Mercado La Villa Estepona

Mercado de San Luis, Estepona © Michelle Chaplow
Mercado de San Luis, Estepona

Estepona Gourmet Market - La Villa Mercado Gastronomico Estepona

by Chris Chaplow

Estepona's 'gourmet market' was called La Villa Mercado Gastronomico Estepona , located on Calle Villa next to the San Luis Castle in the old 'Mercardo Municipal de Abastos' building. It reopened as La Villa Mercado Gastronomico Estepona in July 2020 and closed in October 2022.

The market is very spacious, with seating both inside and out. Alternatively, as at other gourmet markets, you can sit on bar stools at individual stalls inside the market, and place your order there.

The menu consists of starters, tapas, fish by La Lonja, meat by Steak and Sons, Garden (Wok, Canelones, Salteados, brochettes), Bella Ciao (Pastas and Pizzas, Salads, Deserts and Drinks. )

The  Mercado Villa Estepona is well situated, close to local archeological sights. Outside on Calle Villa the octagonal foundations of a two storey Roman Mausoleum, dated to the 4th century AD, can be viewed. Nearby are the walls of San Luis Castle, and the Plaza del Reloj.   

Inside the market building, the floor had formerly been opened up to reveal the foundations of a rectangular Moorish watchtower in the south east corner of a defensive construction predating the San Luis castle. Disappointingly, this has not been left exposed or protected with a glass floor, but simply covered over.  

On the outside of the building are a number of ceramic murals depicting scenes in Estepona that were designed by the local charity Aprona. 

Closed in October 2022

 

Mercado Gourmet de San Luis

Estepona had a gourmet market called Mercardo San Luis, located on Calle Villa next to the San Luis Castle in the old 'Mercardo Municipal de Abastos' building. It was officially opened on 11th July 2018 by the Mayor of Estepona to great excitement, especially in view of the lengthy building refurbishment project.

The gourmet market suddenly closed in January 2020, whilst it had been popular with tourists during the summer months, it was very quiet at other times. The sudden closure was announced on the facebook page of the gourmet market's 20 year concession holder.

Visitors are attended to by smart waiters and waitresses wearing stylish braces over white collarless shirts - all in keeping with the contemporary new style of the market.

The menu had one page dedicated to each stall. Mercado San Luis had a unique system whereby waiters take your order using a handheld device, which can include dishes from any combination of stalls (such systems had proved problematic at other gourmet markets).

Stalls and delicacies include Arroz and Tapas, La Lonja, Puro Raza, Steak and Sons, L'Atelier Gourmet, Minami (sushi) offering 'Amelie' oysters, artisan cheeses with black garlic and olives served with edible flowers,  Jamon de Bellota and Japanese cuisine. 

The market had a terrace on Villa Street, featuring a 'chill-out' zone with low level sofas, ambient lighting on the old San Luis castle wall, and an abundance of flowers cascading from terracotta pots.

Mercado Municipal de Abastos

The original indoor food market was opened on Calle Villa in August 1949.   It was once the main place to buy fish, meat, cheese and local produce.  From the 1990s, it became less and less busy as people´s shopping habits leaned more towards supermarket chains.

Since then, the space has been used for numerous municipal events, including the exhibition of old photos of Estepona, the presentation of sporting awards, raucous Carnival presentations and more dignified Christmas nativity scenes.

As mentioned above, the foundations of a Moorish watchtower in a defensive structure predating the San Luis Castle were once on display within the market space.

In recent years the Mercado de Abastos has remained a curiosity for visitors to the town who chanced across the old building and saw an insight into the Estepona of yesteryear.

The stalls in the central area were discontinued in the 1980s, however the units around the outside of the building remained. By 2015, only a handful of stalls, and the café, whose proprietor has been on the job for 40 yrs, were still doing morning trade. The stall holders blamed the pedestrianisation of the surrounding streets, which limited parking for potential customers.

Since 2010, conservation-minded locals have sought a solution to the semi-abandoned building´s fate. They hoped it would not be completely abandoned and ultimately demolished like other emblematic buildings in Estepona, such as the Paseo del Carmen, Fabricas de Conservas, Matadero municipal, Hotel Estepona Garden and Segers Club.

In the mid 2010s the fashion for gourmet markets boomed; San Miguel in Madrid, Lonja del Barranco in Sevilla, La Galeria in Fuengirola and Ambrosia in Marbella (which closed after one year) set a trend which inspired Estepona´s Town Hall. In March 2016, they sought bids for the 600.000 € redevelopment of the building, with a 20 year concession. The old market was closed, and began its transformation into a Gourmet Market, expected to open later in 2016. The half a dozen remaining stall holders from the old market, whilst not forcibly driven out, were faced with uneconomic rental demands. The construction work moved at a snail´s pace, worsened by cited structural problems, and the market was finally opened in late June 2018, at a total refurbishment cost of 1.6m euro. Aparently the sum would be covered by a canon paid by the 20 year gastro market consesion holders. Hovever a quick calculation reveals this would be an unstostainable 6.700€ per month-

In 2021 the 'Sabor a Malaga' Gourmet Market opened in Torremolinos.

Location

Calle Villa next to the San Luis Castle