Isla de Tenerife Restaurants

While walking through Puerto de la Cruz one night, we were ushered into a rather hidden patio by a guy from this restaurant. Normally, I wouldn't give in and follow him, but we were too hungry and indecisive where else to go. It was a pleasant surprise: The patio in which there are two restaurants (El Establo and Bar Tapas Luis y Balcon) was a very nice place to enjoy some food and wine. We later found out that it is the oldest house of Puerto de la Cruz.
The food was very good, but the service lacked quality. Our waiter looked either completely bored or really annoyed and only answered in one-word sentences. Perhaps he couldn't stand that Luis across the patio had much more customers than he had...

Favorite Dish: I had the Canary Islands Skewer which was very good and came with a spicy chili, vegetable and pepper sauce. My wife had the "conejo en salmorejo", fried rabbit in a garlic, wine and vegetable sauce. It tasted good, but there were more bones than meat.

We went to La Clave on our very first evening and immediately hit the bull's eye. Their tapas are just perfect and the accompanying wines are magnificent. Moreover, the staff is very friendly and attentive, and our waiter even conversed with us in Spanish. This doesn't happen too often in a town as touristy as Puerto de la Cruz.

Favorite Dish: We had several tapas such as:

Grilled cheese with honey and oregano (perfect!)
Papas arrugadas con mojo rojo y mojo verde (potatoes with spicy sauce, again perfect!)
A whole squid fish (alright, but something to get used to)
Silver bass with garlic and lemon (very good despite the fact that I normally don't eat fish)
Tomato salad (the best I've ever had)

For dessert, I chose an apple-caramel pie which was also very tasty.

4 more images

Martin Berasategui is one of Spain's Top Ten Chefs, and he has graced one of Tenerife's finest hotels with a restaurant in his name.

I visited this restaurant, at the divine Abama Hotel, in October 2007 when it was called "El Patio" and I posted a review under that name. Now it has trendily altered the name to "MB" and, as such, adopted a somewhat different approach and so deserves a fresh review under the equally fresh name.

It was all the more interesting because, in the same week, I visited the other great Spanish Chef's namesake restaurant in Tenerife - Dani Garcia, at Gran Melia Palacio de Isora. It was impossible not to make comparisons and my verdict is that MB wins out on this occasion.

Service is impressively first class as you walk through the doors of MB. Guided to our window seat, we were immediately offered drinks and presented with the menu. The down side that night was that the weather had been bad, and so the restaurant was cold. Seating guests by the window is generally a good marketing ploy, but on this occasion the cold breeze went a long way towards ruining our enjoyment of the evening. Other than that, the decor was fabulous, the restaurants comfortable, the staff attentive without being cloying, and the staff uniforms just the right little bit over the top, especially that of our waitress, which was almost Victorian.

Why, I even had a special little table on which to place my handbag.

Favorite Dish: The menu was impressive and it was hard to choose. In addition to the a la carte, there was a relatively reasonably priced tasting menu.

On this occasion I opted for a la carte. We were all tempted with an amuse bouche of a rich cauliflour puree with basil oil and what I think was an almond crunch. Very tasty indeed. A slate containing six different flavours of butter, ranging from mushroom to beetroot, perfectly complemented the freshly baked variety of breads and crispbreads which were presented to us to choose from.

My starter was divine - described on the menu as "Almond "Porrusalda" with roasted scallop, egg yolk, and potato bread" it was even nicer than it sounded. The scallop, egg, and potato bread arrived first, and the almond "porrusalda" followed in a jug and was ceremoniously poured over the plated tasty bites. Simple, smooth, and very rich.

Moving on to the main course, my black ravioli of lobster with a thousand spice foam jus was delicious and yet something I wasn't quite sure of. The filling in the ravioli tasted more of sausage meat than lobster to me, but I'm sure that had a whole lot to do with the thousand spice seasoning. The foam jus was very light and foamy and tasty.

My friend ate the "Grilled beef tenderloin, creamy gnocchi with sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Apple and bitter lemon cream." All of the flavours and textures were there! The beef was perfectly red, served on a slate and dusted in rock salt.

A pre dessert preceded our main dessert, of which I had a somewhat disappointing iced coffee with a bundle of sticky hazlenut. The plate, decorated with a confectionery gold ribbon, looked pretty but the dessert was not much. MY friends millefeuille of apple and frosty cream was delicious and finished the night perfectly.

The meal, including bottled water and one gin and tonic, cost around €250. Not cheap by any means, but worth every cent.

Highly recommended.

We received such a warm welcome and found our meals at this restaurant to be the tastiest Indian food we have ever come across. It was all very well presented and had such depth of flavour. The owner told us that they recently repainted and added some extra features to the restaurant, and it does look good, a very clean, comfortable atmosphere. The restaurant is situated on a road, but it did not disturb our evening at all. We enjoyed the whole evening and the bill was very resonable compared to other restaurants. The chef did an excellent job, the service was great, and we will return during our holidays in February. If you want a curry but you are tired of being disappointed by the other Indian restaurants, do not worry, this place will surely satisfy you.

Favorite Dish: I had lamb tikka and mushroom balti, it was fantastic. So much flavour and the lamb was perfect.

I went to Restaurante Los Roques with friends for no special occasion and had the most delightful meal there.

