Who doesn’t enjoy tasting a good Russian salad and the first thing they look at the menu is to see if they have any to order? This dish has become an attraction for any customer who is going to eat, whether it is tapas, meat, espetos or in a seafood restaurant, as it is perfect for opening your mouth before a main course.
It’s gone from being just another tapa on the menu to something that can’t be missed. It’s not enough to mix the ingredients and that’s it, you have to make the best Russian salad. A stream of “salad makers” has been created who want to enjoy the first bite, being the first thing they try, I am among them.
It has always been said that this dish is the thermometer of the quality of a place, because although it is difficult to make a perfect salad, it is easy to make one that is good.
The exact origin of Russian salad is not very clear, but it is said to have been created in the mid-19th century. Although the basic ingredients have not changed much over time (potatoes, vegetables and mayonnaise all mixed together), there have been variations and new ingredients have been added, especially depending on the country, because we can find it on menus in different countries of Europe and Asia.
With all this I want to present you the restaurants where to eat the best Russian salads in Malaga, some of these awarded nationally:
TRAGATÁ
Best Russian Salad in Spain 2021 – San Sebastián Gastronómika Competition
Once again a Malaga restaurant is crowned with this prestigious award, demonstrating the quality of Malaga’s gastronomy and the level of the chefs at the helm.
Gastró Tragatá is located in Ronda, and is headed by Mercedes Pila and Benito Gómez, the latter of whom has two Michellín stars for his restaurant Bardal, also in Ronda, so it is not surprising that he has also won this award.
This restaurant bases its cuisine on an avant-garde style in which the quality of the raw materials, the perfect cooking of its products and the presentation of its dishes are of the utmost importance. You can find traditional dishes from the area and other more innovative dishes with flavours that you are sure to love.
So that you can try to make it at home, I specify the ingredients of this Russian salad, although I recommend you to try it yourself: potato monalisa, tuna belly in olive oil, green beans, carrots, grated boiled egg, mayonnaise (sugar, mustard, black pepper and white vinegar), Jerez vinegar, Ronda olive oil and pickled peppers.
Calle Nueva, 4, 29400 Ronda (Málaga)
CHINCHÍN PUERTO
Best Russian Salad in Spain 2020 – San Sebastián Gastronómika Competition
This restaurant in Caleta de Vélez, a municipality belonging to Vélez Málaga, in the eastern part of Málaga, has won the prize in the third edition of this very important gastronomic competition in Spain.
Chinchín Puerto is a restaurant specialising in fish and seafood, although it has been able to adapt to the new times and has included different dishes to surprise its diners, such as skate delight, hake croquettes or red mullet pie.
But without a doubt the main attraction of Chinchín Puerto is its Russian salad, a salad with a taste of the sea, whose main ingredient is “el coloraillo”, small crustaceans that are harvested off the coast of Malaga, which gives the dish a different touch.
These are the ingredients for the recipe of this Russian salad: potatoes, sea water, carrot, onion, “coloraillo”, sunflower oil, eggs and mayonnaise (egg, salt, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and sunflower oil).
Puerto de Caleta de Vélez, 4, 29751 Vélez Málaga (Málaga)
EL CANDADO GOLF
Best Russian Salad in Spain 2019 – San Sebastián Gastronómika Competition
It is undoubtedly one of the best Russian salads I have ever tasted in Malaga, and rightly so, as it has won the II National Championship of Ensaladilla Rusa-San Miguel.
El Candado Golf has always been known for the quality of its rice dishes, but we have discovered that it is not only outstanding in this art, but also has other specialities that make you, even more, visit this place to enjoy a quality meal.
The secret of a good Russian salad lies in both the ingredients and the quality of the products, as well as the temperature of the ingredients, the cooking temperature and the way the mayonnaise is prepared.
