One thing that pleasantly surprised me about Las Palmas was how multicultural it was, as can be seen by the wide variety of restaurants from every region of Spain and every country in the former Spanish empire, as well as many other national cuisines. During my eight night stay I ate Canarian, Galician, Uruguayan, Peruvian, Swedish, Japanese, Korean and Indian food. Here are my favourites in order of preference.
Google map here.
See also the following post on places to eat around La Puntilla, the area at the northern end of the beach, including the market.
Novillo Precoz (High Intermediate A), 9 Calle Portugal, www.novilloprecoz.es
This was one of my favourites during my stay; a completely authentic, old school Uruguayan steak restaurant which has been around a long time judging by the age of the owner; a frail old lady guarding the till.
To begin a Chorizo Parrillero and a Morcilla sausage…
…followed by grilled Provelone.
For the main a medium rare Bife Ancho steak (A) with Papas Fritas (A) and a big Ensalada Mixta (B+).
On the waiter’s recommendation I had this with a local red wine called Caldera (B).
For dessert I again put myself in the hands of my helpful waiter who surprised me with a mixed dessert of Polvitos Uruguayos (a kind of cheesecake with a biscuit crumb base, whipped cream, filled with dulce de leche and topped with pieces of meringue) which in Uruguay is known as Polvitos de Novicia, paired with a Panqueque con Dulce de Leche which combined were heaven on a plate (A+), especially when supported by a glass of PX.
After this excellent meal I had to finish things properly with a balloon of Gran Duque de Alba brandy in a warmed glass (A).
The total came to a greedy €71 which I was happy to pay for such a comprehensive blowout.
Ribera del Rio Mino (Advanced B+), 21 Calle Olof Palme, www.riberadelriomino.com
This is a high end Galician restaurant recommended by Michelin and the Guia Repsol. It’s very popular with posh locals and I was lucky to get a seat at the bar for Sunday lunch, despite arriving early. Reservations definitely recommended at peak times.
My waiter at the bar was very hard-working but he should have had someone else on with him because he was often too busy to serve me as the place started to fill up.
I began with a media of Croquetas de la Casa (B+).
The Gambas a la Plancha were pricey at €21, but they were just what I wanted (B+).
With these I had three glasses of an excellent Albarino (A), called Altos de Torona, at €3 a glass.
For the next dishes I swapped to red which was more pricey at €4 a glass but the first glass of a Ribera del Duero called Pago de Valtarreña was totally worth the money (A).
However the subsequent glasses of Celeste and La Planta, both Riberas, were less so (B).
The Chistorra sausages with chips were good (B). However I felt the local Queso Duro (B+) was a bit pricey at €10.60 and the cheesecake (C) wasn’t worth €7.
But the glass of Carlos I brandy was good value at €6.40.
The total bill for this little lot came to €80. Many things were overpriced in my opinion but there were bargains to be had and I was glad to have experienced their top notch wines.
La Despensa (Low Intermediate B+), 8 Calle Diderot
A place to have Canarian food near the Hotel Astoria. I had the reasonably priced Menu Degustacion for €21 which scored a B overall. This kicked off with Tomates Aliñados, a dressed tomato salad…
… and continued with Garbanzada, a local chick pea stew. Next came a very unusual dish, particular to the Canaries, of Croquetas de Morcilla de Teror which contained sugar, ground almonds, raisins nutmeg and spearmint. While I love black pudding, I’m not sure if I’m a fan of this sweet version (C+) but it was interesting.
The meal concluded with Secreto Iberico, a pork cut with chips. Very good value and nice rustic food.
Bodegon Don Juan Pachichi (Elementary B), 51 Calle Martinez de Escobar
A very popular tapas bar located in an old garage! It has been around for 70+ years apparently. The food scores a B/C with me but the atmos is B+.
I had two glasses of mediocre red, some Queso Semi-Curado con Mojo (in the Canaries mojo means a ‘sauce’ containing olive oil, peppers, garlic, and paprika) and some Jamon Serrano.
Of note is the Chorizo al Inferno, which you get to grill yourself.
It’s fun to do but the results aren’t great and there’s a slight aftertaste of lighter fluid.
To finish; Pan Bizcocho a kind of local cake which I wasn’t too keen on (C-).
The final bill was €11.30 which is very reasonable. A fun place which I’d go to again.
Nomiya (Intermediate B+), 34 Calle Rafael Almeida
A bright, modern place selling Korean and Japanese food, run by Koreans, that has a strong local following. The waitresses were lovely and very efficient and hard working. Two of them were sisters who had lived in Manchester and Belfast but where currently sporting strong US accents as they attended the local American school.
One told me how much she missed the friendly people of Manchester who were quite different in their attitude towards people of other ethnicities in comparison to the Canarians who she felt weren’t very welcoming. Unfortunately I’d have to agree with her due to my general experience. Some locals (not all by any means) don’t seem to like foreigners much.
Anyway, about the food. I had a portion of Kimchi; pickled Chinese cabbage with chilli (B), Bibimbap, a hot rice dish (B+) and feeling greedy I followed up with Pa Jun, a seafood pancake (B).
With a couple of local Tropical beers (C+), the bill came to just over €25.
A good spot if you fancy a change from Spanish food.
Fuji (Intermediate B-), 56 Calle Fernando Guanarteme, www.restaurantefuji.es
Spain’s oldest Japanese restaurant apparently (founded in 1967), but as someone who lived in Japan for a while, I can’t say I was particularly impressed.
I had the Misoshiru (beanpaste soup), the Sashimi de Sama (a common local fish, raw)…
…and the Norimaki Variado (mixed seaweed rolls).
It was all perfectly edible but uninspiring and I was given a replacement for the tuna norimaki without being asked if it was okay, which it wasn’t.. With two Kirin lagers the bill came to €37.50.
Nawabi (Intermediate B), 7 Calle Jesus Ferrer Jimeno
A fairly posh Indian restaurant with tasty, authentic curries (B). Another good place for a change of cuisine.
La Bikina Cantina (Intermediate B), 63 Paseo de las Canteras
I had the Ceviche and a Margarita for €12.50. The ceviche wasn’t very nice C- but maybe other things on the menu are okay.
For more places to eat and drink in the area, seen my next post on La Puntilla.