By the time we arrived at 10pm the party was well and truly on it’s way, and party is the only way that you could describe the opening of La Barbera last night.

There is limited parking next to the restaurant, so if you do go I suggest that you park in the marina and enjoy a walk along the beach. It is certainly a nice way to arrive and depart the restaurant.

The restaurant, or Taberna to give it its correct title, is very clean and effectively a couple of large open spaces, one for the main restaurant (and small bar) and one for the main long bar. There is also a small enclosed dining area just off the main restaurant area.

We had a few questions we wanted answering before we got down to enjoying the festivities so let me get them out of the way first:

Yes - it is the old La Solea team back and it was great to see so many familiar faces
Yes - the menu is very similar i.e. Spanish to La Solea (you can check it out for yourself from 3pm onwards each day)
No - judging by the fact that 95% of the people there were Spanish I don’t think Paco is anticipating much English custom. You should surprise him though, it is a great place and he is a superb host, never a smile off his face!
No - La Barbera is not associated with the bar above, Escapate. The Escapate is run by the son of the owner of the property and La Barbera is rented off the father.

As for the evening - excellent!!! The food was very good indeed, jamon, lomo, croquets, deep fried thinly sliced vegetables, queso, crisps, bread and at the end a donut!

The drinks were the ‘usual’ red wine or beer, with some sparkling white wine provided at the end.

There was a very good band that played for the last hour, and with the outside terrace as full as the inside of the Taberna I wouldn’t like to guess how many people were there.

We recognised a few of the well know ‘important and glamorous’ people (no this is not going to turn into a Hello! post!!!!!), but the majority were the regulars from La Solea and all seemed to be the best of friends with Paco. The smile didn’t leave his face all night, and nor should it have! He works extremely hard as do his staff, including my latest ‘best friend’ who seemed to be under instruction to make sure that neither my plate or glass was ever empty!

All in all a very enjoyable evening in an extremely pleasant environment. A tip though - the toilets aren’t signed yet so as you look at them the gents is on the right.

Photos

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About Almerimar

Almerimar is located in the region of Andalucia, Spain. The nearest airport is 30km away in Almeria. Other airports that are within 3 hours include Malaga, Murcia, Granada, and Alicanti. Other holiday resorts in the region include Mojacar , Aguadulce and Roquetas de Mar

Almerimar is also one of the largest marinas in Spain with over 2,000 births and excellent boatyard facilities.