The website gives the address as Carretera Ronda-San Pedro de Alcántara km 11,5, but that is not their physical address, to actually get to the place and visit. Google had the closest to their exact physical address, which is A-397, KM.10, 29451 Parauta, Málaga.
Venta La Laja is a restaurant located in the municipality of Parauta, very close to the Sierra de las Nieves park, and 10 minutes from Ronda. It is up in the mountains, along a CRAZY highway, that winds through mountainsides, with amazing views, but with drivers who speed at insane rates, passing one another (sometimes passing two, three cars at a time), with no abandon. If you make it there safely, this is a quaint, authentic Spanish roadhouse / family restaurant.
The decor is very traditional hacienda-ish, with old crockery, wood carvings, painted tiles, exposed beams, and some very cool folk art paintings.
They serve traditional food of the region for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We arrived around 5pm, which is about 3 hours before dinnertime in Spain, but they very kindly accommodated us with a gorgeous sandwich of jamon and goat cheese. Had we caught them for dinner, we'd have been able to try their specialties; lamb and goat meats, caldosos rice, or caldereta de chivo malagueño (baby goat stew). They also advertise aged sheep cheeses and homemade desserts.
There is indoor and outdoor seating. In the off-season when we visited, indoor seating was a must, as it gets cold on a mountaintop when the sun begins to set. I would have loved to sit outside had the weather permitted it. The views of the nearby Sierra de las Nieves park, were amazing, and there is a goat farm directly across the street, which was very cool to observe.
Their indoor dining room can seat up to 100, so they host parties and events. They are also open every day of the year.
There is a large dirt parking lot out front, just off of the road.
All in all a very cool stop for tasty food, and a surreal view of the mountains. read more