THESE days you would be hard pushed not to spot a famous face strolling along the boardwalk prom at La Cala de Mijas.

Celebrity restaurateurs like Elliott Wright of The Only Way is Essex and Playa in Marbella, plus TV chef Steven Saunders have made this pretty beach resort a magnet for the ‘in’ crowd. Alongside a mix of well-heeled international tourists, keep your eyes peeled for British celebrities like Antony Worrall Thompson and Chris Tarrant, while the late-lamented Rick Parfitt of Status Quo fame was also a La Cala fan.

Now French chef Joffrey Charles, who counts Prince Charles, Kate Moss and Madonna among his customers, has added his own brand new restaurant to La Cala’s glittering culinary scene. Meanwhile A Place in the Sun has recently made stars of charming restaurant couple Alison and Steve at the excellent Blue Marlin fish restaurant. Just up the coast, El Oceano hotel has stunning penthouse suites going at 600 euros a pop and mostly full of English VIPs and movers and shakers from Easter onwards.

Long gone are the days when gangland heroes like ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser, Kray Twins minder George Dixon and the notorious Ronnie Knight gave the area its Costa del Crime label. These days there is a distinct sense of glamour about the charming erstwhile fishing village which has become a genuine foil to buzzy Marbella.

Thanks to its prime location between Marbella and Fuengirola, visitors can stay close to the urban action while revelling in the provincial charm of waterfront f i s h e r m e n ’ s cottages and timeless backstreet bars. The newly-restored 18th-century watchtower stands as a beacon to the history of a town where donkeys were the main form of transport until the 1970s!

Defiantly low-rise, La Cala de Mijas has preserved its Spanish charm while absorbing waves of tourists and smartening up its act with luxurious second homes, a splendid promenade and a hip restaurant scene. With last year’s opening of the beach boardwalk connecting it to the neighbouring resort of Riviera, there is all the more reason to strut your stuff in La Cala.

Fast becoming a little corner of Marbella in Mijas, TOWIE star Elliott Wright had the clarity of vision to choose La Cala over Marbella, investing three million euros in stunning restaurant Olivia’s. “The Only way is La Cala these days,” he says bullishly. “Bit by bit it is getting more and more glamorous and upmarket. “Forget Marbs, this is the place to hang out these days.” Fellow restaurateur Steven Saunders, of Ready Steady Cook fame, agrees. “It is incredible how much this area has come up in the last couple of years. “It has always been charming but now there is a real buzz about the place.”

The occasional Olive Press columnist has contributed to the upbeat vibe with his own restaurant, The Little Geranium. Sporting a trendy denim chef’s jacket and a natty black trilby (‘from the days where I had to rush between my 15 restaurants and a chef’s hat got in the way’), Saunders personally explains each course of his seven-dish tasting menu to enthralled diners.The Little Geranium has certainly blossomed and has been full to bursting every day since he opened.

Much has changed but not everything … Irish bar Biddy Mulligan’s has been a popular meet-up hub for many a year. It is rarely not rammed to the rafters. The perfect place to watch sport or grab a Guinness, manager David Reilly reckons La Cala is still ‘the best kept secret on the Costa Del Sol’. “It really is an amazing village with everything you could wish for – all within a short walk from each other,” he says. “It has fantastic restaurants, a picturesque beach and a family friendly atmosphere.”