Restaurante el Parque, Cabo de Gata

El Parque feels like the last outpost of civilization in southeast Spain lt sits at the base of a serpentine road leading up to the Cabo de Gata lighthouse that commands a headland known to Greek and Phoenician sailors thousands of years ago. From here the coast swings north to demarcate Spain’s largest volcanic area—wild, semi-deserted, and a protected parque natural.

The restaurant belongs to Manuel Barbero, 78, who gravitates between Madrid and the fishing hamlet of La Almadraba de Monteleva, right beside the salt pans of Las Salinas. Despite this remoteness, it is barely half an hour’s drive from Almería.