A venta is a roadside country inn, the Spanish equivalent of a coaching inn, and the hills directly behind Málaga are lined with them. They exist for one plate above all, the plato de los montes, and for one kind of meal: a long, cheap lunch at the weekend. Venta El Túnel is the one that prints its menu with prices, charging €12.50 for that plate, and it opens six days a week from 10.30am to 7.30pm, closing on Tuesdays.
Which Montes de Málaga venta should I go to? Venta El Túnel if you have no car or want to know the bill in advance: plato de los montes at €12.50, open 10.30am to 7.30pm except Tuesday, and a 1.9 km walk from the La Redonda stop of bus M-251. Venta Los Montes, inside the natural park, opens Friday to Sunday only and needs a car.
Venta El Túnel began more than 70 years ago as a small inn on the road to Casabermeja, feeding carters and neighbours, and now seats about 600 people. That history explains the whole genre: menus built on pork, eggs and fried potatoes, prices closer to a canteen than a restaurant, and opening hours set for lunch. The migas there cost €10, a plato campero €17, and a clay pot of chicken rice for two €20, ready in 35 minutes.
What a venta is, and how it differs from a restaurant
A venta in the Montes de Málaga is a family-run inn on a mountain road north of the city, between the Montes de Málaga Natural Park and the roads to Colmenar and Casabermeja. Two things set it apart from a city restaurant.
The kitchen keeps lunch hours, so Venta El Túnel closes at 7.30pm and there is no dinner service. Most starters come as half or full portions, and the setting is the point: you go for the hills as much as for the food.
Prices on the Venta El Túnel menu include 10 percent VAT, so the bill matches the menu, with bread charged at €0.60 a head. Spanish meal times are later than most visitors expect, and the city’s kitchen hours are set out in Malaga meal times.
| Venta | Open | Plato de los montes | Without a car | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venta El Túnel | every day except Tuesday, 10.30am to 7.30pm | €12.50 | bus M-251 or M-252 to La Redonda, then 1.9 km on foot | first-timers, weekday lunch, no car |
| Venta Los Montes | Friday to Sunday and public holidays, from 11am | ask when booking | no bus | a weekend drive into the natural park |
| Trepaolla | ask when booking | ask when booking | city bus 37, then 474 metres on foot | a modern menu at the edge of the hills |
Venta El Túnel wins for a visitor: it is the only one open on weekdays, the only one with prices in print and the easiest by bus. Venta Los Montes is the pick for drivers who want lunch inside the park on a Saturday or Sunday.
What to order at Venta El Túnel
Start with the plato de los montes at €12.50: pork loin, chorizo, fried peppers, eggs and chips, which is how the Asociación de Amigos del Parque Natural Montes de Málaga describes the dish. Migas, fried breadcrumbs with radishes, orange or melon, chorizo and peppers, cost €10, and migas a lo bruto, with loin and black pudding added, €18.50.
The house speciality is rice in a clay pot for two, €20 per pot: chicken takes 35 minutes, pork or vegetables 45 minutes, so order it as you sit down. A whole garlic chicken costs €24 and half €17. Gazpacho, ajoblanco and porra antequerana are summer-only. A glass of sweet wine is €2; what that wine actually is is covered in Malaga sweet wine.
Two plates of los montes, bread for two and two glasses of sweet wine come to €30.20. The rice route costs about the same and feeds the table better: chicken rice, half portions of pork loin in lard at €3.50 and fried peppers at €4.50, plus bread, total €29.20 for two. Kid goat is not on this menu; for what makes Malaga milk-fed kid goat a protected product, there is a separate guide. For the city’s other signature plates and their prices, see what to eat in Malaga.
Getting there without a car
The M-251 and M-252 buses of the Consorcio de Transporte Metropolitano del Área de Málaga leave Málaga bus station and stop at La Redonda 20 minutes later. From there it is 1.9 km on foot along the MA-3101 road to Venta El Túnel, about 25 minutes.