If you’re wondering what ingredients are in this magnificent salad, I’ll tell you, although it will be difficult to get it like this chef: potatoes, olives stuffed with anchovies, carrots, green beans and chopped prawns, all mixed with his homemade mayonnaise.
Calle Golf del Candado, 2, 29018 Málaga
VERUM RESTAURANTE
Best Russian salad in Malaga 2019
This restaurant has won the award for the best Russian salad in Malaga 2019, after winning the V Malaga Championship of Russian salad, ahead even of El Candado Golf.
As I have already mentioned in another post, Verum is a restaurant you have to go to because of the quality of its dishes and the variety on its menu, with meat being one of the secrets of this great restaurant.
For this chef, the secret of his dish is the use of well-chosen quality products, most of them from Malaga. In addition, the use of fine salt, salt flakes and the mixture of different types of extra virgin olive oil make this the best Russian salad in Malaga.
As I have already mentioned, he uses carefully selected products to achieve this great flavour: potatoes from Coín, tuna belly from the Bay of Cantabria, white prawns from the Bay of Málaga, carrots from the market garden of Málaga, boiled egg and liquid egg yolk.
Calle Flamencos, 3 29018 Málaga
LA CAYETANA
Finalist for best Russian salad in Malaga 2019
La Cayetana has also been one of the finalists in the 5th Malaga Russian Salad Championship. It is a gourmet restaurant that rewards the elaboration and quality of its products, creating original dishes with the most modern and daring techniques that offer unique tastes and textures.
We can’t say that the Russian salad is their only star dish, because in this restaurant you will find a great variety of excellent quality and it is a must to try all their recommendations.
At La Cayetana you will find both dishes to share and main courses for each diner, although in this type of restaurant I prefer to order many dishes for the middle so that I can try more specialities.
Even the most traditional dishes have the chef’s special touch that gives them a unique flavour. In addition to the Russian salad, you must try the salmorejo with goat’s cheese and toasted ham, the baby broad beans from Navarre with cubes of acorn shoulder, and the smoked sardine salad, among some of its specialities.
Calle Casas de Campo, 4, 29001 Málaga
ARABOKA
This restaurant in the historic centre of Malaga is another one not to be missed if you want to try one of the best Russian salads in Malaga.
As you will discover during your visit to our city, restaurants with a different cuisine have grown a lot, mixing traditional cuisine and dishes from “our mothers” with a more modern touch, leaving a taste of nostalgia and creativity on your palate.
At Araboka you will find traditional dishes with the chef’s touch, but I assure you that you will want to come back because both the service and the quality are outstanding.
I recommend starting with starters such as Malaga salami tartar with sultanas, Russian salad with Malaga prawns and tuna belly or toasted noodles with mayonnaise and prawns; and finishing with a main course per diner such as venison ragout with rosemary potatoes or red tuna loin with black pudding and escalibada.
Calle de Pedro de Toledo, 4, 29015 Málaga
QBO
This restaurant was also a finalist in the V Championship of Malaga of Russian salad, and with a lot of merit since it has only been open for a short time. The architects of this great project are 3 young guys who wanted to give a new vision to the traditional gastronomy, with modern dishes of their own creation.
It is a different kind of restaurant where you can enjoy exhibitions of local artists on its walls or a room reserved for micro-theatre, although the main protagonist is undoubtedly the menu, where you will find different dishes, which you can choose whether you want them as a tapa or as a portion.
If you want to enjoy a different kind of cuisine, you can’t miss this restaurant, where the presentation is as important as the flavour. They make a very creative cuisine, with a travelling and experimental spirit, always based on tradition and produce.
It is difficult to recommend anything in particular, because you will want to try everything, although I could tell you not to leave without tasting the cheese and chilli croquettes; the ajoblanco de chufa, sardine confit and osmotised melon; the cod with trumpets of death and a touch of citrus; the salad with tuna belly or courgette ravioli, dehydrated black olives and carrots in meat juice.
Calle Toquero, 1, 29013 Málaga
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