In search of excellence: Hito, a restaurant review

Sunomono and green beans

Round about the time of the last Spanish economic boom, Las Palmas witnessed a proliferation of Japanese restaurants. Japanese cuisine had become trendy. A few years behind the rest of Europe, perhaps, but, it's never too late.

Prior to that, there was only one,  a small, nondescript, more-a-café-than-a-restaurant type of place in one of the seediest part of town. But, yes, with an authentic ageing Japanese chef. The food was good, but the place was known only to a privileged, and dare I say bold, few. For many years, his wish was to retire and for his son to take over but, unfortunately, his son wanted no part of it. So, instead, he groomed one of his staff, an authentic Canarian. The place still exists, the area no longer as seedy as it had been.

This leads to the question: can we have genuine Japanese cuisine without a genuine Japanese chef? Can we experience its grace, its style, its excellence?

Unbeknown to most of local residents, there is not one Japanese restaurant with a Japanese chef; hell, probably not even one Japanese worker. Not as far as I know. The majority are staffed with Chinese staff, owned by Chinese immigrants.

Yet, the restaurants prove to be popular. So, perhaps, yes, we don't need Japanese chefs to prepare Japanese food, just as we don't need a French chef to churn out French cuisine [in fact, there was an excellent French restaurant in Las Palmas with an English chef, but, sadly, it no longer exists].

Later, much later, along came another authentic Canarian, with the look of a Canarian wrestler - and the luchadores canarios do have similarities with their Japanese counterparts - who married a Japanese lady, and who went to Japan and trained to be a sushi chef. Dani was his name. He and his wife opened their own place, established a reputation, moved to another location, and carried on devoting his life to the art of sushi.

Until, one sudden day, he left our presence. RIP Dani.

Meanwhile, a roving beach bum set out of his home in Johannesburg, searching for himself. From the west to the east, he covered such ground as Thailand, California, Spain and Greece, to name but a few. Somewhere along the way, he discovered that his interest and talent lie in the world of catering, and started honing his skills under numerous chefs, eventually, focusing on Japanese cuisine.

To cut a long story short, Oliver met his partner, Olga, in Greece, and they decided to invest all they had in a restaurant of their own. The spot they chose was the spot left by the departed Dani. They brought with them, Javier, a sushi chef who trained under a Japanese master in Mallorca.

So, again, not a Japanese; no, not even an Oriental in sight. Olga hailed from the Czech Republic, Javier from Ecuador, and the waitress is Italian. Mamma mia! What can we expect? What should we expect?

Just like the greatest samurai, two strokes is all it takes. "Hito", which comprises just two simple yet elegant strokes, means man, people, mankind, character. Look at the symbol and you may see two legs, a roof, or perhaps something else. Walk through the doors of Hito and you'll find yourself in a smallish, clean, 35-seater functional dining room, and most likely, looking into the eyes of the sushi chef, Javier. No tatami rooms in sight, but space is at a premium around here.

Japanese in concept, Hito goes beyond the popular dishes, inventing some of its own, and not afraid of introducing non-Japanese recipes, such as Pad Thai, but, always aiming for the Japanese standards of style and quality. The fusion of the culture mix of the staff spills onto the hospitality, the art and the quality.

We were welcomed to open up our appetite, courtesy of the house, with some hors d’oeuvre, which included the famed Japanese cucumber salad, sunomono, a green bean salad, and another dish which I can't quite recall. The slight tangy taste of the sunomono was just what we needed to tame the heat in our bodies. October in Las Palmas is summer, weather wise. The seeds of the beans were crunchy and flavourful, but getting them out of their pods were rather awkward with a pair of chopsticks.

From the cold hors d'oeuvre, we then went on to the hot, the steamy, sexy gyozas, with skins that slip onto the back of your mouth effortlessly. I am not normally a fan of gyozas, but these got the thumbs up from me.

The tempura came piled up to look like Mount Fuji but tasting far better, I bet. Fluffy, crispy and not too greasy, it didn't take too long for the mountain to vanish.

I couldn't leave without trying the Pad Thai, naturally. I'm one of those die-hard addicts and ever since the only Thai restaurant known to have existed here closed (the crisis hit the service industry extremely hard), I haven't had any. Of course, I didn't expect to eat a Made-in-Thailand kind of Pad Thai, but I was willing to settle for something even remotely close. Its appearance was "cleaner", more Jap than Thai, and even though it was "watered down" to suit Canarian taste buds, it still carried the distinct flavour those familiar with this dish would recognise.

