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Tenerife, north and south, has some wonderful restaurants but it can be very difficult deciding where to go.
Here, we give you a few ideas, whether you live here or are on holiday. We hope it will help you pick a lovely place for a meal out. In fact, why not work your way through our recommendations as a new hobby?
We will be featuring all sorts of restaurants to suit all tastes, with a little description in our articles. Enjoy them!
 Los CristianosTASCA CASA PACO
Readers of the Tenerife News often remark that they have read about a “singing chef” in the south of the island and ask us to point them in the right direction.The combination of entertainment and great food comes courtesy of Paco who runs Tasca Casa Paco in the centre of Los Cristianos.
Paco is an artist in every sense of the word. He not only paints (and you can often see his creations on the wall), he cooks, he plays the guitar and he sings, both in Spanish and English.
Tasca Casa Paco opened over a year ago and has become a very popular place for all nationalities, including the British.
Paco is very proud of his establishment and says he uses only fresh produce and wouldn´t dream of using anything frozen. It goes without saying that the tapas and main dishes are delicious. There are about 30 choices on the menu, in small, half or full portions, such as garlic chicken wings and scrambled egg with Spanish black pudding, together with meat and fish, and a wine list featuring 50 different varieties.
The best way to find the restaurant is to walk towards Los Cristianos town centre, with the petrol station on your right and on the left you will see the second Cepsa garage, so cross over to this and you will find Tasca Casa Paco on the street next to it.
Puerto Santiago:
DOMU MIA
Whether you live in or near Puerto de Santiago or want to make a special visit, can we point you in the right direction to Domu Mia?
Run by owner and chef Paolo, who hails from Sardinia, this restaurant is a fantastic success story. Paolo first opened Domu Mia in 2009, starting out as a small restaurant with perhaps three or four tables but it was always busy.
This year, he expanded his business and moved the restaurant just 20 metres down the road. The premises are much bigger, seating up to 40 people and with a delightful terrace with a partial sea view. Bigger it may well be but neither the food nor the service has been compromised and Domu Mia is as busy as ever. The reason? Excellent food at very reasonable prices.
Paolo’s food is mainly home-made, such as pasta and desserts like tiramisu and he now also offers steaks and seafood. He always has delicious Italian tapas, mortadella, real parmesan cheese and other Italian cheeses and patés, Italian raw ham etc. He often does something special from Sardinia or Sardinian-style. Wines offered include Italian, of course. Paolo also makes his own lemon liquor Limoncello after an old Italian recipe.
You can find Domu Mia just opposite the post office and it is between the bus stop/taxis and the Vigilia Park apartments.
THE ARENA BAR
Offering a friendly welcome, The Arena Bar at Puerto Santiago is run by a British couple, Les and Ethel. They will be well-known by local people and regular visitors to the area as they were at the helm of The Fishermen’s Inn in Puerto Santiago for five years. Having recently opened this sports bar, it offers what the name suggests ie. all the major sporting events live on big TV screens. Inside, it is air conditioned, but there is also a large sun terrace to enjoy, from where you can still see all the live action.
On weekends, the kitchens is open all day and food is also available for take-away.
The Friday night special is cod and chips for 6.95 euros and Sunday roast with a home-made dessert is just 7 euros. For cider fans, you can get draught and there is also draught Worthington bitter.
Well worth a visit, The Arena Bar is open every day from 10.30am to late. Wifi is available.
 Palm Mar: PEARL'S PANTRY
Pearl’s Pantry at Palm Mar is a great place to eat and don’t just take our word for it!
Comments on a recent website include “one of the places we always like to go to”, “we were very impressed with the good food and good service” and “super cool family-run place with free wifi.”
What lovely accolades and well-deserved for owners Pearl and Phil and their hard-working team.
We also love this place, not least because the food is great British cooking and you can find the sort of meals you long for, like real home-made chips or mouth-watering gravy!
Neither us nor people we know have ever had a bad meal at Pearl’s where the Sunday roasts are to die for and Friday fish and chip nights are very popular.
Pearl´s Pantry is open every day from 9am, with the kitchen closing at 10pm, so you can enjoy an extensive menu from breakfast right through to evening meals. There is a tremendous choice and great offers, such as a three course menu for 9.95 euros and daily specials, with everything from salads, burgers, shared platters, sandwiches, coffee, cakes and desserts. A new treat is Monday curry nights for 7.95 euros and includes a pint of beer or glass of house wine.
PESHAWRI
When people take up our recommendation to visit the fabulous Peshawri Indian restaurant at Palm Mar, one of the things they always remark on are the low prices.
You would expect such a nice place to be expensive but it isn’t. Diners are very pleasantly surprised, particularly because Peshawri does not stint on quality or quantity.
