[Playa de las Americas, Tenerife] Garibaldi

It’s always one of our favourite “last night of the holidays” places. Nice room – a bit upmarket with excellent service, generally good food and a guy playing the piano and singing “easy listening” stuff.

Soup of the day was cream of vegetable. Very rich, Very tasty. Simplicity itself on the other plate. Sweet melon and good quality, quite salty jamon. Perfect match.

Slow roast leg of lamb was, almost literally, falling off the bone and was delicious. Lamb doesn’t appear that often on Canarian menus, as it does in some other parts of Spain. I think this may have been the first or second time I’d seen it on this holiday. It comes with some nice vegetables – courgette, peppers and alovely sweet carrot. It was a bit let down by the gravy which was more “works canteen” than “fine dining”. Canarian spuds were a chargeable extra. Fillets of sole were a tad overcooked. But only a tad. They came with the same vegetables as the other dish and a wedge of lemon.

We had space for dessert. An excellent example of the modern classic, tiramisu, with a decent whack from both coffee and booze. Rice pudding (or “arroz con leche” as the menu had it) was served at room temperature. There was a scattering of muscatel raisins and it could have stood to be a little more generous with them. We finished with good coffee.

It had been a nice evening and we went away of happy memories of this first trip to the island since before Covid.

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Harters, thanks for the nice series of reviews. I’m quite envious of your trip. Never been to the Canaries. Will be heading off in not too long on our 3 year now delayed annual trip to the French West Indies. Will try to write up reviews too. Need to build the HO database.

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I have been so looking forward to the reviews from your holiday and these did not disappoint! Sounds like you only had one dud food-wise - very successful in my book. So glad you got back to Tenerife and had such a nice time!!

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Your reviews are always a pleasure to read, @Harters , even if I’ll never make it to the restaurants you go to. I’m so glad you and your other half had a wonderful dining holiday!

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Well, if last year’s review was all very positive, this year’s isn’t…

Over many years visiting, we’ve had mixed experiences at Garibaldi. Most times, everything about the evening sings and it’s just what you want from any restaurant. Other times food and/or service has let it down. In recent visits, it’s all been fine and it’s established itself as our favourite “last night of the holidays” place. Going home on a high note, if you will. It’s an elegant space, with the right ambiance – from the guy playing the piano, to the starched white tablecloths and comfy chairs. It’s a good menu. The restaurant website describes it as Italian but it really isn’t. Yes, there are some pasta dishes, but they sit alongside classic Spanish dishes, like paella, and other more general pan-Euroepan dishes.

My companion in life started with scallops in a saffron cream sauce. The saffron was very restrained, colouring the sauce but not really adding any flavour. Now, no-one wants overcooked scallops but a couple of them were very undercooked. Now no-one wants to risk a tummy upset on the day they flying, so it was better to leave the almost raw bits. That was followed by a nicely cooked fillet of sole, served with some mixed veg – carrot, broccoli, green beans and red peppers. Simple but delicious.

Meanwhile, I’d found myself transported back to a 19080s dinner party. That’s fine with me. Back in the 80s, I was thin as a rake and had a full head of hair. So, melon and ham to start. But this was Bellota Iberico jamon – the best you get. And then there was their version of beef stroganoff. Strips of steak, onions, peppers and mushrooms in a savoury sauce. Couldn’t really taste paprika in the sauce but this was all nice enough and went well with the rice that came with it.

We had considered dessert but time passed without any menus being offered. We then thought that, whenever someone does arrive, we’ll just get coffee… Chance would be a fine thing. More time passed with no sign of any servers. In the end we did come across one but, by now, just got the bill.

So, unfortunately, a less than stellar end to our holiday eating. But, knowing it can be hit and miss here, we would give them a “last chance saloon” visit on our next trip.

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But overall seems like you ate very well indeed. Really enjoyed reading all about it!

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Research is everything.

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Just read all of your posts. Thank you so much for taking us along on your trip. It sounds wonderful, especially the seafood.

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Research is everything ! :grinning:

Much of the immediate area is purpose built for tourists, with many places catering to North Europeans, often on a tight budget. It means many cater to the lowest common denominator . I play on the Tripadvisor forum where the food question most often asked is “where can I get the cheapest…”, and very rarely “where can I get the best…” Research and some trial and error over the years finds you the better places.

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As a librarian, research should be my middle name! :grinning:

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