The limes weren't Thai limes, of course, and I made the mistake of squeezing one whole wedge. Caribbean limes are bigger and juicier than Asian ones and I have reason to believe that these are of the former breed. Also, I would have liked it to be spicier; the next time I'll have to remember to tell Oliver.

After the memorable Pad Thai, we went back to the cold: how could we eat in a Japanese restaurant without sampling the sushi, right?

The tuna and salmon we had were as fresh as though they'd come from the sea 100 metres away, but the rice was a bit plain for my taste. I'm used to a slightly more vinegared version. The makis were just as lovely and one, especially, caught us by surprise. These had something warm inside: a piece of fried prawn, I believe. Brilliant!

To end the meal, we had fried ice cream (tempura de helado) with pineapple sauce. The first time I heard of fried ice cream was in London and I thought my leg was being pulled. Then, years later, I had my first taste of it in Bangkok and I was wowed. The sensations of hot and cold at the same time was exotic, but the pineapple sauce was too sickly sweet for my liking. I'd ditch that. Personally, I'd decorate it with something darker to give it more contrast, something like miel de Palma, for example. It is similar to what is locally available in many parts of Asia under different names such as nam tan pip or gula jawa. So, if anything, its exoticism value is far greater than that of the pineapple.

Hito may not have the presence of a Japanese person, but it does not lack his spirit. Innovative and arty, it seeks to introduce the exquisiteness and marvel of Japanese cuisine to the general public, to the common 人. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other temptations offered in their menu, which you can see here.

Type of restaurant: Japanese, fusion

Verdict: Recommended!

Average cost: €20-30 per person

Telephone: 928 05 82 89

Website: http://hitorestaurante.es/
Location:

La Marea, a restaurant review

It is a strange place to have a restaurant, I thought. Although you can see the sea, a very busy thoroughfare, known as Avenida Marítima, which leads to the GC1, heading south, separates it from the sea. Because of this proximity, you get the cold north wind blowing towards and around you, hence the presence of the screen, serving as a windbreak. Rather ineffective the day we were there.

Why didn't we sit inside? Well, it was rather full, in spite of the time. It was almost 4pm but the kitchen was open all day. The indoor seating didn't appeal to us at all. It was very crammed. Even the outside tables were quite close to each other.

After waiting for a few minutes to be seated, we had to wait a few more to be attended to. A waiter appeared - not sure if he was the head waiter, but if he were, he was too nonchalant to be of much use to the restaurant, I thought. When he was taking our orders, he wasn't writing them down, which was fine by me. I 'd been a waiter in a past life and I had prided myself on being able to take orders without the need to write them down. BUT, he didn't recommend anything, he was quite cold, he didn't repeat our orders, and worst of all, he was looking elsewhere! His eyes were roaming all over the place. I wasn't even sure if he was listening - had to repeat several times to make sure he was!

So, a big zero for service.

Perhaps he had been busy, overworked and underpaid, but that isn't the paying client's problem.

Food was average. Honest. The tempura was basically a fancy label for a simple deep-fry, and the crujiente (= crispy) of something or other was deep-fried and I was expecting baked filo pastry. We had black rice again, the memory of the others we had recently was still fresh enough to allow us to make a comparison and the verdict was a unanimous "disappointing!" It was somewhat dry, ali-oli wasn't offered as an option, and the Saharian squid was as stiff as they come. Maybe it wasn't even squid - I wouldn't be surprised in the least!

Well, what with the cold and the insipid food, we couldn't wait to get out of the place.

They have another branch in San Cristóbal and a bistro in the next street, but I doubt I will be in a hurry to try them.

Type of restaurant: Canarian, Mediterranean
Verdict: Not recommended
Average cost: €20-30 per person
Telephone: 928 29 00 79
Website: Their Facebook page
Location:

La Corona de Arucas, a restaurant review

After being closed for more than two years, El Mesón de Arucas finally opened its doors to the public in late 2014 as La Corona de Arucas. Completely refurbished, at a cost of more than half a million euros, La Corona offers enough capacity for 800 people, and a panoramic view of parts of Gran Canaria from an altitude of 430 metres above sea level. On a clear day, you may even be able to see Fuerteventura, or so it is claimed.

We had no such luck the day we came up here. It was a damp, drizzly, cloudy day which offered us hazy views of the cathedral of Arucas, which isn't really a cathedral, but that's another story.

