Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
1
Our visits to the island are usually in January for a three week stay. We fancied an autumn break and, truth be told, Cyprus was top of the list. But it had very unpleasant flight times so we looked elsewhere. We’ve stayed in this part of the southern resort areas before and it is probably the most touristy when it comes to food. There’s almost nothing that you might call Spanish – not least as this is “hotel land” and the restaurants are catering to undemanding tourists from Northern Europe.
A couple of full reviews follow but, other than them, this is where we ate:-
Leonardo’s – touristy, Identikit menu just like everywhere else
Gran Sol – nice lunch so went back for what was a very slow dinner
El Olivo – touristy but with a bit of Spanish slant
Moon – pizza for lunch
Farola del Mar – touristy but our most enjoyable evening of the week
7 Likes
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
2
SOLE BISTROT
Only open about three months, Sole Bistrot should be starting to gain a reputation for top-notch Italian food. It’s a family run business and, although the family are not Italian, they have a clear understanding of that country’s cuisine and flavours. Perhaps more importantly, they fully understand the hospitality that’s needed to run a good restaurant.
It’s a small place with a small menu. A handful of starters, almost all of them variations on carpaccio. A small list of about 10 pasta dishes, described in the Italian way as “starters” (primi) but served as main courses. I’m coming back for the wild boar ravioli. And just three dishes described as main courses (secondi), all of them based on steak. One of them is what brought us here – bistecca alla Fiorentina – the 4cm thick T-bone that you’ll rarely see outside of Northern Italy. It came on the rare side of medium rare, just as it should and was utterly delicious. It weighed in at 1.3kg including the bone, generously serving the two of us. As traditional in Italy, the sides are priced as extras and we took the servers suggestion of roast potato wedges and fried mixed vegetable. Both worked well.
Only one of us wanted dessert (and there’s only three on the menu). Pistachip coolant was like a chocolate fondant but with pistachio cream (there was also the chocolate version. We finished with espresso – no surprise that it was really good.
This quality of food does not come cheap. It’s very much a matter of you getting what you pay for. I hope they continue to do well.
8 Likes
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
3
LA CUPULA
It’s not so long back that I used to say that the food at La Cupula was the best I’d ever eaten in Tenerife. I wouldn’t really say that now. It’s mostly because there are newer places that are even better. But it’s also that the food here isn’t quite as good as before. It’s still imaginative cooking and well worth its continued place in the Michelin Guide but I doubt it’s still in the running for a Michelin Star.
They do tasting menus but our preference is for a traditional “carta” which is one of the benefits of the restaurant. The amuse bouche was perhaps the best example of the inconsistency of the cuisine. It was a very elegant beef tartare, with shards of tapioca crisp for a texture contrast. But it lacked the flavour “oomph”, you expect from a really good tartare. Served next, bread was outstanding. A really fine sourdough and a fruit loaf. Local olive oil and red mojo for dunking and two butters, one truffled, for slathering.
One starter, described as “cherry tomato juice” brought skinned raw tomatoes in a cold dressing of olive oil and what may have been tomato juice, but had no real flavour. Light, fresh but not very exciting. Crispy ravioli was no such thing. Instead the pasta had been shaped into a tart and deep fried till crisp. It was filled with suckling pig and topped with pickled pepper and “spicy strocciatelli”. Served cold, these were intended to be eaten with your fingers. Worked.
Then there was monkfish – something not seen often enough on menus, IMO. I suppose cost is a deterrent but Cupula goes the right route – serve a properly sized portion and charge accordingly, without skimping. Yes, it was a bit overdone, but not enough that it needed to go back. It sat on an azuki bean puree, the earthy notes matching the meatiness of the fish. Thin slices of beef, matured for 60 days, were dressed with a beef jus, made from the trimmings. It was accompanied by tiny florets of cauliflower in tempura batter.
We both went with the same dessert – cheesecake. A fairly standard vanilla cheesecake topped with “elements of strawberry” – gel, bits of fruit and a sorbet. Nice dessert and we finished with good espresso. So, in spite of it not being perfect, we had a nice evening. Service had been particularly good, with everything happening seamlessly, just as and when it should.
