FORGET your croissants and cronuts – Malaga’s latest sweet spot is for four-legged foodies!

Dulces para Perros, the city’s first-ever bakery dedicated entirely to dogs, has opened its doors – and tails are wagging all over town.

Located on Avenida de los Guindos 29, this brand-new canine cake shop is serving up delicious, handcrafted treats made especially for pups – no preservatives, no gluten, no nonsense. Just good, honest ingredients like chicken, carrot, and liver, all baked into beautifully decorated dog-friendly delights.

The grand opening saw pooches of all shapes and sizes descend on the shop with their owners in tow, sniffing out samples and making their picks at the doggie tasting bar – yes, that’s a thing now!

Dog mum and founder Simona Pittnerova, who lives in Malaga, says the bakery was born out of love for animals and a desire to give them healthier, more exciting snack options. And the response? Pawsitively overwhelming.

“You won’t find boring tins or kibble here,” Simona says. “Everything is handmade on-site with ingredients that are 100% suitable for dogs – and even some for cats!”

Indeed, feline friends haven’t been forgotten. There’s a tasty selection of tuna cakes and special snacks to keep kitties feeling just as spoiled.

From doggie doughnuts to puppy cupcakes, all treats are free from added salt and sugar, and use only natural colourings. And for the pampered pups with a birthday coming up? You can order a personalised cake, choosing the base, filling, and decoration – making it the perfect centrepiece for your fur baby’s big day.

Simona adds: “Dogs have their own preferences just like we do – some love chicken, others go mad for fish. That’s why we offer tastings, so every dog finds their favourite flavour.”

And it’s not just about the food. The shop itself is warm, welcoming and perfectly pet-friendly – whether your dog is shy, cheeky, cuddly or completely bonkers.

You’ll find it at Avenida de los Guindos 29, local 18B, Málaga.

Because let’s face it – dogs deserve cake too

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WITH its sunken ponds, stone walls and acres of new wood, you feel like you’ve entered Blofeld’s home in You Only Live Twice.

Extremely zen, Koi restaurant maximises on space and light, using contemporary recessed skylights and dozens of indoor climbing plants and vines.

Taking its name from the Japanese fish that was first displayed in Tokyo in 1914, it appropriately has a water feature with natural rock walls at one end of the restaurant.

And, while there is a terrace outside, on a cool evening it has the theatrical look to make you feel very much at home… particularly if you’re in the heart of it on the central banquette.

The flash of flames from the kitchen adds to the milieu, while the engine room of chefs goes about creating their ‘pan Asian’ cuisine, which means combining the best of Thailand, China and Japan.

This is a departure, a real departure from the norm on the Costa del Sol. 

And, as they claim on the menu, ‘every bite is a journey’.

So the menu turns out to be an exciting trawl through eleven separate sections, from the ‘raw bar’ to the ‘ceviches and tiraditos’ and ‘dim sum’ to ‘salads’.

I’m more interested in the tempura and sushi sections, but kick off with a couple of dishes from the ‘small plates’ section, which include Edamame beans, either salted or spicy (go spicy, every time!)

The garden sushi roll meanwhile, was really fresh – beautifully made with an avocado hat, crystal gem lettuce and seaweed wrap.

A ‘snow crab’ roll with chives, tobiko and cucumber was amazing, and even better when doused in a decent pinch of wasabi.

Next up, I had to try the ‘chef’s selection’ dim sum platter to share. It comes out in a box, with a steaming mix of lobster and prawn and chicken gyozas, Peking duck spring rolls and splendid diver scallops in a ‘kataifi’ pastry with an ‘xo sauce’. All in all a massive winner.

While my son went for Chinese sticky pork ribs with ginger and siu sauce, which he loved, my vegetarian friend Guy enjoyed the tempura vegetables and a vegetable pad Thai.

I was recommended The ‘San Choi bow’ which is a classic finger dish in which you make your own baos.

It comes with a big plate of wagyu beef, with basil, coriander, lime and roasted peanuts to add into a lettuce leaf as you see fit.

Visually, the best was to come with the ‘baobing’ strawberry shaved Taiwanese snow ice.

Out came our waiter Emiliano, a friendly chap, with a device which somehow made candy floss in front of our eyes, mixed in with chocolate sauce, fresh strawberries, dragon fruit and vanilla ice cream.

We shared it between three of us and were more than sated.

I could be carping on about this place for months, if you’ll excuse the pun.

You can view the menu here.

koimarbella.com

Boulevar Principe Alfonso Hoenlohe 39, Marbella

tel:+34952770760

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