Arriving at mid afternoon on a Sunday, I was surprised to find the car park almost full. Just as well I'd made a reservation, I thought. Walking through the doors, further surprises were in store, although I wasn't sure which startled me more - the amount of people or the single huge dining room. My jacket stayed on me throughout the time I was there. I imagined that, on a weekday, with fewer guests, the place must be absolutely cold! In more sense than one.

It struck me as a setting that is ideal for large celebrations, such as a wedding reception, but for a normal lunch or dinner, partitioning the hall into several smaller sections would have made it a little cosier.

They also have an open-air chill-out lounge for smoking guests or for those wanting to have a drink or two, while soaking in the views.

The problem with having a huge restaurant is that it isn't easy to provide first-class service unless your business is fairly constant. Somehow, I doubt that this would be the case here. So, even though there was quite a handful of waiting staff, I suspect, the majority of them was there only for busy periods, such as weekends.

We had to wait for a while before the maitre d' came to take our orders. He was friendly, smiley and efficient, but you could see that the staff had their work cut out for them; for the number of guests, they could do with a few more waiters, especially experienced ones.

While waiting, I had time to muse over the general feel of La Corona. For a restaurant that cost more than half a million euros to remodel, the tableware, I suspected, hadn't received too much of a cut of that budget. What I saw was more appropriate of an average sort of restaurant, somewhat lacklustre for a place of this calibre.

For starters, we ordered lamb rolls with orange strands, stuffed mushrooms and a fava bean stew. You can see the official menu (in Spanish) here.

Rollito de cordero con hebra de naranja

The Oriental influence in this dish was unmistakable. Crispy rolls with a slight tang, and no overpowering taste of lamb. Whether this was due to a lack of lamb pieces or because it was good lamb, I couldn't really tell. In any case, they were delicious, leaving me craving for more.

Stuffed mushrooms

Next to arrive was the stuffed mushrooms, which was off-menu and I wasn't sure what they were stuffed with. Might be with mushrooms and pork, so if you're vegetarian and these are offered to you, ask first. The look and taste of this dish was distinctly Mediterranean. Needless to say, they quickly vanished too.

The stew was standard fare, fairly ordinary. I wasn't particularly interested in it, so I just had a spoonful and that was it.

For the main course, we wanted the roasted shoulder of lamb, whose virtue the maitre d' was extolling. This was off-menu, too, I think, or at least, only available at the weekends. Minutes later, he returned, apologised, said they'd sold the last piece. Perhaps, the leg? Oh well, all right, the leg then.

Unfortunately, he returned again, slightly embarrassed because, even the leg had been sold out. So, a word of advice. If you fancy having roast lamb, reserve it at the time of booking for your table.

We, then, opted for rice with mushrooms, apple and foie. It was tasty enough, but not exceptional. We'd ordered two portions to share among three people, but we were left wanting a little more. So, unlike the other restaurants where we'd ordered rice, the quantity was not quite enough for an extra person.

Arroz con boletus, manzana y foie

We had room for some desserts and coffee but, in the end, we decided to head elsewhere. Somewhere warmer and cosier, perhaps.

Type of restaurant: Canarian, Mediterranean
Verdict: Recommended
Average cost: €20-30 per person
Telephone: 649 330 287
Website: http://www.lacoronadearucas.com/
Location:

Kano 31, a restaurant review

All photos on this post were taken with my cell phone.

I've walked down this pedestrian street, Calle Cano, with a "C", parallel to and beside Calle Triana, many times before, and I'd walked past this restaurant just as often, but had never been tempted to go in. I'd never even noted the name.

Browsing through the names and reviews of restaurants around the Triana area, and which were open on Sunday, I decided on Kano 31, with a "K". Only when I got there did I realise what I'd mentioned in the first paragraph. A few tables on the terrace were occupied in spite of it being a cloudy and windy day, not very pleasant, worse when you take into account that this particular street doesn't get much direct sunlight anyway. So, the terrace was definitely not for us - the smokers could have it. We took a look at the menu and agreed to enter. Their menu can be seen by clicking here, albeit without the prices.

It was fairly full. They also have an upstairs room, which I suspect is used only if they really need to. We were shown to a barrel table. Literally a beer barrel, a big one, big enough to serve as a table for three. I presume when they get busy, these barrels come in handy as they're high enough for customers to stand around and have a beer and tapas. But we had high chairs to sit on.

Service could have been a bit quicker, considering it wasn't that busy, but staff were very cheerful and friendly. Warm bread was served with some alioli and all three of us find warm bread impossible to resist.

