Emma Mykytyn Pollos San Juan Malaga Review – Tasty Roast Chicken in Malaga City Centre
If you are looking for cheap places to eat in Malaga city centre, especially somewhere serving simple Spanish comfort food rather than elaborate restaurant dishes, Pollos San Juan Malaga is worth knowing about.
This long-established Malaga rotisserie has been serving the city since 1963 and specialises in roast chicken, potatoes, sauces and homestyle dishes. You’ll find it at Calle Herrería del Rey, 9, close to Mercado Central de Atarazanas, making it a handy stop when exploring central Malaga.
We stopped for lunch and grabbed a table outside. The food turned out to be the highlight of our visit, while unfortunately the service and rather basic outdoor seating left plenty of room for improvement.
Eating outside at Pollos San Juan Malaga
One of the attractions of Pollos San Juan is its location. We chose one of the outside tables, where you can sit with your lunch and simply watch Malaga life go past. For us, people-watching is always part of the fun of eating outdoors in Spain, and the central location makes this a good spot for doing exactly that.
Don’t expect a glamorous terrace, though. The outdoor tables are functional rather than somewhere you’d linger over a long leisurely lunch. Our table was particularly wobbly, while the high seating wasn’t especially comfortable.
There were also no napkins on the table, another small detail that added to the rather no-frills feel.
For somewhere serving roast chicken with your fingers potentially becoming involved at some point, napkins are fairly essential!
Ordering the Menu Completo
We decided to order the Menu Completo, expecting this to be the easiest way to sample what Pollos San Juan does best.
Unfortunately, ordering was the weakest part of our visit.
We asked the server about the menu but found them unhelpful, with very little assistance. There seemed to be an assumption that we already knew exactly how everything worked.
Perhaps regular customers do, but visitors to Malaga won’t necessarily know what to order or what is included. A little explanation and a friendlier approach would have transformed the experience.
Thankfully, when the food arrived, things improved considerably.
Roast chicken at Pollos San Juan
The roast chicken was excellent. This is, after all, what Pollos San Juan has built its reputation around, and ours was beautifully moist and juicy rather than dry.
The meat pulled apart easily and had that satisfying flavour you want from a straightforward Spanish rotisserie chicken.
Pollos San Juan describes its roast chicken as one of the Malaga classics it has served for generations, and it isn’t difficult to understand its popularity.
There is nothing particularly fancy going on here, and that is part of the attraction. Sometimes you simply want properly cooked chicken, crisp potatoes and plenty of sauce.
The potatoes arrived nicely crisp, giving a welcome crunch alongside the soft, moist chicken.
But our favourite accompaniment may have been the garlic mayonnaise. Creamy, garlicky and extremely moreish, it worked brilliantly with both the chicken and potatoes. We could quite happily have eaten considerably more of it.
Chicken, crisp potatoes and garlic mayo isn’t revolutionary cooking, but when each element works, it makes an extremely satisfying lunch.
Is Pollos San Juan Malaga worth visiting?
This was one of those meals where our feelings about the food and the overall experience were rather different.
What we liked
The chicken was moist and tasty, the potatoes were crisp, and the garlic mayo was delicious.
We also liked being able to sit outdoors in central Malaga, eat something uncomplicated and watch the world go by.
Pollos San Juan is particularly useful if you’re looking for casual food in Malaga, aren’t interested in a formal restaurant experience and fancy something filling without spending a fortune.
What could be better
The biggest improvement needs to be customer service.
Visitors shouldn’t feel as though they’re inconveniencing staff simply by asking how a menu works. A short explanation and a little enthusiasm would have made a huge difference to our lunch.
The outdoor seating could also do with some attention. Wobbly tables, high seats and a lack of napkins don’t exactly encourage you to settle in.
These are all relatively easy things to fix, which perhaps makes them more frustrating.
Pollos San Juan Malaga review, our verdict
Pollos San Juan gets the food right, but the overall customer experience needs work.
The actual meal was genuinely enjoyable: moist roast chicken, crisp potatoes and a particularly tasty garlic mayo made for exactly the sort of uncomplicated lunch we had been hoping for.
Sitting outside and watching the world go by in Malaga was another bonus.
Unfortunately, an unhelpful server, wobbly furniture and missing basics such as napkins took some of the shine off the experience.
We’d happily eat the chicken again. We’d just like the service to be as welcoming as the food is tasty.
Pollos San Juan Malaga
Address: Calle Herrería del Rey, 9, Distrito Centro, 29005 Málaga, Spain
Cuisine: Spanish, roast chicken, casual dining
Best for: Cheap lunch in Malaga, casual dining, roast chicken, takeaway
Price: Budget-friendly
Location: Malaga city centre, near Mercado Central de Atarazanas
The restaurant currently lists opening hours of 10am until 10:30pm daily, although it is always worth checking before making a special journey.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pollos San Juan Malaga good?
The roast chicken we tried was moist and flavourful, with crisp potatoes and excellent garlic mayonnaise. The food was much better than the service during our visit.
Is Pollos San Juan Malaga expensive?
Pollos San Juan is a budget-friendly place to eat in Malaga city centre.
Does Pollos San Juan have outdoor seating?
We ate at the tables outside, which are good for people-watching in Malaga city centre. Our table was wobbly and the high seating wasn’t particularly comfortable, however.
What should I order at Pollos San Juan Malaga?
The speciality is roast chicken. Based on our visit, we’d recommend the menu completo, if you can get it!
Where is Pollos San Juan in Malaga?
Pollos San Juan is at Calle Herrería del Rey, 9, 29005 Málaga, beside Mercado Central de Atarazanas in the city centre.
