Food & Drink
Canary Islanders eat well and local specialities include gofio, a toasted maize staple going back to aboriginal times. They grow delicious little potatoes, often served in a spicy red sauce (papas arrugadas) or accompanying local lamb and kid. Rabbit (conejo) is another traditional staple and locally caught tuna, hake and squid are popular. Freshly picked tomatoes, bananas, guava, chestnuts, apples and citrus fruits are all excellent and the goats that roam the scented hills produce delicious cheese. The local bread is flavoured with wild fennel seeds and the traditional bakeries produce potato bread (pan de papas) and almond pastries, marzipan and paste (bienmesabe). Artisan wines are produced on the island, as is good beer and rum.
The hotel restaurant specializes in local Canarian cuisine, with a modern twist, and it’s sister restaurant, down the road, has excellent tapas and grilled meats. They also obtain lots of fresh fish and shell-fish from the coast. You can also try traditional dishes such as rabbit with almonds or a mighty Canarian steak. There are other good restaurants in Tejeda, including the Timagada which has a lively bar, and serves huge salads, good pork chops and locally produced wine, and La Perdiz which does great wood-fire pizzas on weekend evenings.
