Casa El Imperio Gaucín by Ruralidays

This village in the heart of the Serranía de Ronda could be described as the archetypal picture-postcard “pueblo blanco” given its setting nestling between mountains and its swathe of whitewashed houses. Run by a Dutch couple (Hellen Blott and Barry Smit, the latter in the kitchen), the restaurant is a vision of perfection with its rustic ambience providing a backdrop for international cuisine that has taken a much more traditional twist (such as in the smoked ajoblanco with Payoyo cheese, olives and anchovies), but always based around the very best local and seasonal products (chestnuts, cher