If your children eat dinner at 6pm, in Malaga that is the hour when most kitchens on this list are shut. El Ojopatio and Sushi Haya cook from 1pm to 4.30pm and again from 8pm, and La Curiosa stops lunch at 4pm. El Pimpi, on Calle Granada in the old town, is the exception: its kitchen runs from noon to 11.30pm, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.
A kid-friendly restaurant in Malaga is one that sorts out three things at once: a children’s dish with a price, room for a child to move, and food served when your child is hungry. El Ojopatio charges 4 euros a child for its play room, Sushi Haya lets children under 1 metre eat its buffet free, and Brunchit serves breakfast from 8.30am with no booking.
Where can you eat with kids in Malaga? El Pimpi in the old town serves food from noon to 11.30pm, so an early dinner works. El Ojopatio in Teatinos has a play room at 4 euros a child and kids’ dishes at 9 to 11 euros. Sushi Haya’s buffet is free for children under 1 metre, and Brunchit opens at 8.30am.
When Spanish kitchens serve, and the 5pm gap
El Ojopatio, Sushi Haya and La Curiosa serve lunch until 4pm or 4.30pm, and then their kitchens close until 8pm. The gap from 5pm to 8pm is the one that catches visiting families out.
There are three ways round it:
- Eat at El Pimpi, which cooks all afternoon.
- Go to El Ojopatio from Thursday to Sunday, when it serves snacks from 4.30pm to 7.30pm: Oreo or Kinder milkshakes at 7.50 euros and a Nutella sandwich at 3.
- Make lunch the main meal at Hacienda de la Torre, whose kitchen closes at 4.30pm.
Which place suits your child
For a child who plays on their own, El Ojopatio; for a small child who picks at everything, Sushi Haya; for a baby in a pushchair, Brunchit or El Pimpi in the old town. The table sets out what each place offers and how you get there without a car.
| Restaurant | Area and transport | Best for | For the child | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Pimpi | Old town, Calle Granada 62, Atarazanas metro about 675 m | Eating outside Spanish hours | Food noon to 11.30pm; kids’ menu 20 euros for groups | Yes, 952 225 403 |
| Brunchit Alcazabilla | Old town, Calle Alcazabilla 15 | Early breakfast with a baby | Kids Combos, kitchen from 8.30am | No bookings |
| El Ojopatio | Teatinos, El Cónsul metro about 450 m | A child who wants to play | Play room 4 euros, dishes 9 to 11 euros | Yes, online; groups 699 012 666 |
| Sushi Haya | Carranque, Carranque metro about 400 m | A small child who grazes | Buffet free under 1 metre, 11.95 to 13.95 euros up to 1.40 | Yes, online |
| La Favorita Huelin | Huelin seafront, La Isla metro about 540 m | A child with coeliac disease | Gluten-free and lactose-free menus | Yes, online or WhatsApp 690 194 606 |
| La Curiosa | Inacua sports centre, Palacio de los Deportes metro about 550 m | A long family lunch by the beach | Kids’ menu, terrace, parking | Yes, 634 44 68 99 |
| Hacienda de la Torre | Cártama, km 2 of the Cártama-Churriana road | A day out by car | Kids’ menu 12.90 euros up to age 12 | Yes, 657 085 077 |
The Malaga Metro has two lines, and five of these places are within about 700 metres of a stop; where the network does not reach is in what the Malaga metro covers. The Consorcio’s temporary free child pass requires legal residence in Spain, so it does not cover visiting children; which travel card suits a family, and the fares, are in getting around Malaga.
Where to eat in the old town with a pushchair
Brunchit’s Alcazabilla branch opens from 8.30am to 4pm, with food until 3.30pm, and its Calle Carretería 46 branch from 9am; neither takes bookings. The kids’ options are Kids Combos: Mini Hotcakes with banana and strawberries, topped with Nutella or maple syrup, or a Burger Petit, a brioche with a beef patty, double cheese and chips. Prices are not on its online menu, and the website has an English version.
El Pimpi is about 120 metres away at Calle Granada 62. A family on its own orders from the main menu, because the Gloria Fuertes kids’ menu, at 20 euros, exists only within group bookings: croquettes, fried eggs, grilled chicken and chips, a scoop of ice cream and a soft drink or water. What to order from the main menu is in El Pimpi in Malaga, and more early breakfast places are in brunch in Malaga. The streets around the Alcazaba, and which ones are hard work with wheels, are covered in Malaga with kids.
Can kids play while you eat? El Ojopatio in Teatinos
El Ojopatio, at Avenida de Plutarco 14 in the university district of Teatinos, lists its play room on the menu at 4 euros per child, and its job ads ask for children’s entertainers. Without a car, take metro line 1: the nearest stop, El Cónsul, is about 450 metres away.
The kids’ section has six dishes. Spaghetti or macaroni with bolognese or tomato, Cuban-style rice with egg and sausages, six chicken nuggets with chips and four stew croquettes with chips cost 9 euros each; breaded chicken or grilled chicken cost 11. For groups, a kids’ menu at 15 euros adds ice cream and water, juice or a soft drink, with 20 percent paid when booking. A small beer costs 1.60 euros. Other places in the same district are in where to eat in Teatinos.