For the first course, we shared grilled morcilla de Burgos (rice sausage from Burgos) and fish croquettes. The former was somewhat disappointing. Having tasted finer efforts elsewhere, these were more on the bland side. The croquettes were better, crispy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside. Still, nothing sensational. These were probably the wrong choices.

Morcilla de Burgos a la plancha

For the main course, we decided on arroz negro con calamares. Minimum order for all the rice dishes, except the risotto, is for two people, which was what we ordered but shared the two rations among the three of us. The portion was perfect. If we'd ordered for three, it would have been too much.

This dish was simply spectacular! It was served with alioli (garlic mayonnaise) on the side, and I'd recommend you to stir it in. The arroz negro wasn't salty (a common complaint with rice dishes here in Spain), the rice was al dente, and the resulting taste was a perfect blend of the creamy alioli and hints of seafood. The taste left me dreaming of it for a week or so!

If you've been reading my other reviews, you'd be forgiven if you concluded that I don't eat anything but arroz negro! It does feel like I'm going round the island trying to find the best arroz negro, but I've been lucky and kept getting good ones, so much so I can't remember how good the previous one was! Needless to say, this won't be the last one I review [I've pencilled in yet another place to try].

The proof

The damage

Type of restaurant: Spanish, rice

Verdict: Highly recommended!

Average cost: €20-30 per person

Telephone: 928 431 331

Website: http://www.kano31.es/index.php

Location: Calle Cano 31; 35002 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Majuga Restaurant, a review

Located on the same street as two of the more famous restaurants in Las Palmas, Amaiur and Deliciosa Marta, Majuga is up against some stiff competition. However, it can depend on a significant advantage: Deliciosa Marta is always fully booked (I'd tried to book a table 3 weeks in advance and had no luck) and Amaiur is rather more expensive. Having said that, when I walked by it, there was a For Sale sign on a window, so it could very well be that they'd already closed down.

Majuga looked bigger outside than it was inside; actually, it wasn't small, but the tables were large and you'll find the place spacious and comfortable. There were a few tables out on the street for some al fresco eating, but the day we were there, it was much too "fresco" to be sitting outside.

Lighting was somewhat on the dim side. We were not seated by the window, so I didn't have the assistance of natural light and had to push the ISO all the way up to be able to take these shots, not having brought my flash and not wanting to use the built-in one.

Olive oil with salt & vinegar

Artwork donned the walls, but I think we were eyeing this little dish more! In the dim lighting, it looked opaque and I was wondering what it was until I realised that it was olive oil with a splash of vinegar. The vinegar was sweetish, so it was probably mixed with some honey, or possibly, palm syrup. In any case, it didn't stay on the plate very long in spite of the maître saying to us, "Don't even dream of touching that!" Haha.

We were there on a Saturday, just after 3pm and these people in the above photo were the only other customers - a couple and a table of three. Considering this, I'd expected a brisker service, but it wasn't so. Service was more of a laid-back kind, though professional and attentive.

We usually have at least a salad or vegetables of some sort, but probably because of the weather, which was damp and grey, we didn't fancy one that day. We also had had our fair share of eggs lately, so eggs were out, too. Finally, we opted for some steamed mussels.

These were fresh, juicy and steamed to their al dente point. No complaints here except it's a pretty simple dish.

Steamed mussels

Next up were some sausage rolls, but probably not the kind you'd think of. I'm talking Morcilla sausage, which seems to be the trendy ingredient these days. See my review of Pier 19. It was rolled in filo pastry (I think) and served on a bed of mushroom sauce. This dish went down really well, the pastry, crispy and crumbly.

Note that the price on the menu is for two rolls, but you can have as many as you want for €3.25 a piece.

Crispy morcilla roll

For the main course, our choice was rice as it seemed to be their speciality. We chose the black rice with fish and baby squid (arroz negro de pescado y chipirones), and rice with scallops and duck (arroz con vieiras rellenas y jamón de pato).

If you order the black rice, you'd be asked if you would like some alioli with it. I'd recommend you to say yes. It made the rice nicely soft and creamy.

Both the rice dishes were very tasty indeed, but I found them just a little too salty. What happens is that often, stock is very salty so either no additional salt needs to be used or it needs to be diluted with water, but not so much that they kill the taste of the stock. Comparing the black rice with Pier 19's, the latter gets my vote.

Two rice dishes

We don't often have desserts, but the tentación de chocolate en dos texturas was just too much temptation, I guess. This is precisely one reason why naming/describing your dishes well will result in more sales! The milk chocolate had us going mmm, in spite of our preference for the darker variety. Perhaps it was the texture, perhaps it was the taste, but it won this round.

