Robert de Niro celebrates with Banderas

Robert de Niro has fallen in love again, this time with the cuisine of the Malaga province, as he is invited to celebrate his 81st birthday with Antonio Banderas in Marbella.

Hollywood Legend, Robert de Niro celebrates his 81st birthday on the Costa del Sol. He was recently spotted in Ronda with family dining at 2-Michelin star Bardal restaurant. Antonio Banderas posted on Facebook that he had invited who he called ‘one of the greatest actors of all time’ to have lunch with him at El Pimpi, Marbella to celebrate. While in the Marbella restaurant, de Niro took the time to sign one of the El Pimpi barrels.

Not just anyone is invited to sign the famous El Pimpi wine barrels. Previous stars of note have included Salvador Dalí, the children of Pablo Picasso, Hollywood actor Jason Biggs, John Makovich, Rafa Nadal and Tony Blair.

This current food-orientated trip to Spain has not been de Niro’s first. He has long been a fan of Spanish haute cuisine. In 2022 he was invited to participate in the celebrated Madrid Fusion competition in which 5 of the World’s top chefs battled it out for the title of best in the world. At the event, de Niro demonstrated that he was already a dab hand at the skill of finely cutting Iberian ham.

And the Hollywood gangster actor’s favourite Spanish restaurant? Bar Mut in Barcelona, a restaurant with few stars on Tripadvisor, but one he returns to every time he visits Catalonia.