1000 glassy eyes stare back at you from a fiery pit... Delicious. 🐟

The Med knows its sardines - who needs table service and overpriced booze when you can grab a stick of fish, a litre of wine and head for the beach?

Here are the 3 best ways to get sardined…

The best kind of lollipop is a sardine lollipop.

Walk along any stretch of Málaga’s beachfront and find chiringuitos (boat-turned-restaurant-type-things) selling sticks of salted sardines and cold cervezas.

The only way to get fresher fish is to eat them alive (which is not for everyone).

Stand aside Captain Birdseye...

Just a short drive outside Porto’s city centre you’ll find the harbour district of Matosinhos.

Follow the bustle to the long row of restaurants, each with its own street side grill. Get your sardines to go or sit overlooking the marina.

Where the fishermen eat.

From sea to plate in under an hour, this family run tasca, serves grilled fish and good, cheap wine. That is all.

A handwritten menu shows the daily catch, which always includes sardines (and sometimes mackerel and swordfish). This is damn good fish.