. Their website (linked above) offers a menu, certification and map of their location.

But, I didnt want to be a total spoil sport and never go out anywhere. The people I was traveling with were great about coming with me to try out a Kosher restaurant or two.

We found a few great Kosher restaurants that were either in Marbella or super close. The two restaurants I tried were The Delis Café and the Gourmet Deli. Both offered a wide variety of food and drinks. We had dinner one evening at the Gourmet Deli after spending a few bucks at el Corte Inglés shopping center just across the street. I had a turkey sandwich, a friend of mine had a corned beef sandwich and our other friend had roast beef. Myself, my dog and friends were all satisfied, so much so that we went back the next night and shared a huge brisket platter. The Delis Café had a lot of the same food with huge portions. We enjoyed stuffed cabbage one night along with roast turkey.

Tourist Info:

Marbella is a beautiful city with great weather, so nearly everything to do is outdoors, which is great if youre traveling with a pet.

Touring the Old Town is absolutely necessary. It was probably my favorite part of Marbella. Its narrow streets are lined with gorgeous old buildings, shops (interesting, not kitschy), flowers and street vendors. The beaches in Marbella are to die for. Im a beach snob, but these beaches were spectacular, especially the Paseo Maritimo beach.

We also checked out the Puerto Banus area, a few of the Kosher delis were there, but I didnt absolutely fall in love with it. Its much more developed and Touristy than the Old Town and some of the beaches. There is plenty to do there, but if you dont like crowds, it might not be your scene.

However, Puerto Banus does offer amazing boat and yacht cruises, which can be super affordable if youre going in with friends. Our captain was nice about letting me bring my dog, clad in his little life jacket. You can go fishing too, if thats your thing.

Jewish Info:

Though the Jewish community in Marbella is relatively small, there are synagogues, restaurants and markets.

I attended the Beth El Synagogue a few times while I was there and felt very comfortable and welcomed. The synagogue is also a great source of information for all things Kosher while you’re in Marbella. They’d be happy to help you out. Their website offers location information as well as more resources and a useful guide for navigating the Jewish community.

And most importantly, have fun and enjoy your time in Marbella!

About the author

ashspade

Ashley Spade is a blogger and law student who resides in Chicago. She spends her time studying, training for triathlons, and hanging out with her furry sidekick, Sir Winston Pugsalot the First, a mischievous pug. Follow their adventures on Twitter: @ashspade.

10 Comments

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  • Just an update – I think a few of the places you mention are closed now. This is what I know is available:-
    1. El Corte Ingles in Puerto Banus – well stocked kosher aisle including frozen meat. Can be rather expensive as everything is imported, so wise to take basics with you. They also have reasonably priced cookware for self catering. What they don’t tend to have is a lot of disposables.
    2. CashCash kosher shop and restaurant in Torremolinos – they have a butcher’s counter and a range of cheese
    3. Hotel PYR Marbella/Puerto Banus is a kosher hotel
    4. Gibraltar – filled with kosher shops and there’s also a British supermarket, Morrissons, where you can buy everyday products approved as kosher such as tinned tuna, olives and yoghurts which you need to be careful with in Spain due to non kosher additives (or the possibility that milk isn’t just from cows). There are also kosher restaurants including a meat restaurant which is only open on certain days and needs booking to ensure it’s open. It can be a shlep – it’s not far but the Spanish border police carefully manage the flow of traffic to make it difficult to travel – that’s politics for you.
    5. Chabad of Southern Spain – you can do a shop with them online between fixed dates pre-summer break and you can either collect it from a place near the airport or have it delivered. Food is imported from the UK, including meat, and prices were reasonable, plus a 10% charge. http://shaareiforum.com/costadelsol/
    6. Kosher list for Spain – only certain brands of milk, tinned vegetables and tuna are kosher so always check before you shop. http://www.cjmadrid.org/images/stories/pdfs/casherenmadrid.pdf
    7. Bread is really hard to get hold of unless you shlep to Gibraltar.

  • And a final point -there’s tons of fresh fish available in the supermarkets (although not all local which is a shame) so brush up on the Spanish names for kosher fish.

  • Are you still in business and kosher?We are planning to visit Spain in October 2015.
    Rivka

    • hi Rivka!
      Thanks to contact with us,

      Yes, We open 10.00 till 14.30 & afternoon 17.00 till 21.00, (shabbat & yom tob closed).

      In Malaga we have STRICTLY KOSHER BUTCHER ,
      DELICATESSEN, SUPERMARKET AND RESTAURANT HOME DELIVERY. If you want we
      can put some tables in our store and reserve place and you eat confortable (not for PASSOVER)

      We are located in Malaga (near corte ingles) calle montes de oca n 12,
      In Marbella we have FROZEN KOSHER BUTCHER ,
      DELICATESSEN & SUPERMARKET, In Marbella opening Sunday morning too.
      In Marbella (exit Casino de Marbella) Nueva Andalucia calle Iris corner
      Calle Azahar in Marbella only a supermarket

      We can do meals or kosher food,shabbat meals, or catering, we do home delivery.
      YOU CAN VISIT US AT http://WWW.DELIKOSHER.COM

  • There is a new kosher catering for the Shabbat in Marbella , u can contact them by whatsapp +34662439271 and also one new restaurant in Puerto called Bodega de Banus .

  • Bodega de Banus is located in the Heart of Puerto Banus , and offer delicious kosher hamburgers , authentics falafels and delicious shawarma.

  • New kosher catering in Marbella called Marbella Summer K , menus for Shabbat , delivery
    Whatsapp +34662439271

  • I just returned from a visit to the Costa Del Sol. (February 2017). I got all my food from Delikosher, delivered to my resort. They were an absolute pleasure to work with. They sent me their catalog in advance, I selected my order and everything was sent to my resort, and they even put the meats into the refrigerator for me since I was out touring. The challah was delicious. We had Shabbos and ate for 11 days like a mentsch. I brought some 9 x 13 pans with me as I had full kitchen facilities, and some pots. I ordered raw meats. They were fresh, lean and delicious. I got milk, eggs, soda, wine, snacks (chips, pretzels, chocolate, cake). margarine, bread. Everything I needed. It was a pleasure knowing I could have kosher food while traveling. (they also have a Shabbos menu and prepared foods). I got pizza and cheese as well. Nothing was lacking.