We Spent a July Evening Hopping Los Alcázares' Chiringuitos

Eight o'clock in July and the sun's still up, but the heat's finally letting go. That's the trick with a chiringuito crawl in Los Alcázares this time of year: you don't sit down for one long dinner, you walk the seafront and stop wherever the terrace looks half-full and the smell from the kitchen is right. We did exactly that on a Tuesday last week, starting near the old fishing pier and working our way north along the Mar Menor. Here's what we found, and what you need to know if you fancy doing the same.

Down by the Embarcadero

The stretch near the old pier is the quiet end, and that's where we started, before the crowds thicken further up towards Gran Vía. First stop was a plastic-chair terrace right on the sand with a menu chalked up on a board: boquerones fritos, a plate of jamón, and cold tinto de verano in tall glasses with too much ice, which is exactly how it should be served in July. Nobody rushes you here. You order at the bar, the food comes when it comes, and the Mar Menor sits flat and warm about ten metres away, that shallow, still water the lagoon is known for.

Second stop, a five-minute walk on, was busier and louder, with a family crowd and a football match playing on a screen bolted to the wall. We had patatas bravas and a ración of pulpo a la gallega that was better than it had any right to be for a beach bar. If you're doing this with kids, this is the kind of place that works: nobody minds the noise, and there's usually a patch of sand right next to the tables for them to run around on while you finish your drink.

Onto Gran Vía as the Sun Drops

By half nine the light was doing that orange thing it does over the Mar Menor in summer, and the terraces along Gran Vía and the main paseo had filled right up. This is the busiest stretch of the whole crawl, and honestly the best time to be there. We grabbed the last free table at a spot doing grilled sardines over coals right at the edge of the terrace, the smoke drifting out over the tables, which is worth the wait on its own.

Two things worth knowing about this stretch. First, most places don't take bookings for a table of two or three, so you're queuing or hovering with a drink until something opens up, which is part of the fun if you're not in a hurry. Second, the walk between stops matters as much as the stops themselves. It's flat, it's lit, and there's always a breeze off the water once the sun's down, which after a 35-degree day in Murcia is reason enough to do this on foot rather than drive between venues.

What It Costs and When to Go

A round of tapas and a couple of drinks at each stop, three stops in total, came to about 55 euros for two of us, which is reasonable for a full evening out on the water. Cash still gets you served faster at a couple of the smaller places, though card's accepted everywhere now. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings are your best bet if you want a table without much of a wait. Come Friday or Saturday in July and you're looking at a proper queue by nine, especially anywhere with a sea view.

Go later rather than earlier. Locals don't really sit down for this until gone eight, once the worst of the heat has broken, and turning up at six just means you're eating alone on an empty terrace before anyone else arrives. If you've got kids in tow or want to beat the crowds, seven works, but you'll be eating while the sun's still properly up.

Making a Night of It

Los Alcázares sits close enough to Roda Golf that a chiringuito evening is an easy add-on to a day on the course, especially with tee times shifted earlier to dodge the July heat. If you're staying at one of the holiday rentals near Roda Golf, it's a fifteen-minute drive down to the seafront, or you can leave the car and get a taxi back after a few tintos. Worth checking our guide to the Los Alcázares and San Javier area if you want the wider picture of what's within reach, from the salt flats to Santiago de la Ribera's marina just up the coast.

And if a chiringuito crawl becomes a regular fixture of your evenings out here, it's easy to see why so many golfers end up looking at property in the area rather than just visiting for a week. Between the golf courses around Roda and a seafront like this one, July evenings are hard to beat once the heat lifts. For more on where to eat, drink, and spend an evening locally, our food and drink section has the rest of what we've tried this summer, and if you want help planning a stay built around exactly this kind of evening, get in touch through our contact page.