Surprisingly delicious Italian food in a Spanish city! Believe it or not, I was getting sick of…read moretapas and wanting something familiar yet different. After passing by La Mafia a few times (conveniently located in a central part of Malaga's pedestrian mall), I asked my hubby if we could try Spanish-made Italian for one night.
La Mafia. The name is laughable and the design of the storefront and advertising posters are so kitchy and overly themed. Anyway, the inside isn't checkered tablecloths and black and white photos of Sicilian crime families. Instead you'll find plush seating, white tablecloths, and a decidedly more posh setting than the Godfather would ever want to entertain or be entertained in. You'll also be less likely to find Italians, more likely to see tourists from other parts of the world, such as Germany, UAE, and USA.
Their menu offerings remind of the Spanish pasta and pizza chain, La Tagliatella. Similar to La Tagliatella, La Mafia offers a range of base sauces, which you can then pair with a noodle of your choice, and add a protein while you're at it.
I love anything with truffles in it so I had to get either a truffle-infused sauce or truffle-infused pasta. I decided to pair their pesto with mushroom and truffle ravioli. It was amazeballs. The hubby ordered their very shrimpy prawn risotto for my sake, and it was also very good. He, of course, liked my dish more, but said that he quite enjoyed the risotto despite not caring much for shellfish (being allergic to them...). The servings are very generous. La Mafia may have very well been the first place where we ordered an entree-size meal.
Service at La Mafia is somewhat better than the rest of Malaga, understandable since entrees average between 15 and 20 euro, as opposed to individual tapas under 10 euro.
Here's our only grievance: Despite being a fancier restaurant than some others around town, La Mafia couldn't escape what seems to be a Malaga thing--dishes and utensils looked poorly washed. This was mostly our experience in Malaga, not so in Granada and Nerja. For some reason, Malaga establishments and citizens seem to care less about specks of food on their plates or greasy forks...Oh well...We learned to just give our plates and utensils aggressive wipedowns with napkins.
If you're craving some creamy, carby goodness while visiting Malaga, check out La Mafia.