Double chocolate temptation

I was glad I'd asked for a cortado because it was perfect. Consider me a fusspot if you like, but I am seldom satisfied with the coffee I get served with. To be perfect, it has to have the correct balance of coffee and milk, frothed up until just the right point. And the temperature has to be hotter than warm, cooler than boiling. Of course, the coffee has to be good, too.

Like I said, it was perfect. Enjoying my coffee together with the dessert, the combination left a satisfying taste on my palate.

Type of restaurant: Spanish, rice
Verdict: Highly recommended!
Average cost: €20-30 per person
Telephone: 928 381 791/659 746571
Location:

Pier 19, Las Palmas Marina Harbour, restaurant review

Las Palmas Sports Marina (El Muelle Deportivo) strikes me as one of those places which doesn't seem to take off. Through the years, businesses have come and gone, changes have been made, and still locals seem to shy away from it apart from weekends and holidays. Part of the reason could be attributed to its location, lying more or less midway from the shopping districts of Mesa y López and Triana.

Even getting there isn't straightforward. I suppose the bulk of the clients in the bars and restaurants in the marina are those who have their boats docked here. It's a shame as the harbour can be quite picturesque and there are a handful of restaurants to choose from, either from the shopping complex or the street running alongside the harbour. Parking is free for clients (get a validating ticket from the shop/restaurant).

Muelle Deportivo at dawn

Our choice for the day was Pier 19. It was Sunday afternoon, about 3.30pm. There were quite a few customers, some waiting for food, while others were on their last course. It's quite a big restaurant and for one this size, there weren't a lot of serving staff, so perhaps, they are seldom full. The waiting time between us getting a table and getting our food orders taken was a bit too long. But, when we were waited upon, the staff were smiley and helpful. Food didn't take too long to reach the table either.

Rollitos crujientes de langostinos y verduras sobre guacamole y salsa de soja

This dish is a fusion of Oriental & Mexican cuisine, "rollitos crujientes" being crispy rolls. When we ordered this, I must admit that I hesitated on the guacamole bit, but I was pleasantly surprised. The guacamole I've always tasted has been strong and heavy (strong on garlic and lime and heavy because of the creamy  and calorific avocado), but this wasn't the case at all. These should be eaten hot, and my only complaint was that the filling was just lukewarm. However, my companions said that was because I'd been busy taking photos! They might have been right as this was the first dish to arrive.

Crujiente de morcilla de Teror con miel de Palma

Morcilla de Teror (Teror is a town in the northern part of the island of Gran Canaria) is a sweet sausage made from ingredients such as cow's blood, lard, almonds, sweet potatoes, raisins, onions, cinnamon, aniseed, and other condiments. Miel de Palma is palm syrup. 

With ingredients like these, you can expect it to be sweet, and sweet it was, but it wasn't sickly sweet; they were rather tasty and, as the name suggests, crispy. We were fighting over who had the right to the last piece!

Revuelto de boletus con espárragos trigueros y trufa

I always appreciate it when chefs make an effort on presentation; it gives me the impression that they are keen to please not just customers' palate but their eyes, too. This dish of scrambled eggs with mushrooms, asparagus and truffle would taste just as good, no doubt, if it was slapped onto the plate, but it looks so much better like this. :)

Risotto negro de chipirones, langostinos y ali oli gratinado

Stirring in the ali-oli

Chipirones are what I called baby squids and ali oli is traditionally garlic and olive oil, but in the Canaries, it is usually a form of garlic mayonnaise.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I read "ali oli gratinado (grilled)", but I was certainly surprised by the aspect of this, so much so that I forgot that it was ali oli, thinking it was grated goat's cheese instead. Expecting it to be rather heavy, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. Nor was it salty as a lot of black risottos here in Las Palmas tend to be (the blackness comes from the ink of the squids). Creamily yummy!

Ravioli de ricotta, puerro, cherry y langostinos

This was the last of the surprises. Surprise because of the size of the raviolis! I'm more used to the small ones - I've never seen them of this size. These raviolis were stuffed with ricotta, leeks and maybe some prawns. I'd expected the cherry to be the fruit, but they meant cherry tomatoes! Haha.

This was the least popular of today's dishes although it was very good, too. The prawns were more like shrimps and the colouring was somewhat unnatural. Nonetheless, at the end, we were using what bread was left to clean up the sauce!