A take-away for two with main dishes, rice, chips, naan bread and popadums with relishes is around 20 euros, but you will probably be tempted to eat in (or rather out if you choose to sit on the sheltered terrace).
Owner Kumar Mirpuri has always taken a very personal interest in his restaurant and will often be there to take your order himself because he likes to keep in close contact with his customers. It’s this close association which allow you to order your dishes cooked to your taste, whether hotter or spicier or with or without certain additions such as cloves or onions.
Palm Mar is only ten minutes away from Los Cristianos near Guaza and you can park your car near the restaurant and go for a stroll down to the ocean and along the modern promenade before returning for your meal.
Los Gigantes:
TIPSY TERRACE
Reading the menu at Tipsy Terrace in Los Gigantes is as much fun as eating the food!
Our regular readers will already be aware of this delightful venue which is run with great enthusiasm by owners Sally and Sarah.
It is not by chance that it has become a favourite place for many people, locals and holiday-makers alike. Sally and Sarah are always thinking up new ideas to move with the times and to keep Tipsy Terrace fresh, inviting, fun and great value for money.
You will find great home cooking and dishes to suit all tastes, from breakfast time through to evening meals and everything in between. Tap into their menu on www.tipsyterrace.net and you can see all the choices for yourself, from Tipsy’s Ploughman’s and rise and shine sandwiches to wraps, jacket potatoes, burgers, crunchy salads, light lunches and much much more. It will make you smile as well as hungry!
AZAFRAN
THE chic Azafran bar and restaurant is situated at the San Francisco Sports and Beach Club just outside Los Gigantes.
The view and the interior decor are superb and the food does them every justice.
If you tap into www.mytenerifeinfo.com you can enjoy a 360 degree tour which will inspire you to head for Azafran as soon as possible.
This gorgeous restaurant is typically Canary and serves Mediterranean dishes from its hilltop location above Los Gigantes and Puerto Santiago.
The restaurant has featured in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine and was described as ‘a find!’
It also offers tennis, a swimming pool, sunbathing lawn and ‘beach’ for the kids whilst the adults chill-out on the terrace and enjoy the most spectacular sunsets across the ocean below.
Costa del Silencio:
CAFE DOLLAR BAR
There’s a welcome new feature at the very popular Dance Cafe Dollar Bar in Costa del Silencio in the form of small snacks.
That means there’s even more reason to visit a venue where dance is on the menu no matter what the time of day or night. You can now stay as long as you want without getting hungry!
In Belgium, this type of dance bar is hugely popular and owners, Jean-Claude and his wife Anne-Mie have made this formula work over here too.
Their bar is not just for their fellow countrymen. It’s for everyone. British, Spanish, Russian, French, German. In fact, anyone of any age who likes to have a good time, enjoys popular music, likes to socialise and to get up on the dance floor. All kinds of music is played, plus your requests and you will often find that Jean-Claude is the DJ. Watch out also for the special drink promotions.
Dollar is easy to find. If you drive down the main road through Costa del Silencio, you will find the Spar shop on your left and then a row of bars just after it. Dollar is the last one, right on the corner and if you turn left here, there is always parking available. You can sit inside or out under the covered terrace and watch the world go by.
 BISTRO BOLLEWE adore Bistro Bolle and so do you judging by the success owner Patrick has achieved over the last two years.
There is something very special about this restaurant which is a popular haunt for all nationalities. Patrick is from Belgium, but he is multi-lingual and is always on hand to greet customers who genuinely become old friends.
The bistro has a lovely covered terrace with views of Mount Teide when clear. There is plenty of parking right outside.
The prices are right and the food comes in huge portions which you can have with a Belgian beer or choices from the extensive drinks and wine list. You will find the dishes on the blackboard and we must say that every meal we have enjoyed here has been delicious. Lamb rack, fillet steak, fillet of fish, home-made pâté, warm goat´s cheese, tagliatelli salmon, duck, veal fillet......need we go on?
Directions. Turn left into Silencio from the main Galletas road, keep on until you see the statue with the figures in the swimming pool and turn right here in front of them, then first left along the one way system and first left again and you will see the restaurant´s red awning.
WEST HAVEN BAY
WEST Haven Bay is often advertised as “a private Belgian-run luxury holiday complex.” It certainly is, but you should know it also has a lovely restaurant open to all and enjoys the most stunning views of the sea as it is right on the ocean´s edge.
We recently featured the Thursday fondue nights which we would highly recommend to you at 15 euros per person (minimum two) for as much as you can eat.
The restaurant is now run by a young couple, Jan and Fueve from Belgium who are keeping up the standards set by Rita and Nele who still run the holiday side of West Haven Bay.
Jan and Fueve are continuing all the favourites which include a very extensive a la carte menu, snacks, afternoon teas, evening buffets, etc. There is also a superb breakfast buffet.
