Conil is an excellent place to eat, especially if you are there in May or June during the almadraba tuna season. The bluefin tuna caught in the traditional offshore net traps is exceptional — nothing like the farmed or frozen tuna you get elsewhere. Atún encebollado (tuna with onions), atún a la plancha, and mojama (salt-cured tuna) appear on virtually every menu in town during the season.
Seafood dominates year-round. The fish market behind the port is the town's most important building, in practical terms — the restaurants here get their supplies directly from the boats. Fried fish (pescaíto frito) is the local default and done well almost everywhere: boquerones (anchovies), calamares, puntillitas (tiny squid). The local approach is plain frying in good olive oil, lightly battered, served immediately.
The old town around the Torre de Guzmán has a concentration of tapas bars and restaurants aimed at both visitors and locals. The side streets off Calle Pascual Junquera and the Plaza de España are worth exploring — avoid anything with a laminated photo menu or a menu translated into five languages.