Los Barriles is a tapas bar on calle Carabeo, Nerja, and would probably best be described as ‘no frills’, although unlike Ryanair there are no extras, hidden or otherwise, to bump up the cost, and the loos will always be free.
There are no tiles on the floor and the tables are barrels, simplicity itself. And it works. The atmosphere in the bar is warm and friendly, the prices are very reasonable and the speciality of the house, ‘fiery chorizo’, is absolutely excellent.
Order a ‘fiery chorizo’ sausage and to your table will be brought an earthenware pot in the shape of a pig, a chorizo sausage on a skewer and some bread rolls. The fuel in the piggypot is set alight and you can sip your drink while you watch your snack cooking before your very eyes.
The staff are very attentive and if it looks like you’re not going to turn it over at the appropriate time, which is highly likely for first-timers, one of them will come and do it for you.
A beer (tubo) and a tapa will cost €1.50, Frigiliana wine €1.50, a glass of red or white wine €1.80 and a fiery sausauge will cost you €2.
The loos, by the way, are very clean but very small and triangular, no room to swing a gerbil even if you wanted to for some strange reason. Again, one could compare them to loos on a Ryanair flight except, in the case of Los Barriles they are likely to remain free to use.
The bar is only open in the evenings and there is often a flamenco guitarist or singer who pops in to provide a bit of extra entertainment. In the summer you can sit out on the street and incinerate your sausage!