Aire

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Aire Gastrobar in Málaga – Michelin-Recommended Contemporary Andalusian Cuisine

Aire Gastrobar: Contemporary Andalusian Cuisine in Málaga

On Avenida de Príes, in a 120-year-old townhouse, Aire Gastrobar brings together the experience of chef Pepo Frade and head of service María Schaller. The couple opened the restaurant with a clear intention: to create a space with soul, rooted in Andalusia and centred on Málaga. After nearly fifteen years, their project has earned a Michelin recommendation, a recognition that speaks to the quiet consistency of their work.

Frade, with over 25 years in the kitchen, builds his cooking around local product and the flavours of the region. The cuisine is contemporary Andalusian — recognisable, but approached with precision. The tasting menu, called Menú Aire, changes with the season and must be booked in advance. A recent version included cured Málaga white prawn with tiger’s milk and spiced corn, Málaga anchovy marinated in citrus with mango ajoblanco, and suckling pig cooked low and slow with baby corn and a bigarade sauce made with Jerez. The menu runs to seven courses and can be paired with six wines selected from local D.O. Sierras de Málaga bottles, including labels from the Serranía de Ronda and the Axarquía.

The wine list itself is a deliberate reflection of the land. Aire is part of the Ronda and Málaga wine route, and the selection leans heavily on the region’s DO — from sparkling brut natures made with Moscatel de Alejandría to vermouth aged twelve months in Granada. It’s a list that rewards curiosity.

The dining room is housed in a casona with more than a century of history, and the atmosphere is unhurried and personal. María Schaller oversees the floor with the same care that Frade brings to the pass. The restaurant offers both lunch and dinner service, with outdoor seating in warmer months, and a tasting menu that is the clearest expression of what they do.

Aire’s Michelin recommendation is not an endpoint but a marker of the steady, thoughtful work that has made it a modest reference point in Málaga’s dining scene.