Never did I consider visiting Lanzarote, or any of the Islas Canarias, in this lifetime, and doubt very much if its would be entering my mind in the next. But watching the Jose Andres episode about the island piqued my interest, so when a chance opened up for me to take a trip in May, I began doing some reading of which there is not much other than where to buy the cheapest beers, or see the obvious sights. For at least I’ve not found any…
If anyone here knows the island, and has an interest in local dishes and restaurants geared to fairly serious (that does not mean not fun!) diners, your comments would be most welcome. I’ve booked a hotel in Puerto del Carmen for about a week and am willing to hire a car or take taxi to great eating spots. I’ve already put EL RISCO on my list…never had limpets or fried Moray eel before and it looks like a lovely spot on the sea…
Hi erica1,
As you know, I won’t visit until Nov. for the SABOREA LANZAROTE gastro event in Teguise, but this is one I have at the top of my list-
SeBE by Santi Benéitez. José Andrés is a fan (see article below) and it’s said to prepare the best rice dishes on the island. It’s in Costa Teguise. Also Repsol recommended.
You can see the places where Andrés dined while filming here
We leave the US in about three weeks, first to Galicia and then on to Lanzarote.
I did some reading about Lanzarote and have come up with a list. The starred ones at the top are the “essentials,” unless I hear scathing comments here or once I arrive. So if anyone has been, please feel free to comments yay or nay!!
I have very little idea where any of these are located on the island, ( I know the names of their towns but not location on the map yet) but the distances seem well under an hour from anyplace to x place…
Of course I won’t have time to try all of them…I think we have 12 nights or so on the island, so have to narrow down.
**EL RISCO (featured in Jose Andres’ newest tv show which I no longer have access to)
**SEBE…already booked; they are closed part of May but we will make it
*LILIUM
*PALACIO ICO
*TABERBNA A DE LINO (meat)
*CESAR LANZAROTE (in hotel; not much info online about this as there are other places with similar names; now supervised by JuanJo Lopez Bedmar of TASQUITA DE ENFRENTE, Madrid; gracias, como siempre, Maribel!!)
KAMEZI
TACANDE
EL HORNO DE LA ABUELA
AMURA
BODEGA DE SANTIAGO
MAJO PICON
LA CHALANA (in Puerto del Carmen, location of our hotel, so marked this if we do not want to drive. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants in town seem very tourist driven.)
Will undoubtedly gather more info once we arrive.
Only enough, in Lanzarote and in many, many other areas I looked at in Spain, many the “top” TripAdvisor restaurants are Indian. Can someone shed some light on this…I have my own thoughts but would love to learn if anyone has noticed this…
My sister-in-law’s family is from the Canary Islands, and she and my brother went. She brought back a slim cookbook, and we shopped and made a dish with gofio, a kind of toasted wheat. It was super delicious. We found a small sack in a market in Miami. I recommend you bring a bag home if possible. We made a porridge using homemade chicken stock and added pancetta.
We have been fortunate to have visited Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Tenerife and Lanzarote is the next island we are planning on checking out (probably next year as our summer travel is already planned). I will be following along (and hoping that my 9-year old’s tastes will have evolved by then).
Great! I hope we get more comments here. I did read about Gofio and specifically looked for it on the menus and found some in a couple off the restaurants on my list. That’s the kind of thing I want to try, something new and regional. And good to know you could find it in Miami.
Maribel thank you so much. Are you planning to try the César Lanzarote?
Very exciting about the cheeses!
This may be hard to imagine, but my fresh cheese (from El Gazul, Cadiz province) made it back to the US and lasted for about two weeks in excellent eating condition. it’s wonderful to be able to bring cheese home from Spain.
Yes, César is most definitely on our list, but you’ll be there sooner than we, as we don’t go to the Saborea Lanzarote gastro event until November. So, I’ll look forward to your report in May.
An article from Sunday´s El País travel section (I’m a subscriber)-
We’ve been in the Basque Country this past weekend devouring Idiazábal and purchased it directly from the producers at the Monday Gernika market, and of course, at a much lower price than at La Boulette at Mercado de la Paz…
It´s amazing that your fresh cheese lasted that long in excellent condition.
Gracias, Maribel! I was very surprised at how long the fresh cheese lasted…never expected that.
For once in my life I will be in a place in Spain that you have not visited (yet)! That’s even more surprising. If I can offer you one hundredth of a percent the quality of help you’ve given to me, I will be very pleased!!!
I see the offers for subscribing to ElPais; some of the articles are blocked to non-subscribers so maybe I will sign up…will take a look.
another news flash,
At Salon Gourmets in Madrid this past week, a food lover’s HEAVEN, they announced this year’s winner of the Best Cheese in Spain award, after sampling 880 cheeses in 20 categories, with 60 judges, 60 finalists and finally, an absolute winner. This contest has been going on at Salon Gourmets for the past 14 years.
And this year winner: Don Nicolás, a cow’s milk cheese from Finca de Uga in the village of Uga in Lanzarote, matured for 18 months.
Looks as if I need to leave plenty of room in my suitcase(s) for cheeses to bring home to the US! I am on a cheese kick right now sod all the better.
Sebe and El Risco booked in Lanzarote…
All restaurants on my list are outside our hotel base, Playa del Carmen. But now that I’ve become fearless about driving in Spain, after two experiences with renting car and driving solo in Andalucia, I am ready for anything. Driving for great food? No problem!!
Unfortunately, I see nothing in Playa del Carmen that seems of interest with the possible exception of La Chalana, which I’ve noted “ok only if we do not want to drive.” I’ve had so many visits to Spain but Lanzarote seems like a different entity altogether. I am very eager to explore, and the island seems small enough that it should be easy to drive around. Coincidence is that one of my doctors here in NYC is the daughter of a man born in Tenerife, as I learned only yesterday during a check up, and has made many visits to Lanzarote and speaks of that island with a gleam in her eye…
I don’t see anything particularly distinctive in Playa del Carmen either.
The 3 reasons we’re staying at the Palacio de Eco in Teguise:
Teguise is where the gastronomic event, “Saborea Lanzarote”, will be held,
the village has the designation of one of the Pueblos Más Bonitos de España,
and the hotel has a gastronomic restaurant with both a Michelin and a Repsol recommendation.
