Finding a tasty and typically Spanish meal in the tourist sprawl of Playa de las Americas is no easy task. The destination is a well-known hotspot for holidaymakers, many of whom are British. And wherever there's a British tourist, there tend to be a handful of restaurants nearby offering chips, sausages and baked beans as the staple meal.
Tenerife – Tourist Trap With a Difference
Playa de las Americas is no Benidorm. With flights costing slightly more due to the location of the Canary Islands further away from Europe, off the western coast of Africa, Tenerife tends to attract more of a diverse crowd than just those seeking a British home-from-home on the Spanish Costas. Although Playa de las Americas receives its fair share of party animals out for the clubbing scene along the strip of cheesy nightclubs, the main tourist centre of the Canary Islands is not as devoid of taste and cultural credibility as a would-be traveler might imagine. Furthermore, with the amalgamation of different nationalities on the island, in both residents and visitors, come some appreciably unanticipated hidden gems on the culinary front.
Family-run Italian Restaurant
Meson Mediterraneo cannot be classed as a typical Spanish or Canarian restaurant. Sitting bang in the middle of a smattering of gaudy shops and restaurants overlooking Torviscas beach, and with McDonald's only a stone's throw away, Meson Mediterraneo is indistinguishable from the other restaurants competing for the business of the hopefully flush tourist crowd. Each restaurant (except for the golden arches which apparently speak for themselves) has their man guarding the patch of pavement directly in front, offering tourists 'authentic' tapas (served with chips, of course). If you're lucky, they'll even throw in a jug of sangria. The man outside Meson Mediterraneo is no different. His 'victims' eye up the Italian and Spanish flags on the plastic restaurant sign, wondering if the tiny restaurant really can deliver both bona fide Italian and Spanish food. Put very simply, and much to the stupefaction of many a pleasantly surprised visitor – yes it can.
Mouthwatering Spanish Tapas
Run by an Italian husband and wife team (wife cooking up a storm in the kitchen; husband waiting tables and working his guests), the restaurant has no more than about fifteen tables. The kitchen is small but well-stocked and the menu is remarkably vast. A popular choice is the mixed tapas for two people, costing just 19 Euros. Before the tapas arrives, patrons are treated to freshly baked rolls, handmade alioli sauce and a selection of juicy green olives. The tapas includes a coalescence of the more traditional tapas foods, such as tortilla (Spanish omelette), chorizo, calamares (battered squid rings) and serrano ham, as well as some less Spanish, but equally palatable additions including Russian salad and rice with vegetables and curry sauce. Admittedly, it doesn't sound like it should work, but it somehow does. The restaurant also serves two types of croquette with its tapas menu – one with fish and the other with chicken. Unlike the stodgier, packet-bought croquettes diners will often find in Spanish restaurants trying to cut corners, Meson Mediterraneo's croquettes are the creamy, melt-in-your mouth versions that can only be hand-made. Coupled with some typical boquerones (anchovies in vinegar), Canarian potatoes (baby potatoes baked on coal), creamy mushrooms and chicken, rounded-off with some fresh local cheese, visitors will find themselves enjoying one of the most delectable, untraditional 'traditional' meals available for miles around.
Affordable Spanish (and Italian) Food
Not only is the food served by Meson Mediterraneo some of the best in Playa de las Americas, it won't break the bank either. A bottle of wine or a liter of Sangria costs less that 10 Euros. There's also a tapas option for one person, which includes garlic bread, sixteen different tapas dishes and a glass of sangria or wine for 9 Euros and 50 cents. The tapas selections really are the dishes to recommend at Meson Mediterraneo, not only because the food is made from scratch, is excellent quality and well-cooked, but because there are so many other restaurants offering tasteless, second-rate food the owners are trying to pass-off as traditional tapas to the unsuspecting tourist looking for the authentic, but perhaps not quite understanding what that means. In Playa Torviscas, 'authentic' doesn't necessarily mean a Spanish chef in a shiny kitchen. It might just mean a talented Italian couple who know how to make hearty food and show their clientèle a great time in their unfussy restaurant overlooking the beach. Not to mention the shots of fruit liqueur they serve 'on the house' at the end of the meal, which certainly contribute to their full-bellied customers going away a little merrier at the end of the night.
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