On Sunday we went off for lunch with my cousin April and her friends who were staying with us, and Sadie, Mick’s mum, who is also staying for a couple of weeks. Sunday is my day off – no housework is done (guests are forewarned!) and usually no cooking apart from breakfast if they are lucky! It is a day for lying around our courtyard or by the swimming pool, or, more often than not, lunch or dinner with friends. We debated sea or mountains for lunch and sea won! So I booked a table for 7 at 2 p.m. (never before!) at Neptuno – my sister Kim’s favourite restaurant here.
Neptuno outside deck
It is quite Californian in decor – a wooden shack type building smack on the beach and great for lunch or dinner – dinner is very romantic here as you can dine on the terrace and hear the sea gently lapping on the shore a few feet away. Unsurprisingly, you can order wonderful fish which is done on their barbeque, a beaten up old motor boat (which incidentally used to be a charming old fishing boat!), or there is a vast choice of barbequed meats as well, along with rice dishes.
Sardines from the boat
The staff are friendly and quick to serve you with drinks, fresh bread and alioli to keep you occupied whilst you decide on the food. My cousin is prone to over order so I warned her about the portions of potatoes and salads and said we could order more if we needed it. We didn’t of course. Some of the party had mixed paella, the rest of us had fish and meat on the barbeque, a huge salad and mountains of salty chips. Heavenly. You can stuff yourself here for around 20 euros including loads of decent plonk, water and coffees (no pud needed). It is open all year round, so is great for those sometimes blustery winter days when the sea is crashing onto the beach and you are all cosy inside. The owners let you linger and are never in a hurry to push you out so we rolled out at 5 ish and came back to the cortijo for a siesta. No supper needed that night!
Neptuno Beach Club telephone no. 616 005 387
Yummy Almeria 
I adore this restaurant for all the reasons Gail has desribed. I might just add that the barbie is an old boat on the shore outside the restaurant, filled with charcoal, and that the staff do not have to leg it to an old fishing boat with on board barbie! It is definitely worth a visit