Name: Pier 19
Location: Calle Joaquín Blanco Torrent, 35005 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Website: http://www.pier19.es/ (the website isn't very good; the menu can be seen directly here)
Type: Spanish, fusion
Tel: 928 24 39 21
Verdict: Highly recommended!

Gloria Bendita restaurant review

After the Tower of Hercules, it was time to look for some lunch, though not a good time. It was almost 4pm. Most restaurants were already closed or were closing and were no longer serving lunch. Then, we saw Gloria Bendita.

They also looked as though they were in the midst of closing, but there was no harm in asking. We were told that, yes, they could serve us, but only fries, grills and cold dishes. The reason was that the kitchen staff have left (or were about to). Two men, presumably the owners, stayed behind. 

We were extremely grateful. We didn't feel like wasting more time looking for somewhere else and Gloria Bendita looks good. We were shown their "Pikoteo"menu, which was like a snacks menu, and, even then, not all dishes were available to us. Not much choice, but beggars can't be choosers.

This menu was snapped with the mobile phone

This was the "raxo flambeado con patatas paja", which was flambé pork loin. Nothing extraordinary, but meat was fairly tender although I would have liked it to be a bit more cooked, and chips were great. Perfectly edible.

Piadina Romagnola

We liked this dish, but it was a shame that there wasn't much of it! Piadina is a thin Italian flatbread, typical of the Romagna region. It's not unlike the Mexican tortilla used in tacos, but while tacos are usually stuffed till overflowing, these piadinas are somewhat more subtle. Gloria Bendita offers them either stuffed with Stracchino cheese, Serrano ham and rucola, or Mascarpone cheese, salmon and capers.

I'll have to find a place here that serves these!

We also had the Parma ham croquettes, which were good, too, crispy on the outside, creamy in the inside. When all our dishes had been served, and we were seen to be happy with our food, the two guys sat down to eat. And, they brought us this...

Simply incredible. After making an effort to take us in, they even had the generosity to treat us with some cured ham! Astounding hosts.

Name: Gloria Bendita

Type: restaurant, tapas, romantic, Italian

Website: http://www.gloriabenditadelicatessen.com/

Location: Comandante Barja 2; 15004 A Coruña

Verdict: Highly recommended!

A Taberna do Bispo, restaurant review

As you can imagine from previous posts, once again, dinner was going to be another late night affair. Not wanting to go far, and looking for something cheap & simple, Rúa do Franco was about the best choice.

A Taberna do Bispo was the one elected. It was quite full, but we preferred to sit by the bar anyway, which was no problem. Wanting to keep the cost down, we stayed away from seafood, but the two guys beside us had some and they looked good, the seafood, I mean ;) . They thought so anyway, the guys, I mean ;) .

Chistorra and pimiento de padrón

Chistorra "is a type of fast-cure sausage from Aragon, the Basque Country, and Navarre, Spain. It is made of minced pork, or a mixture of minced pork and beef, is encased in either lamb tripe or plastic, and has a fat content that varies between 70 and 80%. The sausage is flavoured with garlic, salt, and paprika, which gives it a bright red colour." (Wikipedia) Something to up the cholesterol a little, haha. Pimiento de padrón is a species of baby green peppers which are usually not spicy, but you may get the odd one at any time! ;) 

Crocanti de brie

This is their star tapa. It's Brie cheese, lightly fried with egg & almond bits (I think) and served with a little jam (could be raspberry). I'm not a fan of strong cheeses, and generally avoid Brie, but this was lovely.

As you can see from the photos of the bar, there were still a lot of choices even though it was almost midnight. We had a total of 8 tapas and two soft drinks and the bill came up to €16.80!

The warm tapas are served warmed up, and service was very good. The guy behind the bar was efficient, relaxed and friendly.

Name: A Taberna do Bispo
Type: tapas bar, restaurant, budget
Website: http://www.atabernadobispo.com/
Location; Calle del Franco 37 B, 15702 Santiago de Compostela
Verdict: Highly recommended!

O Curro da Parra restaurant, a review

Sunday night. Time, about 10 pm.

I was somewhat disappointed with the type of restaurants we had been eating in the previous few days because I'd been "on strike" and did not partake in the decision process. This time, I didn't give any option, I just led the way.

Google Maps on. Destination: Rúa Travesa 20. Start navigation.