How much kids pay at Sushi Haya’s buffet
Sushi Haya, Avenida de Carlos Haya 65, charges children by height rather than age: under 1 metre they eat free, and from 1 to 1.40 metres they pay 11.95 euros at weekday lunch and 13.95 at dinner, weekends and public holidays. It closes on Wednesday.
Read the rules before ordering for a fussy eater. Everyone at the table orders one drink, the buffet and the set menu cannot be mixed at the same table, and every plate that goes back with food on it costs 3 euros. How the buffet compares with Malaga’s other Japanese places is in Japanese restaurants in Malaga.
Beach lunches and gluten-free menus
La Favorita, Paseo Marítimo Antonio Machado 60 in Huelin, has separate gluten-free and lactose-free menus with a 2-euro supplement per dish, and its English pages say the same. The house also warns that it cannot rule out cross-contamination, which matters for a strict coeliac diet.
A margherita costs 11.50 euros and spaghetti bolognese 14.90; there is no kids’ section, and the Huelin opening hours are given on WhatsApp, 690 194 606. The neighbourhood, with its park playground, is in Huelin, Malaga.
La Curiosa, Calle Marilyn Monroe 8, sits inside the Inacua sports centre a short walk from the beach, with more than 1,000 square metres of indoor room and terrace and parking on site. It serves lunch from noon to 4pm and dinner from 8pm to midnight, and has a kids’ menu whose price you ask for when booking on 634 44 68 99. Which beach to pick, by flag and step-free access, is in Malaga beaches.
Is a long lunch out of town worth the drive?
Hacienda de la Torre, at km 2 of the Cártama-Churriana road, opens Wednesday to Sunday and public holidays from 12.30pm to 7.30pm, with the kitchen closing at 4.30pm.
Its all-you-can-eat grill costs 29.90 euros a head from Friday to Sunday, or 34.90 with beef entrecôte, and on Thursday 24.90 and 29.90 with drinks extra at 2.50 euros a beer or glass of red. The kids’ menu, 12.90 euros up to age 12, is free-range chicken fillet, chips, croquettes and ice cream. It is outside the metro network, and the fried-fish menu is not served from December to March.
Which places have menus in English
Three of the seven publish in English online. Brunchit has an English version of its website, El Pimpi posts its group menus, kids’ menu included, as an English PDF, and La Favorita has English pages for its main, gluten-free and lactose-free menus. El Ojopatio, Sushi Haya, La Curiosa and Hacienda de la Torre publish their menus and prices in Spanish only.
That makes the kids’ dishes worth learning by name: macarrones, nuggets de pollo, croquetas de puchero and filete de pollo empanado at El Ojopatio, and filete de pollo with patatas fritas at Hacienda de la Torre.
What might not suit your family
- El Ojopatio is about 5.7 kilometres from the old town, and the play room adds 4 euros per child. Nothing is served before 1pm.
- Sushi Haya closes on Wednesday and charges 3 euros for each plate left with food.
- Brunchit takes no bookings and stops serving at 3.30pm.
- El Pimpi offers its kids’ menu only to groups.
- La Favorita cannot guarantee a gluten-free kitchen free of cross-contamination.
- Hacienda de la Torre is lunch only and needs a car.
Planning the rest of the trip: older children are covered in Malaga with teenagers, the dishes worth ordering in what to eat in Malaga, and family hotels and flats in where to stay in Malaga with kids.
Questions families ask about eating out in Malaga
Can you eat an early dinner with kids in Malaga?
Yes, but only at a few places. El Pimpi, Calle Granada 62, serves food from noon to 11.30pm without a break, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. El Ojopatio in Teatinos serves afternoon snacks from 4.30pm to 7.30pm, Thursday to Sunday, before its kitchen reopens at 8pm.
Do Malaga restaurants have kids’ menus?
Some publish one with a price. Hacienda de la Torre in Cártama charges 12.90 euros up to age 12, El Ojopatio sells kids’ dishes at 9 to 11 euros and El Pimpi has a 20-euro kids’ menu for groups. Sushi Haya prices its children’s buffet by height, free under 1 metre.
Do I need to book a family restaurant in Malaga?
Brunchit does not take bookings at all, so tables go to whoever arrives first. El Ojopatio, Sushi Haya, La Curiosa, Hacienda de la Torre and El Pimpi do, by phone or online. El Pimpi’s group menus, including its 20-euro kids’ menu, need the final headcount 48 hours ahead and a 30 percent deposit.
Which Malaga restaurant has a play area for children?
El Ojopatio, Avenida de Plutarco 14 in Teatinos, has a children’s area with a play room that costs 4 euros per child. It is about 450 metres from El Cónsul stop on metro line 1, its kitchen opens 1pm to 4.30pm and 8pm to midnight, and kids’ dishes cost 9 to 11 euros.
Is there a gluten-free restaurant for kids in Malaga?
La Favorita, Paseo Marítimo Antonio Machado 60 on the Huelin seafront, has separate gluten-free and lactose-free menus, with a 2-euro supplement per dish and a margherita at 11.50 euros on the main menu. The house says it cannot guarantee there is no cross-contamination, and it has no separate kids’ section.
In Málaga with children, pick the kitchen hours first and the menu second: at 6pm, it is El Pimpi.