We first ate here last year. It’d been recommended and, when we got to La Caleta, it seemed to be the only place really buzzing at lunchtime. Same again this trip. Other places had just a couple of tables occupied but it was packed here. It’s a pretty much perfect location for a seafood lunch – with the sun shining and the waves crashing against the rocks underneath the restaurant terrace.
There’s squid rings to start – served “a la Romana” – just dusted with flour and quickly fried. They really needed nothing more than the squeeze of lemon but dabbing a bit of green mojo sauce on them was a good idea. Strips of roasted red pepper formed the other starter – proper roasted peppers (none of the jar opening that I’d do at home!) . There’s just a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of parsley. They’re served cold, but not so fridge cold that you can’t taste the peppers.
Sole meuniere was a good sized fish. Cooked perfectly, the flesh slide easily off the bone and was absolutely delicious. I always think of hake as the most Spanish of fish and it’s something I’m going to order at least once on any trip to the country. Here, a thick slice was simply fried – perhaps a tad overdone for perfection but only a tad. It’s a fine line. There’s Canarian potatoes for both of us. Salty but not overly so. And the contribution towards the “five a day” comes from some lettuce – but it’s more garnish than anything else.
We didn’t have dessert but coffee was excellent. We’d had a lovely lunch and it was time to waddle back along the paseo to our hotel near the Plaza del Duque.