We were staying near the Cathedral (if you've been following my posts, you'd know), and it was a short walk, yet away from the populated centre. As with a lot of restaurants here, O Curro de Parra has a small terrace and a small entrance. The kitchen is on your left as you enter where you'd expect a bar. At the back, there are tables with high stools - a bar-like seating arrangement - and leading to this area, running along one side of the wall, is a narrow counter. The place looks bigger than it is because at the back, there's another entrance, a glass door. This makes it appear as though it led to another section of the restaurant. I only realised that it was an entrance when I saw new customers walking in.

According to Google Translate (mmm, they should really be paying me for the amount of times I mention them! Ironically, I've even been banned from their ads programme, and their ban is lifelong, haha), O Curro da Parra means The Vineyard. A good name for a wine bar-restaurant, but it's actually named after the street on which the other entrance resides.

Upstairs is a more formal affair, with the standard seating arrangement. It isn't very big, perhaps 16 covers or so.

I was impressed by the decoration. Now, I thought to myself, this looks more like it, thinking of all the other restaurants we'd recently been to. When a place is tastefully decorated, it has an identity; and when it has an identity, you'll have some hope that its food has some sort of identity, too.

Any reservation? No? Sorry, we're fully booked.

That aroused my interest even more. I wasn't going to give up that easily. Eyeing the counter down the side, I asked "How about standing? " "Ah, yes, that's possible." After convincing the others, we stayed. They had a large group booked and that was why they couldn't take any more people.

Our order for drinks were taken, but then, we were almost ignored after that. I myself noticed the menu and took it. We hadn't been offered one. A group of 3 ladies walked in and did the same as us. They were willing to stand. Being thoughtful, I passed them our menu. And what happened?

The waiter - probably the head waiter - took the food orders from them first! And, believe me, it took me a full 5 minutes or more later, and that, after frantic hand waving, for him to approach us. And, not an apology. So, for that, they lose some service points. Being busy is not an excuse for "discrimination". 

But, to our surprise, a few minutes after our food orders had been taken, a table became available and we were ushered upstairs. Fortunately for the previously-mentioned waiter, he hadn't given the table to the 3 ladies! Or fireworks would have flown. Upstairs was a more sedate affair. Almost all foreigners. Speaking in hushed tones, smartly-dressed, and at least the service here (from a waitress) couldn't be faulted.

The food. Fabulous. I appreciate home-cooking style, but, as a paying customer, I always expect a little more, and this little more is felt in the effort, in the creativity, in the ingredients... In this aspect, O Curro da Parra didn't disappoint. Everything we had were wonderful: the salad, the prawns, croquettes, skewered pork... Perhaps the pork was a little too dry.

So, yes, definitely recommended. But make a reservation, especially at weekends and in the summer. 

Sorpresa de langostino (Prawn surprise), €8.50

Croquetas, €8

Ensalada de temporada, (Seasonal salad), €6.50

Brochetas de cerdo (Skewered pork), €6.50

Name: O Curro da Parra
Type: tapas, gourmet, fusion
Price: not cheap; budget for €15-20 per person
Location: Rúa Travesa, 20; 15704 Santiago de Compostela
Tel: 981 55 60 59
Website: https://www.facebook.com/ocurrodaparra
Verdict: Highly recommended! Reservation is advisable.

Restaurante Abella Romero Noya Jesus, a review

I was really knackered. All that driving the day before, the walking in the rain the wrong way, the subsequent late dinner, etc... I didn't have my shower until around 3am! My exhaustion and the comfortable apartment was a combination powerful enough to keep me asleep until 11 in the morning.

I went out, looking for something to have for breakfast in the apartment, but couldn't find any supermarkets that were open. I think I wasn't fully recovered from my exhaustion, and it was cumulative exhaustion. I'm not used to driving so much...

So, skipping breakfast altogether, we had lunch at Abella Romero Noya Jesús. After the previous night's dinner, we were looking for somewhere significantly cheaper, and this looked economical enough.

For the cost, it was a fairly decent joint. It was the sort of restaurant where you would walk out of smelling like fried fish & chips though...

No photos again. The mussels were large and juicy, the sort Galicia is famous for, the seafood soup wasn't salty as it tends to be in most places in Spain, and the pulpo was good... Service was fine, but nothing to shout about. Apparently, it's famous for their steak and chips, which is nicknamed "Crocodile" - not sure if it is because of the portion or the toughness of the meat...

Recommended if you want something basic and economical, but the competition is stiff around here. So, take your pick.

It kept drizzling on and off the whole day, and the sky was overcast and grey, to match my state of mind and body. Today was to be a car-free day and we stayed in town, taking it fairly easy. It being so overcast, it was hard to get enough light to do any architectural or landscape photography, and most of the time, the camera stayed in the bag because of the rain.