Directions.From the main road heading towards Las Galletas, turn left into the main road through Silencio past the Spar on your left. When you see a funny little “swimming pool” statue on the right, turn here and follow this one way street right the way round for a few minutes until you come to a fork in the road, West Haven Bay is in front of you. It has two car parks. Walk down the steps to the restaurant.
 Playa de las AméricasMAMMA ROSA,
Mamma Rosa at Playa de las Américas is one of the most elegant restaurants on Tenerife. This is another of the island’s “hidden jewels”, not because people don’t know about it (it has survived and prospered for more than 20 years) but because of its location.
From the busy street scene lined with bars and restaurants near the Colon II apartments, your first glimpse of Mamma Rosa will be the large menu display board and the entrance just a few yards down a side precinct.
However from the moment you walk through its doors, you will be enchanted. The restaurant is beautiful but neither imposing or stuffy. The cuisine is described as classical Italian and Scandinavian with Spanish and French influences, blended together and cooked in a modern style.
As you would expect, the food is excellently presented with a host of starters, pasta, salads, soups, fish and seafood, lamb, chicken, pork and beef to choose from.
The restaurant is about to reopen again after a short seasonal closure but please note, just a hundred yards away further up the road and on the left, Michaelangelo’s has the same proprietor.
The restaurant has just reopened again after a short seasonal closure and please note, just a hundred yards away further up the road and on the left, Michaelangelo’s is in the same ownership for a double treat!
Playa de la Arena
POPEYE
Popeye is a place you won’t forget in a hurry, not least for its name which always raises a smile.
This snack bar with added value is run by Marcela and Jose who both come from the Canary Islands. They also own the pizzeria San Juan in Chio.
Their menu is international, however it includes everything from pitta bread with several different fillings, snacks like hot dogs and hamburgers, lasagne, steaks and kebabs. All pizzas are five euros and, for those with hearty appetites, have a go at the special giant half metre or metre German sausage. You can also enjoy a litre or a half of beer in a pipe. They also serve freshly-squeezed juices and stuffed fried sweetcorn omelettes, known as arepas and cachapas, with different fillings.
Popeye has lots of other advantages such as wifi, two terraces, a sea view and a big screen for all major sporting events. The kitchen is open all day and you can eat in or take away.
SAUCO
Pizza, pasta, barbecue. What a choice you get if you choose to dine at Sauco. This Italian restaurant with lots of flair is run by Jorge Campos and his team. Jorge comes from Venezuela, but is also half Italian.
Just a brief mention of some of the dishes will set your taste buds alight. Parmesan aubergine, goat’s cheese salad, fresh mussels, seafood spaghetti, home-made pasta, fresh fish such as sea bass and salmon, shoulder of lamb, kebabs and fajitas. Then, of course, there are the home-made desserts which change weekly such as pumpkin cake, passion fruit mousse and mango sorbet. Jorge also serves home-made limoncello, a deliciously refreshing drink you just have to try. There is also a full list of Spanish and Italian wines.
At Sauco, you can eat in or take-away and a very welcome new arrival is a large terrace with sea view.
Playa de San Juan
TASCA CANARIA
There’s a new tapas wine bar on the scene in Playa San Juan. If you enjoy tapas or a good meal in convivial surroundings (or indeed, if you would like to be introduced to this pleasure), then seek out Tasca Canaria.
Eating and sharing tapas is always great fun and here, all the dishes are strictly home-made.
Tasca Canaria is run by Florencia and Eduardo from Argentina and they are adding their own personal flair to the premises and the cuisine, including a speciality vegetarian quiche.
On the second Thursday of each month, you get the added bonus of live music from Stevie D.
You will also find one day devoted to cocktail offers and another day to the not to be missed bargain offer of five different dishes and a drink for a fixed price.
Every day, you will find a tapas speciality of several tapas for two, on a large plate, with fish and seafood. They serve Canary wines here and 12 different beers from Germany, Belgium, Mexico etc. and there is a big screen for sports.
You will find all the contact details and locations in Tenerife News edition 432
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JONATHAN POWER'S
'There is what there is' . . . is the name of this wine cellar (bodeguita) opened by Cecilio Afonso Guzmán in September, 2011. To quote the words of the chef Moisés Rodríguez, the name of the place portrays the food served.
A Cafeteria and pub: The Cafeteria/Tasca Sansofé was opened in March, 2011 by Zacarias Acosta. He already has twenty years of café and food distribution under his belt. He is happiest when organising, and the opportunities offered by the Sansofé are limitless.
I wonder what it’s like to eat Mongolian?” 
Some people are born with an artistic streak running through their veins and singing chef Paco is no exception.
Jonas and María Carmen Padilla and Esteban Baeza opened this small restaurant three months ago.