[Playa de las Americas, Tenerife] Ciao Toto

I don’t know a better pizza in Tenerife than here. I don’t know a better pizza in the UK either – not even the pizza big hitters like Rudy’s in Manchester and Franco Manca, . In fact, the only pizza I can recall eating that may have been better was in Italy. And that may account for why the restaurant is popular with the Italian ex-pat community.

So, that’ll be pizza for dinner then, rather than other menu options. The base is fantastic. It’s tasty in itself and perfectly cooked. I don’t know how they do this but the crust puffs up so that it’s light as anything. Then there’s a really flavoursome tomato sauce and just the right amount of mozzarella, not overdone. And, in the Italian way, toppings are restrained in quantity. A “Napoli” had a scattering of black olives and anchovies, while the ingredients for a Quattro Stagione were ham , salami, mushrooms and artichokes. Both are perfectly seasoned.

Only one of us wanted dessert. Cannolo was a lovely example of the Southern Italian classic, which you don’t often see in Italian places in the UK. Crisp pastry enclosing sweetened ricotta with a sprinkling of dark chocolate for decoration. We finished with good e spresso.

They’ve modernised since we were here two years ago and the place now looks quite smart but still casual, of course. Service was on the ball, as you’d expect from the Italian crew.

6 Likes

Since we were here last year, Ciao Toto has revamped its menu. There used to be a long list of pizzas with a few other things. And pizzas with toppings you would rarely see outside of Italy – I remember a lovely “white” pizza with potato. That long list has now gone, leaving a shortish list of pizzzas that will be familiar to anyone who visits their local high street Italian. And there’s more pasta, meat and fish dishes – just like any other Italian place… Call me an old stick-in-the-mud but I’m not convinced this is progress.

My other whinge is about their online reservation system. We’d booked. And had a confirmation. Yet the booking hadn’t made its way into the paper diary at the entrance, so no table reserved for us. But, after a bit of umming and ahhing, they set up another table in the back room. Good job we’d gone for the food not the ambiance.

So, pizza is as good as ever, even if the choice is much reduced. Almost as good as the place at Bardolino on Lake Garda which is my “best ever” pizza. These are big, overhanging the plate, cooked perfectly so bits of the crust are nicely charred, while the middle is only just cooked through. Exactly as you want for a Naples style pizza. And a pizza Napoli was exactly what you expect – just the right amount of toppings – a restrained sprinkle of olives, anchovies and capers. A quattro stagione had toppings of ham, salami, mushroom and artichoke and was also really good.

As I mentioned, these are substantial affairs (and cracking good value at around €10) and we had no room for dessert, which is another part of the menu which has been considerably shortened (and, again, not for the better). As you’d expect in a place run by Italians and, at least previously, favoured by the Italian ex-pat community, espresso was first rate.

It’s still a place to come back to for pizza – I really don’t know anywhere in the area that comes close.

7 Likes