A campero is the sandwich Málaga grew up on: a round, flat bun filled with ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato and a sauce, then pressed on the hotplate until the bread crunches. British visitors will recognise a toastie, Americans a grilled sub. At Mafalda, on the Pedregalejo seafront, the basic one costs 5.50 euros, the same as its normal burger with lettuce and tomato.
Where can I eat a campero in Malaga, and what does it cost? Mafalda, Paseo Marítimo El Pedregal 71, sells the basic campero for 5.50 euros from 6.30pm, closed Tuesdays. MYA, Calle Bolivia 79, charges 5 euros from 7.30pm. In the old town, Hamburguesería El Faro, Calle Nosquera 10, asks 6.50 euros, and Carpanta, Calle Martínez de la Rosa 81, 4.60, every night.
Malaga eats its camperos for dinner, on the Spanish clock. Mafalda opens at 6.30pm, MYA Pedregalejo at 7.30pm and Carpanta at 7.45pm, so a lunchtime campero on a weekday is hard to find. Prices are low: the basic ranges from 4.30 euros at Campero Die to 6.50 at El Faro, and fries are almost always extra.
What a campero is, and how it compares with a burger
A campero is closer to a pressed panini than to a burger. The bun is round like a burger bun but flat, and it goes on the hotplate with the filling inside. The basic one, the normal on Spanish menus, holds cooked ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato; Mafalda and MYA add grilled onion and alioli, a garlic mayonnaise, while Carpanta uses its homemade mayonnaise.
Many campero places are burger joints too, and the prices sit side by side. Mafalda sells its basic burger for 4.50 euros and the basic campero for 5.50; Carpanta lists the plain burger at 5 euros and the campero at 4.60. For thick burgers and smash burgers, see where to eat a burger in Malaga.
What to order the first time
Order the normal first: it is the version you can compare from one place to the next. On a second visit, go for the house special. Mafalda’s Mafaldón, 8.50 euros, piles a French omelette, bacon, chicken, ham and cheese into the bun. The MYA, 7 euros, combines a French omelette, bacon and chicken fillet, and MYA also makes a campero with Spanish potato omelette cooked to order for 7.50 euros.
Manme and Andrés, who ran Mafalda for years, opened MYA in Calle Bolivia with the camperos their regulars kept asking for, so the two menus look alike. The campero is one of the typical dishes of Malaga and what to order; at breakfast the local bread roll is a different one, the pitufo, covered in Malaga breakfast and how to order coffee.
How ordering works at a campero counter
Do not wait for a waiter. Mafalda posts its rules in Spanish and English, and they work like this:
- Order and pay at the counter. There is no table service, and you pay when you order.
- Take your number. It comes printed with your order.
- Collect with the ticket. You hand it in when your number is called for your food.
MYA also serves at the bar, and its website has an English version with the full menu.
Takeaway is normal. MYA prepares your order if you phone 744 669 257 first. Carpanta’s ordering website quotes 20 minutes for pickup and delivers within 5 kilometres for orders from 12 euros, with a 2.50-euro delivery charge. Campero Die also offers pickup and delivery.
When campero places open
Mafalda opens from 6.30pm to 11.30pm and closes on Tuesday. MYA opens from 7.30pm to midnight and closes on Wednesday and Thursday. Carpanta opens every day from 7.45pm to 11.45pm. So on a Tuesday in Pedregalejo, go to MYA; on a Wednesday or Thursday, go to Mafalda.
El Faro, Campero Die and Rosario’s put no hours on their menus, so ring before going: 951 717 380, 951 572 361 and 952 28 93 57. The local lunch and dinner timetable is in Malaga meal times.
How much a campero costs in Malaga
A basic campero costs 4.30 to 6.50 euros, and the dearest house specials 6.90 to 8.60 euros, on each place’s own menu.