From the moment we arrived to the moment we left the staff were warm, friendly, courteous and knowledgable, and definately added to the evening.

The restaurant itself is delightful; modern, chic and yet without being faddish or trendy. We initially had drinks on the deck at lunchtime, which has the most fantastic views, but went back another time for dinner.

Yet, despite the fantastic staff, the stunning views, the high standard of all the furniture and fittings, along with what are probably the best restaurant bathrooms on tenerife, nothing, but nothing, outdid the food.

We were stunned. You just don't expect to find food this good in a place like this. Yes, the prices are higher than most of the restaurants around it, but they are lower than you pay for the same food in places like London or New York. In some cases, less than half what you might pay. And the food is at least equal to many of the better restaurants I've eaten in, and that includes one or two that have a Michelin Star.

All in all the place was great; we were so comfortable and enjoyed ourselves so much. Although the food was excellent and the highlight of the evening the staff, surroundings and ambiance all contributed.

We will definately be returning to Los Roques at every possible opportunity, and although some may think the prices are high, I don't - you get what you pay for and it's worth every last cent.

Favorite Dish: I had Tartar of Salmon to start. I discovered after eating it that the salmon is purchased whole by the restaurant, but is prepared and cured on the premises in their own marinade, a process taking several days. It is diced and served in a caper aioli which is just fantastic. The flavour and texture combination gives a kind of silkiness to the dish. The fish has a richness to it unlike anything I've tasted in a fish dish like this. The waiter suggested I try some bread with it, and sure enough, the bread opened up the flavour still further. The salad leaves on which the salmon sat were some of the most diverse and tasty I've had on the island.

My main course was Fillet of Beef with Yuca Chips, Sweet Pea Mousse and Thyme Liquor. The steak was divinely tender, perfectly cooked medium rare. The yuca chips were unusual and the sweet pea mousse verdent. Ah yes, there was a quenelle of harissa on top of the steak, which, combined with the yuca, pea, and thyme licor complemented the beef so well I was almost shocked. If only more steak dishes were like this! I wondered afterwards why the bothered providing a steak knife - I could have cut it with my fork!

For dessert, I had the Strawberry and Basil Sorbet, served with meringue and basil liquor. Again, a fantastic flavour combination, perfectly balanced. The sorbet was of fresh fruit puree, untainted with syrup, egg or cream, but still smooth and creamy. The meringue was crisp and sweet, a perfect foil for the sorbet. And the basil liquor added to and lifted the sorbet just the right way.

Added to this were two other surprises; the bread and the brownies, both unsolicited and both free of charge, as you would expect of a restaurant of this class, but not necessarily of restaurants in Tenerife.

I couldn't choose any one of these if I had to - the three together made the most fantastic meal I have had in a while.

We were amazed walking through Los Abrigos to discover that a little Italian restaurant we've been to a coupel of times has transformed into the most amazing international restaurant.

The interior is completely - and I mean completely - revamped, and could easily have been transported from any major European city. The view from the deck terrace is stunning, we watched the most magnificent sunset there whilst having a drink before dinner.

Their food is not outmatched by either the decor or the view, and the service left nothing to be desired either. The food was quite novel for Tenerife, and extremely tasty. The chef is a genius at mxing flavours. And their bread was heavenly!

It's a bit more pricey than other Los Abrigos restaurants, but the food so easily outcalsses anything else on offer we weren't disappointed and felt it was well worth it. We will definately be going back.

Favorite Dish: I have to say I couldn't choose a favourite dish. I had grilled langoustine with an asparagus creme brulee which was astonishingly good. I also had guinea fowl, which came with vine leaves stuffed with an incredibly tasty mousse, I think it was artichoke. My wife had carpaccio of beef, tender, juicy and with a fabulous house made chutney, followed by something that was described as an 'italian seafood stew' but that does not do it justice by a long way. It had shellfish, a huge tiger prawn, and squid in a rich seafood sauce. We had a plate of mixed desserts, all were fantastic.

The best italian in Tenerife and packed very night.

I would recommend bookign if possible. If you find you need to wait, you have sip a glass of wine from the vast selection of wine.

The food and service were first class and although the restaurant is busy throughout the night you never feel they are trying to rush you out the door.

I would highly recommend the restaurant in Hotel Rural Victoria, La Orotava. Quite simply, the food was outstanding, it was by far the finest meal of our trip, and the prices were great given the quality of the food.

You don't need to stay in the hotel to visit the restaurant though it is worth booking in advance as it is a popular place.

And so to the food! For starters, Ruth had a chicken Caesar salad while I opted for deep fried goats cheese with salad. The portions weren't huge but just enough to whet your appetite for the main course. Ruth had Conejo en Salmorejo (rabbit done Canarian style) while I opted for steak. As the food was so good we ended up sharing both our courses just to try them out. It was difficult to believe how good they were given the main courses cost only about 10 Euro each. We tried a bottle of Vina Norte red wine, a local bottle, which went very well with our food. To round off the meal we were given a complimentary glass of banana liqueur, another local speciality.

As we were staying in Hotel Victoria, we also had breakfast here the next morning. This was also excellent - an all you can eat buffet, with a great selection of food, delicious coffee and fresh fruit juices. After 4 days hiking in Teide National Park, we deserved a couple of nice meals and that's exactly what we got in Hotel Victoria.