A reason to go to Tenerife
Thread Starter: drawler Started: Fri 18 Aug 2006 Replies: 4
Or several, actually.
I went to Tenerife about 7 years ago, and was so unimpressed I didn't go back.
However, went back recently as the trip was effectively free, and this time stayed in a nice hotel away from Las Americas, hired a car, saw a bit of the island.
But aside from all this, I had some of the most fantastic food in ages in several restaurants, and all because of one particular restaurant.
We'd asked at the hotel where to go and eat, and after a disappointing meal at their recommended location (a place called the Lobster Pot near where we were staying) asked again. We were told to go to a nearby village and try a place called Los Roques.
This was much more like it. Aside from the food being to die for, the furniture, interior, views, toilets and staff were all beyond fantastic. We had a table on their open terrace, and had fantastic views of the sea.
We chatted with the staff, who couldn't be more helpful. When we asked for recommendations for other places to eat that were good, they pulled out a local guide book, showed us places they had personally been to that they knew were good, and even wrote down the names, locations and phone nubmers for us! How many places would do that?
And they were all good recommendations. None quite came up to Los Roques in every respect (why can't people get toilets right?) but the food was always good, if not the ambiance/service/fittings.
So, my recommendation for dining in Tenerife, in order of preference, would be
1) Los Roques in Los Abrigos
2) El Almacigo in Valle San Lorenzo
3) Lucas Maes in La Orotava
4) Gom in Santa Cruz
5) Jardin de los Dragos in Arona
I would never have believed that good food was a reason to go to Tenerife. The best part was getting some amazing food and wine at low prices. We'd have easily spent twice as much dining out here, and was the main reason we ate out so much there! In fact, our most expensive meal there, a full meal with drinks, wine etc, cost us the same as a recent meal here in the UK at a run-of-the-mill local restaurant.
So if you're there, dig around to find the best places to eat. Don't believe for a second that it's all fish and chips and paella!
