Tuesday, 8 November 2011

Restaurante Andalucia - Garrucha

Venue:- Restaurante Andalucia

Location:- Paseo Malecon Garrucha

Just along the front from Mojacar when you reach Garrucha





Not having eaten in Garrucha for a while so thought we would give it go today (Sunday) for lunch. We stopped at the first restaurant we came to regardless and plonked ourselves down on a table for two right on the edge of the road! I could have reached out and shaken the hands of passengers in passing cars it was that close to the edge! The outside area is typical along the front at Garrucha - a few (or more) sheltered tables right on the road with a passage way through for pedestrians between the tables and the restaurant itself - allowing the waiters to attempt to draw you in - a task they were very good at, I reckon without their co-ertion the restaurant would have been empty!

We only fancied a light lunch but the menu is predominantly fish - fresh, as one would expect. The special of the day was a fish platter consisting of a sea bream, sea bass, prawns, mussels, clams and squid with a drink thrown in at 30 euros for two - a reasonable price I thought although I didn’t see anybody with this dish. We settled for a seafood paella (20.00) for two, it consisted of 2 langoustines, 2 prawns, 3 mussels, 5 clams, lots of quid legs and a small amount of white fish and of course the rice! The paella was very tasty but no better than anywhere else and quite frankly I thought they were very stingy with the shell fish, we normally are left with piles of shells from other places although with the prawns and langoustines two of each is normal, but c’mon at least half a dozen mussels each and more clams.

For dessert had the usual Flan (3.50) , no better, no worse than anyway. Pina (4.00) - fresh pineapple, a bit pricey for a slice of fresh pineapple. Café con leche at 1.50 and solo at 1.50 and bread at .75 each. Fresh orange juice @ 2.00 and Beer at a whopping 4.00 a ½ litre! Wow! And double wow! The dearest I have paid since being in Spain - even the four star Melia hotels and Crown Plaza hotels charge less!

Total cost of the meal was 43.50 euros

Overall the meal was only average and the price too expensive and the location - not great. Have only eaten in Garrucha twice since being here and both times I have thought it too expensive - probably my last report from Garrucha.

Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Toscana - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- Ristorante Toscana

Location:- Mojacar Playa (paseo del Mediterraneo 219)

Contacts:- Phone 950 472 907

Jeremy Stent 673 160 248

Teddo Peeren 672 828 454

Email:-
info@restaurantetoscana.es

Website:- www.restaurantetoscana.es (under construction but menu available)

 

We so liked this place that after we had Friday evening dinner we booked for Sunday lunch! The restaurant comes into the fine dining bracket and is set across from the beach one floor up so that you have uninterrupted views of the Med. The chef Jeremy Stent comes with some glowing credentials - The Ivy and Shepherds in London and the Royal Mirage Dubai. The menu has a fine choice of starters, pastas, pizzas fish and meats with a nice range of desserts. Seating is mostly inside with large patio windows that be opened fully to allow the balmy Med weather to enter the light airy spacious interior. The staff were polite and attentive to our every need without being intrusive - on to the food.

I have not detailed the evening menu, but will in a future review, this is just the Sunday lunch.

Sunday lunch is 15.00 euros a head which consists of a main course of sirloin of beef, roast potatoes, large yorkshire pudding peas, carrots and cauliflower cheese. The dessert this week was bread and butter pudding made with Panetone and served with custard. The meal also includes a glass of cava.

The above is the only choice for lunch but the a la carte is always available.

We were asked how we liked our beef - 2 x pink and 1 x well done - and it was done as requested and delicious (2 slices), the potatoes were roasted in goose fat (I think!) and very nice and crispy on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside. The yorshire was large and very nice - a real Yorkie, none of your Aunt Bessies here! The accompanying vegetables were beautifully cooked ’al dente’ but not too ’al dente’. The gravy was rich, but not too rich, and plentiful. The lunch was considered a success but a hungry person may have wanted more - it was perfect for us. The lunch was washed down with a fine Rioja Reserva.

Dessert was very nice and perfect size for us, but again a hungry person may want more.

This is not your average Playa Sunday lunch but a step or two up to a very nice lunch - try it and see if you agree. To quote a famous saying ‘you’ve tried the rest now try the best’.






Casa Adelina - Turre

Venue:- Casa Adelina

Location:- Top of Turre main street ( on the hill)

Casa Adelina has been around a long while and we have liked it in the past so we thought it was time for another visit. The restaurant sits on the hill as you leave Turre heading away from Mojacar towards the motorway. There is a large outdoor seating area with comfortable chairs - didn’t go inside so I am unable to comment on the interior. We had lunch from the a la carte.

Starters consisted of Sardines grilled (7.00) - four nice sized sardines delicious and fresh, a perfect start. Soup with noodles and chicken (5.00) - a light chicken broth with small noodles and chicken breast, again a nice light starter. Garlic bread with garlic and salt (1.00 per person).

Mains were ternera salsa champinones (9.00) - a delicious veal casserole in a nice mushroom sauce with a small side of roasted red and green peppers and scalloped potatoes - very tasty, two of us had this dish and both devoured it all ---- the local cat did try a small piece of veal! The other main was Pollo Plancha (9.00) - this consisted of a large flattened chicken breast grilled and covered in garlic sauce again served with the peppers and scalloped potatoes - very nice, difficult to get it wrong - Pollo Asado (roasted chicken) is still the favourite of this diner though. The scalloped potatoes were nice crispy and garlicky and liked by all diners.

Desserts were the house flan(3.00), good but no better than most places and chocolate mousse(4.00) which was very nice.