Having said that, I did manage to get some shots of people instead of places. With people shots, I can open the aperture all the way and get enough speed to avoid handshake issues, although, it may not be quick enough if the people are moving. With the aperture at maximum, one step and the subject is no longer in focus.

Hold it steady now...

Drizzling in Plaza Quintana

Smiling in the rain

That's it over there

Observing

Galician Wailing Wall?

Restaurante Petiscos do Cardeal, a review

As you can imagine, it was very late when we set out of the apartment to look for something to eat. Just as well we were in the centre, so lots of places were still open and like I'd mentioned in previous posts, it was Saturday. The town was buzzing with people. There was a very pleasant atmosphere.

We walked through the pedestrianised streets, turning down an alleyway instinctively, and found ourselves on Rúa do Franco. There were lots of restaurants here; no doubt, it was very popular with tourists. Still, it was too late to risk going too far away, taking into the account the time.

The restaurant we found ourselves in was Petiscos do Cardeal. Yes, that's right and no, it's got nothing to do with cars. It was full; they had a small terrace, which was also full. We waited for a bit and were soon shown a table. The time was past 11pm and they were still serving.

You know, I searched and searched, through my hard disks, through my mobile phone, and I still can't believe I didn't take any photos here! Perhaps I was just too knackered.

I remember we decided to have tapas: "gambas al ajillo", "tortilla cachonda", "pulpo a la gallega", grilled baby squid, mushrooms, and the family weren't full so they ordered some more.

The service was good, the staff were friendly and efficient. But, to be honest, I can't remember if I liked the food much or not. I don't think it was bad, but probably not great either or I would have remembered. What I do remember, however, is that the bill came up to €40+, so it wasn't cheap.

Bold black cat

No, it's got nothing to do with the restaurant, but it belongs to our apartment host. It would have jumped into our apartment if we'd let it, but no way! Windows were closed whenever we left.

Look out for the next few restaurant reviews!

L'Esbardu, restaurant review

After the bear walk, it was time for lunch. The restaurant we chose was L'Esbardu; it was on the edge of the town, just past the bridge. In fact, from the terrace, you can watch the river, except we were there in summer and there wasn't that much water.

When we arrived, the terrace was almost full; inside, there were a couple of tables which were occupied. We chose to sit outside under the shade of an orange tree. There were two servers, a waiter and a waitress. However, the waiter was the only one taking food orders.

The waitress attended to us after several minutes, brought us the menu, and took our drink orders. One word of warning here - while waiting, we heard a loud thud, and I mean loud! By some miracle, an orange had fallen off the tree and missed my shiny head by inches, hit the table, and bounced off to the ground.

So, choose your tables carefully - you may not be as lucky as I was!

Anyway, in spite of that incident - or perhaps they were afraid of coming near us! - we were practically ignored! Even frantic hand waving didn't catch anyone's attention. Worse, a group that arrived after us had their orders taken first, and naturally, got their food way before us.

We weren't pleased at all.

It's one thing when you're not served because no-one is available, and quite another when someone who comes after you gets served before. And it wasn't that big a terrace. The waitress attended to us first, so it was her responsibility to make sure that the waiter was aware of us, and if he had been more on the ball, he would have kept abreast of the situation anyway.

Food. The portions were huge! Be warned.

It might not have been the right season to have a pote Asturiano, but Asturia is famous for their fabadas and their potes. As you can see, it's something to help you through the cold winters...

Pote Asturiano

 The standard egg, sausage and chips. €6 for this, not a bad deal at all.

Egg, sausage & chips (child's portion)

 I had to watch my cholesterol level, so I opted for a grilled bonito. Wrong choice, probably. It was more of a meat rather than a fish place. Having said that, the bonito looked fresh, but the problem with cooking fish such as bonito and tuna is that it's hard to get the al dente point. To make it worse, this piece of bonito was at least two fingers thick! 

So, to put it in one word: DRY! Go past the al dente point, and this fish just dries up incredibly. It was so dry I could hardly eat it. I must have left at least half of it on the plate - it was huge anyway.

Grilled bonito

 And this was how the bill came. In a red espadrille. Perhaps that's what esbardu means. I never did find out.

Bill in a shoe

Name of restaurant: L'Espardu

Location: Calle del Puente s/n, 33114 Proaza, Asturias

Tel: 985 76 11 52

Web: http://www.lesbardu.es/index.php

Verdict: Conditional recommendation... if it isn't very crowded, and if you're fond of meat.