The single ticket is €1.60 in cash, paid to the driver; with the Consorcio’s rechargeable travel card the same ride costs €0.62, which only pays off if you will use the regional buses again during your stay.
At weekends and on public holidays, the M-251 leaves the station at 11am, 1.10pm and 7pm, reaching La Redonda at 11.20am, 1.30pm and 7.20pm. Buses back from La Redonda pass at 9.28am, 12.51pm and 5.43pm, and that last one reaches the station at 6.03pm. The plan that works on a Sunday:
- Take the 1.10pm M-251 from Málaga bus station.
- Get off at La Redonda at 1.30pm and walk to Venta El Túnel, sitting down at about 1.55pm.
- Order the rice first, since it needs 35 minutes.
- Leave at 5.15pm to catch the 5.43pm bus back.
On weekdays there are more buses, with the last one back from La Redonda at 7.58pm; the M-251 departures at 8.10am, 1pm, 3pm and 8.20pm do not carry passengers between Málaga and Casabermeja, so use the others. Trepaolla is even easier: city bus 37 of EMT Málaga ends at the Colmenar - Santa Clara stop, 474 metres away, for €1.40. The wider options for car-free days out are in towns near Malaga without a car and day trips from Malaga.
The inns on the A-7000, for drivers
Venta Los Montes sits at km 555 of the A-7000, the Colmenar road that climbs through the natural park, and describes itself as serving home cooking and home-made desserts. It opens Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays from 11am; book on 952 26 02 35 and ask for the menu and closing time then. No bus goes up, and the regional government itself names a vehicle as the way into the Montes de Malaga Natural Park. Without a car, the choice is a taxi or hiring a car in Malaga.
The A-7000 is a mountain road with plenty of bends, so the driver should skip the wine. Trepaolla, at km 2 of the Camino del Colmenar and 3.5 km from the centre, now bills itself as a traditional menu with innovative touches and a wine cellar: a good pick for the view at the edge of the hills, less so for a classic plato de los montes. Its hours are given on 952 25 27 52.
Who will not enjoy a venta
- Anyone wanting dinner. Venta El Túnel closes at 7.30pm.
- Vegetarians. The menu is pork, chicken and beef; beyond salads there is a vegetable plate at €9.
- Couples after a quiet meal. With rooms for 600 people and group menus from €30 a head, it is built for families and celebrations.
- Impatient eaters. The rice takes 35 to 45 minutes.
- Tuesday visitors. Venta El Túnel is closed, and Venta Los Montes is closed Monday to Thursday.
With children it works well: eggs and chips, a French omelette and a plate of chips each cost €4, and for more family places see kid-friendly restaurants in Malaga.
Frequently asked questions about the Montes de Málaga ventas
What is a venta in Málaga?
A venta is a roadside country inn, born to feed travellers and carters on the mountain roads out of the city. Venta El Túnel, on the old Casabermeja road, started that way more than 70 years ago and today seats around 600 people, serving plato de los montes at €12.50.
How do you get to the Montes de Málaga ventas without a car?
Take Consorcio bus M-251 or M-252 from Málaga bus station to La Redonda, 20 minutes and €1.60, then walk 1.9 km, about 25 minutes, to Venta El Túnel. City bus 37 ends 474 metres from Trepaolla. No bus reaches Venta Los Montes on the A-7000.
What is plato de los montes?
Plato de los montes is the mountain inns’ signature plate: pork loin, chorizo, fried peppers, eggs and chips, usually with migas, fried breadcrumbs, on the side. At Venta El Túnel it costs €12.50, plus €0.60 for bread, and the plato campero on the same menu is €17.
Are the ventas open for dinner?
Venta El Túnel is not: it serves from 10.30am to 7.30pm and closes on Tuesdays, so it is a lunch place. Venta Los Montes opens Friday to Sunday and public holidays from 11am, and its closing time is something to ask when you call to book.
A venta is a lunch, not a dinner: plan around the last bus or the designated driver.