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Betty Dalary, La Linea de la Concepcion
DUSTY border town La Línea de la Concepción might not be the first place that comes to mind for food lovers in Andalucia.
Famed – or perhaps notorious – for being the Spanish sister town to Gibraltar – and the base for a large smuggling community – the town in fact holds many more surprises.
Annual Ruta del AtúnThis year, the event is in its fifth iteration.
Local restaurants will go to any lengths to create a tuna extravaganza to impress the judges. linenses’ Hearts and stomaches
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The community didn’t disappoint them, as it filled every table available for four days in order to try as many different tuna dishes as possible.
Tuna festivals usually take place during the almadraba (traditional and sustainable) season in May, in the Strait of Gibraltar.
This helps to explain why this region produces some the best tunas in the world.
Tuna festivals have been a tradition in towns like Barbate, Zahara los Atunes, and Conil.
Meanwhile, La Línea quietly hosts its own lesser-known event.
Tarifa is renowned for its legendary Ruta del Atún Rojo The event was cancelled due to low participation by restaurants. However, 27 restaurants from La Linea came up with an array of inventive and often bizarre dishes based on tuna.
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The competition was dominated by tuna tartar dishes, with 14 different variations. By day 2, some people were groaning at the mention raw tuna.
The following are some of the ways to get in touch with your fellow citizens. Ruta del Atún The passport is your best companion for these 4 days. It has pictures of every dish and allows you to keep track.
On Wednesday, my friends and I began our journey. We started at West – a location with some of the most beautiful sunset views around.
We were able to see their work. Diversión helado de atún (Frozen Tuna Fun).
This was an instant favourite – the dish arrived in a martini glass, filled with fresh lemonade on top of which half a lemon filled with tajine-spiced tuna tartar was balancing, with a scoop of lemon ice cream on top.
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Over the years, there were many other strange but wonderful favorites. Nube de atún La Chimenea’s Tuna Cloud was served along with cotton candy. Atunoro Snob, a gold-covered car.
But the real crowd-pleaser wasJaponesa de atún (Tuna Japonesa) is a play on the Linensen sweet. A glazed brioche filled with custard, it won the vote of the people and captured the hearts.
The Japanese were really in full force with the spicy ponzu and togarashi mayo, along with the honey, lime, and ginger. japonesa.
On Friday it was evident that everyone had their tuna passports, and live bands were performing on stage while handmade crafts were sold at the pop up market.
La Taberna was no exception. Tosta Rica, Barbas’ ChinatúnAnd the Bruscheta de atún rojo Bodebar.
The dish Ardente’s was a meal that exceeded my expectations from a small town tuna festival. Atún en el jardín (Tuna In The Garden), a tartar dish beautifully presented with a mixture of fruity and spicy flavours, including grilled-frozen shaved pineapple.
The stamps I collected in the restaurants that participated was my favorite part.
For 5 stamps in your passport, you could vote on the best dish, and for 10 you were entered into a prize draw and received a tote bag full of surprises, including a small bottle of wine and a free breakfast — a fantastic way to keep local restaurants and Linenses busy.
The winning dish Espetatum by Caramba, chosen by chefs Mikel Landa Aramburu and Cristina Gutiérrez and artist María Villalón, will go on to represent La Línea at FITUR 2026 — proving that with the support of the local community, even a small-town food fest can dream big.
