New restaurant, new members, and another fantastic day with the Torremolinos Lunch Club! This time we were heading to Italiano Guadalupe Torremolinos.
Starting at Guinn’s Bar
We started the day at the lunch club’s favourite launch pad, Guinn’s Bar in central Torremolinos, meeting at 2.30pm for our usual star treatment. The rain made an appearance, but we were tucked away under cover. A couple of drinks to get things going—craft beers for me, naturally!
Attik Brewing — Rage DDH NEIPA and Glitch Hazy IPA.
We had returning members joining us, along with two new faces.
Lunch at Italiano Guadalupe Torremolinos
Then it was over to Guadalupe for our 3.30pm reservation. We’d been the week before to give it our usual test run, and the food, wine and prices had been exceptional.
Our reserved table was laid out in one long row, and we were attended to straight away. The waiter agreed to split the bills as he went along. Winner!
We were first to order, and I could see he was trying to work out the separate bills while getting everything organised. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, our food order got mixed up. We’d asked for the same pizza we’d enjoyed the week before: ham and mushroom with extra garlic and onion. What arrived was a plain Margherita. A bit of a nightmare when you’ve been looking forward to a particular pizza, but we didn’t complain—we just got on with it.
The wine order was right, though! This time we’d chosen the house Spanish red, and it was bang on!!
Considering we hadn’t pre-ordered, the food and drinks came out quickly. And despite the mix-up with our toppings, the pizza itself was fantastic, coming out of the large pizza oven they have.
The oven and the man behind the pizzas at Italiano Guadalupe!
The restaurant is really nice inside, with plenty of room, making it a good shout for couples or groups. The staff are very friendly, the prices are damn good, and the ingredients are great. When they get the order right, the pizza is one of the best in town!
The group was more than happy—another week with no complaints, which is always good to hear. They even offered us a free shot, which blew everyone away!
Then came the moment of truth: settling our separate bills. Everyone paid up with no mistakes. Fantastic!
Definitely a 10 out of 10—could have been a 12 if my pizza had been right!
Last Man Standing at New Irish Jim’s
With the crew happy and fed, we decided on New Irish Jim’s with Kev for our last-man-standing session. We headed up the gradual slope to El Calvario.
We got stuck into the wine, and fired up a game of pool. Good fun!!
Last man standing at New Irish Jim’s—a few drinks and some friendly competition!
Last man standing is the highlight of the day for me. It’s great to see people making the effort to join in and enjoy the whole day—not just the lunch!
Last man standing, lunch club style—wine, laughter and absolutely no sensible posing! 😂
A big thank you to everyone for making it another fantastic day! Lovely to see returning members and welcome new faces—it’s a great time for the Torremolinos Lunch Club. Two weeks with no complaints is a relief! It makes the whole day run so much smoother, leaving us to enjoy the company, have a laugh and make some brilliant memories together.
A Little Help Keeping the Club Going
It’s that time of year when we ask for voluntary donations towards the upkeep of the club—and before we’d even put the word out, Torre and Lise had already made our first donation. Thank you, guys!
Last year, we received around seven or eight donations from our international lunch club members. These help cover the website domain, hosting, Vixer and any birthday cake top-ups. Over the past few months, members have also been contributing towards the cakes rather than leaving me and Lisa to cover the difference, which is really appreciated.
Remember, this is a free social club. There’s no membership fee, and you can come and go as you please. If you’re able to put a euro or two towards keeping it running, it all helps—but donations are voluntary. You can contribute through our donations page. Thank you to everyone who chips in!
Keeping Things Enjoyable in 2027
A little housekeeping for the year ahead. We want everyone to enjoy their meal and the company without one person’s ongoing complaints taking over the table.
For 2027, members who disrupt the meal with repeated complaints about trivial issues won’t be invited the following week. If it continues, it will result in a permanent ban from the club.
That doesn’t mean you can’t politely ask the restaurant to put something right. If you have dietary requirements or preferences—less salt, for example—please explain them when ordering. If something is wrong, speak calmly to the staff so they have a chance to sort it out, rather than letting it spoil everyone else’s afternoon.
Birthday celebrations will continue to be organised by the lunch club. We already have an established way of doing things, so if you have an idea, please run it past us before making arrangements. Suggestions are welcome; changing plans without checking with the organisers isn’t. We’ve had to remove members over interference with events in the past, and we’d rather not repeat that.
Apart from those reminders, the club is running brilliantly. Keeping a few clear boundaries helps us keep it that way!
What’s Coming Up?
Invitations have gone out for next week, and the week after that Dave will be joining us, having lined up his day with Lynsey this time. We’re looking forward to seeing him!
We’ll be sticking to daytime outings until the weather heats up again next year. So yes, we’re very much the Torremolinos Lunch Club—and for anyone still wondering, the name doesn’t change when we occasionally go out in the evening! 😂