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I feel compelled to write this review as soon as possible while I´m still completely overwhelmed by this restaurant. I was recommended to visit the restaurant about five months ago by a friend but unfortunately it closes for the whole the of June and also the first week in December. So I finally managed to visit for lunch recently. It also only used to be open in the evening for the first Saturday of each month but now opens every Friday and Saturday night. It closes on Monday and Tuesday and is open from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Now I´ve got their complicated timetable over, I will continue.
We were handed the menus by Elke, who runs the restaurant with her husband, Dieter, who is the chef. The menu comprises a daily changing three course menu d´el día. There is also a five course gala menu as well as the usual à la carte menu. The choice of first courses include salad, goat´s cheese terrine, foie gras and platter of Iberican meats. The second courses include sea bass, salmon, rabbit (with king prawns in chocolate sauce, no less) and smoked tenderloin and the desserts include ice cream, goat´s cheese, pancakes and soufflé. I chose the menu of the day and my companion (who is a cook herself so she was available for constructive criticism) had one main course of saddle of lamb with thyme sauce. My starter was smoked salmon on a bed of lentils mixed with finely chopped carrots and leeks. The salmon was really fresh and the lentils were a pleasant accompaniment to the fish. My main course was breast of duck with dandelion honey sauce. There were about eight plump slices of sitting amongst a lovely dark, slightly thick sauce which tasted scrummy. The lamb was served in three large fillet slices in a light thyme gravy. Both dishes were served with sliced courgettes with garlic and pasta ribbons (which was a pleasant change from either chips or Canarian potatoes). We had a half litre of the vino rosado de la casa which was extremely palatable. The wine list was quite extensive starting from reasonable priced wines to some really quiet pricey posh stuff! I was sufficiently full at the end of my two courses but was also looking forward to my dessert of French pancakes which came filled with cream and fruits and served with a ball of homemade chocolate ice cream. Dieter came out after our meal to ask if all was OK, to which we replied in the affirmative. I queried a dessert on the à la carte menu which was described as cannelloni crujiente (crispy cannelloni). I couldn´t imagine what a sweet cannelloni could be like but Dieter settled our curiosity by bringing out from his kitchen what looked like a brandy snap. What took us by complete surprise was about five minutes later the said dessert arrived in all its glory “on the casa”. The cannelloni disguising itself as a brandy snap being filled with cream and surrounded by a circle of sliced fresh fruits of nectarine, kiwi, mango, grapes, papaya and peach served with vanilla ice cream and sifted chocolate powder! Obviously it would be have been rude not to eat the said dish – so my light lunch became a four course affair, although my companion did help me out! We had coffee to follow which was served in a traditional china set with the hot milk served in a “teapot” on a saucer with a doily (I just love these little extra touches – easily pleased, moi?) ……. And talking of nice touches - our bill was brought to us in a beautiful little wooden treasure chest. The only negative about the whole meal while we were there was the attendance of a large number of flies. We thought about moving inside but I got the impression that the inside was only open in the evenings. So we battled on only to see a Spanish couple arrive and walk straight to a table indoors. I suppose one only had to ask! Ho hum! There was one thing that definitely made up for the insect problem and that was my visit to el baño. There the most beautiful aroma of almonds (which my lunch companion had to verify as I couldn´t put my finger on what it was). We both looked around avidly for an air freshener but there was none to be found. But to surpass this was the sink. “What about the sink?” I hear you say. Well I for one have never come across a sink which turns on when you just walk up to it. I had to approach it three times just to prove to myself that this was how it worked. I did ask as to how it functioned and apparently there is a sensor in the tap. Very impressive! There was classical music played in the restaurant while we were there and on leaving I spotted a lovely large round table for six in the inside of the restaurant which tempted me to return possibly for dinner to share this gastronomic experience with some good friends. Well worth the drive down! |
Bit of Rusticity in the Country -
The restaurant is located just south of Betancuria
and took approximately 55 minutes from Corralejo. On arriving at the
restaurant we were led through the small, rustic bar to the outside
patio at the rear where we were welcomed into a beautiful
stone-walled terrace full of plants and bouganvillia complete with a
small ornate water fountain. There were approximately five or six
tables in the terrace and we were sat at a table adjacent to a
window that looked into the interior of the restaurant. There were
bunches of garlic hanging from the walls above us. The inside of the
restaurant was furnished in a very traditional, rustic manner with
country pine armchairs and the tables were laid with linen
tablecloths, glassware and full table settings. The traditional
stone walling also continued into the interior.