| Campero place | Address | Basic campero | House special | Gluten-free or meat-free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campero Die | Calle Popa 1, Los Prados | 4.30 euros | Cabra, 6.90 euros | gluten-free bun, 1.50 euros extra |
| Carpanta | Calle Martínez de la Rosa 81 | 4.60 euros | Carpantita, 8.50 euros | ask about gluten-free when ordering |
| Rosario’s Burger | Calle Martínez Maldonado 47 | 4.60 euros | Increíble, 8.50 euros | separate gluten-free kitchen, basic 6.10 euros |
| MYA | Calle Bolivia 79, Pedregalejo | 5 euros | MYA, 7 euros | gluten-free bun, 1.50 euros extra |
| Mafalda | Paseo Marítimo El Pedregal 71 | 5.50 euros | Mafaldón, 8.50 euros | gluten-free bun, 1.50 euros extra; vegan soy campero, 9 euros |
| Hamburguesería El Faro | Calle Nosquera 10, old town | 6.50 euros | Pulled pork, 8.60 euros | falafel vegetarian 7.50 euros, vegan 7.80 euros |
Fries add up. Mafalda charges 3 euros for a half portion, Campero Die 3.20, MYA 3.50 for a portion and Carpanta from 2.10. El Faro sells each campero as a meal with a drink and fries for 4.40 euros more, so the ham one goes from 6.50 to 10.90 euros. For other set-price meals, see cheap eats in Malaga, and for sit-down restaurants, where to eat in Malaga.
Getting there without a car
Only El Faro is a walk from the old town, 227 metres from Plaza de la Constitución. Mafalda and MYA are about 4 kilometres east, on EMT bus lines 3 and 11 from the Alameda Principal towards El Palo. The Elcano - Pedregalejo stop is 60 metres from MYA and Elcano - Los Galanes 186 metres from Mafalda.
After dinner, the N1 night bus covers the same route back, and the fares, from the single ticket to the ten-trip top-up, are in the Malaga bus network. Carpanta has the Martínez de la Rosa - Berrocal stop, lines 15, 18 and C1, 84 metres away, and Campero Die the Los Prados - Colegio stop, line 20, 117 metres away. To choose between the two seaside districts, see Pedregalejo or El Palo.
Which campero place suits your plan
- Staying in the old town. El Faro, Calle Nosquera 10, with falafel vegetarian and vegan camperos at 7.50 and 7.80 euros.
- A late dinner by the sea. MYA, until midnight, except Wednesday and Thursday; then walk on to the Pedregalejo and El Palo beach bars.
- With children. Carpanta has a 6-euro kids’ meal with a hot dog, 4 nuggets or a ham-and-cheese toastie, juice or water and small fries, plus lunch on Saturday and Sunday. More in Malaga with kids.
- Coeliac. Rosario’s Burger on Martínez Maldonado 47 cooks gluten-free in a separate area with its own grill and fryer; more options in gluten-free Malaga.
- Cheapest. Campero Die at 4.30 euros, but it is in Los Prados, 5.2 kilometres from the centre.
What you might not like
- Garlic. The basic campero at Mafalda and MYA comes with alioli; Carpanta and Campero Die use mayonnaise.
- Size. A Mafaldón or a Carpantita, with omelette, bacon and chicken, is a full dinner; Rosario’s calls its 8.50-euro Increíble giant.
- Self-service. Counter ordering at Mafalda means no waiter and no table service: you collect your own tray by number.
- The commute. Pedregalejo is about 4 kilometres from the centre: two bus rides for a sandwich, unless you pair it with the seafront.
Campero questions from first-time visitors
What is a campero in Malaga?
A campero is Malaga’s own sandwich: a round, flat bun filled with ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato and a sauce, then toasted on the hotplate. The basic one costs 4.30 euros at Campero Die, 5.50 at Mafalda in Pedregalejo and 6.50 at El Faro in the old town.
Where can I eat a campero near Malaga old town?
Hamburguesería El Faro, Calle Nosquera 10, is 227 metres from Plaza de la Constitución. Its ham campero costs 6.50 euros, or 10.90 as a meal with a drink and fries, and it has falafel vegetarian and vegan camperos at 7.50 and 7.80 euros.
Can I get a campero for lunch in Malaga?
Only at weekends among the places that publish hours. Carpanta, Calle Martínez de la Rosa 81, adds a 12.45pm to 3.45pm service on Saturday and Sunday, and Mafalda in Pedregalejo opens from 12.30pm to 4pm on Sunday. On weekdays both open in the evening.
Is there a gluten-free campero in Malaga?
Yes. Rosario’s Burger at Calle Martínez Maldonado 47 runs a separate gluten-free kitchen with its own grill and fryer, where the basic campero costs 6.10 euros. Mafalda, MYA and Campero Die charge 1.50 euros extra for a gluten-free bun.
Do I need to speak Spanish to order a campero?
Not at the two Pedregalejo places. Mafalda posts its counter rules in Spanish and English: order and pay at the counter, take a number and collect your food with the ticket. MYA has an English version of its website with the full menu, and takes takeaway orders on 744 669 257.
Pick your campero by which night each place closes, not by price: the basic one differs by barely 2.20 euros.