A new tapas bar in town, so what better excuse to stop off for a lunchtime drink.
‘Tapika’s’ is located on calle Chaparil, Nerja, just round the corner from calle Antonio Millón and two doors up from one of the best tapas bars in town, ‘Sevillano’, so it’s got some pretty tough competition to contend with.
The premises were formerly occupied by ‘Bar Pitarra’ and then, following a lengthy period of inactivity, by ‘La Luna Llena’, a tapas bar run by a Dutch couple. And now it is ‘Tapika’s’.
The bar area is quite long and thin and has been divided, almost, into two bar sections, although the lift-up counter does allow for them to be joined if necessary. The barman would have to be constantly ducking to get in and out or even to get to the second bar area, but there is obviously a cunning plan in there somewhere.
The back of the bar area is all mirrors, which does actually give the impression of ‘space’.
There are a few tables near to the entrance and there is a small outside terrace with tables, good for those occasional sunny days.
There is a very good selection of tapas and the portions are almost on a par with its neighbour, ‘Sevillano’. I was actually verging on full after one tapas, a sort of callos served with rice and bread. Absolutely delicious.
A small beer, caña rather than a tubo, is €1.80, which puts Tapika’s towards the top end of the price scale. When so many tapas bars are either much cheaper or are currently offering ‘crisis prices’ as low as €1 for a beer and a tapa, this could well be a major factor as to whether or not they survive.
In the same geographical area, Sevillano is currently around €1.70 for a beer and a tapa and La Bodeguilla on calle Antonio Millón is also now up to the €1.70 mark, while the excellent Los Pescaitos, always packed, is down at €1.30.
In conclusion, excellent tapas, if a bit pricey, but well worth trying. It is the sort of bar which probably needs quite a few people in it to generate a bit of ‘atmosphere’ as the bar staff appear to keep themselves very much to themselves, but it’s obviously early days and we wish them every success.