Rincón de la Victoria tapas route returns. 31 venues, €3,700 in prizes

Rincón de la Victoria, on the Axarquía coast east of Málaga, will host the sixth Ruta de la Atapa from 13 to 22 November. According to SUR in English, 31 bars and restaurants will take part, and diners can enter a prize draw as well as vote for their favourite venue.

Key facts

• Dates: 13 to 22 November, ten days in total.
• Venues: 31 establishments in La Cala del Moral, Rincón, Torre de Benagalbón and Benagalbón.
• Price: four euros per tapa, including a draught beer, a soft drink or water.
• Prizes: 3,700 euros in total, of which 2,700 euros go to winning venues and 1,000 euros to a customer raffle.
• Voucher deadline: the raffle vouchers can be redeemed until 28 February 2027.

What is on the menu

Each participating venue will serve a tapa created for the route. SUR in English listed several of this year's dishes: the 'Tartaleta de La Caleta', made with a Malaga-style ajoblanco paste, fig and grape jam and sardines, and the 'Jábega rinconera', a puff pastry wafer with creamy avocado and mojama (salt-cured tuna).

Others include Malaga salchichón sausage meatballs in muscatel sauce, a cod fritter with Frigiliana honey, and the 'Trilogía de la Axarquía', which combines prawns from La Caleta, kid goat and anchovies.

As in previous years, there will be a digital guide linked to Google Maps. It lets visitors see the participating restaurants, find their locations and plan a route around the different parts of the municipality.

How the prizes work

A panel of experts from the culinary sector will judge the dishes, visiting the establishments anonymously during the ten days. Three cash prizes go to the top-ranked venues: 1,000 euros and a trophy for first place, 700 euros and a trophy for second, and 500 euros and a trophy for third.

A separate 'people's choice' award, worth 500 euros and a trophy, goes to the venue with the most votes from participants.

The remaining 1,000 euros is split into five prize packs, each made up of four 50-euro vouchers. These can be redeemed at four different participating restaurants until 28 February 2027.

How to enter the draw

Customers must pick up an entry card, called a 'tapaporte', at any participating restaurant or at the municipal tourist office. To be valid, it needs stamps from four different establishments in at least two different towns or villages.

Entrants must also vote for their favourite restaurant for the people's choice award and fill in their first name, surname and telephone number. The completed tapaporte must be placed in the ballot boxes at participating venues or the tourist office before 22 November.

Each valid tapaporte counts as one entry, so a person can submit as many as they like, although prizes cannot be combined. The draw will take place at the town hall, at the same time as the awards ceremony for the winning establishments. SUR in English did not give a date for the ceremony.

Why it matters

The route gives residents and visitors a ten-day reason to explore the restaurants of several parts of Rincón de la Victoria. Anyone planning to take part should collect a tapaporte early, as the stamps must come from at least two different localities. The list of participating venues was not included in the report, so check the town's tourist office for details.