Café solo (1.10), con leche (1.20), agua con gas (1.00) - for ½ litre, Cerveza (2.60 pint)

Total cost for three people 65.90 - very reasonable I thought for what we had.

Just something to note, the restaurant was full and we were the only Brits - if the Spanish like it then it must be good and good value. One further point most tables had a plateful of snails in tomato sauce to share - we didn’t try them but the locals seemed to love ‘em.

Portofino restaurante - Mojacar Playa

Venue :- Pizzeria Portofino

Location :- Marina Nuevo Siglo - Mojacar Playa

(on the beach side of the road)

Phone:- 950 47 28 09

Web:-
www.pizzeriaportofino.es

 

Restaurant Portofino is a narrowish restaurant with plastic tables and chairs outside on the road side, then a bar area, then a tastefully decorated interior dining section followed by a fairly large exterior covered dining section right on the beach - we chose to eat inside as it was a bit blowy outside, but others didn’t seem to mind. The restaurant says it is a pizzeria - which it is - but it also a proper restaurant with pasta dishes, meat and fish dishes too. We had a la carte lunch.

Ham and Melon (8.00) - a nice plateful of Serrano ham and juicy white fleshed melon - very tasty and quite filling. Saquitos de hojaldre rellenos (9.00) - small deep fried filo ‘sacks’ with different fillings, hammy ones, herby ones and fishy ones but all were all highly spiced with oregano - very delicious I thought. Really they are a variation of the croquetas that you get everywhere - beware the ones that are not homemade! Ahumados Variados (14.00) a very, very tasty selection of smoked fish - anchovies, smoked salmon, smoked white fish (not sure what) and smoked tuna and it came with capers and finely diced onion with a balsamic dressing.

For mains we had - ravioli de carne fiorent (8.50) a big plateful of meaty ravioli in a very herby (oregano again), mushroom and courgette sauce - the sauce was superb, the ravioli ok - did they make the ravioli themselves? I think not, but am willing to be corrected on this. The other two meals were both Pollo Asado (9.00). This was declared a hit! The chicken (half a bird) was well roasted with crispy skin but retained its moistness. The potato was a baked spud which came with a small amount of mixed roasted peppers in a garlic.

Too full for desserts!

Café solo (1.20), Con Leche (1.50) Agua con Gas (1.50) and cerveza (2.80) pint.

A very nice restaurant which we will happily visit again - total cost for three people 74.40.

Note - they have a sister restaurant in Mojacar Pueblo - La Muralla - 950 47 29 28

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

Le Bistrot - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- Le Bistrot

Location :- Mojacar Playa (best Indalo end)

Decided to try French this evening and went to the Le Bistrot restaurant, a small restaurant with both a small outside and small inside seating area, seats very comfortable and the place had a nice ambience about it even though there was only us and another couple dining. The couple who own the place seem to run it between them, the man (French) does the cooking and his wife (Dutch) does the front of house serving the drinks, taking the orders and generally looking after the diners. The menu is small typical French in style and should have something for everyone - we had dinner.

Starters -

Two types of salmon (smoked and gravalax) tartare - two of us started with this and it was delicious, served from a timbale with crispy toast and sour cream and chives. The salmon tartare was very nice, delicately flavoured with herbs and lemon juice, the lemon not overpowering the taste of the salmon.

The other starter was warm goats cheese on rings of toast with a bed of salad with a crushed almond topping - very nice, three rings of cheese, nice salad with an excellent dressing just right for a starter course. I believe the starters were all around 8.50 each.

The mains consisted of ….

I had fresh sea bass fillets which came with a small slice of onion quiche and a very delicious layered potato cake - potato, courgette and tomato I think with a fairly strong hint of basil which really made the taste for me. A very nice dish, fish nicely cooked and presented, accompaniments - delicious.

Then a gigot of lamb with the same extras. We were actually asked how we liked the lamb - very unusual, the French tend to serve as they like it (almost raw!) not how the diner wants it! This was requested pink and sure enough it came pink - it was declared superb.

Lastly plain grilled salmon with the same veggies as the other mains. The salmon was cooked through - yippee, it wasn’t served half done. Once more this was declared very good - if we must complain then we would have liked crispy skin, but never mind we didn’t eat that bit and I am sure had we asked the skin would have been crispied. Mains were around the 14.50 mark.

Desserts ..

We just had to have a go.

I had a trio of desserts with coffee - crème brulee, tart tatin and chocolate cake - delicious.

Crème brulee on its own - very nice.

Lastly Tart Tatin - again very nice (4.50 a pop)

We had a couple of beers to start, some water, coffees and went a bit mad on the wine front - a bottle of Mercurey 2009 for a whopping 26.00!! Well it was worth it, don’t see Mercurey around much and it was nice for a change.

Overall the meal was very good, the service and ambience excellent, the price what we would expect from that type of restaurant. Would we go again? Yup.

Monday, 24 October 2011

Torre Bahia - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- Restaurante Torre Bahia

Location :- Calle Torre Bahia Mojacar Playa

(Off the Playa near The Blue Lagoon)



A nice restaurant a few yards off the main Playa offering a spacious outdoor patio both covered and open and an equally spacious interior. The seating is comfortable and the tables spaced well, it has a nice ambience and the covered outdoor area was full the day we dined - evening a la carte.

Starters:-

Aguacate con Gambas (7.00) - avocado prawns with a nice lot of salad garnish, a very nice satisfying starter with a very tasty avocado and freshly peeled large prawns.

Sopa de champinones (3.75) - mushroom soup - tasty and fresh, nothing more to add.

Revueltos salmon ahumado (5.25) - scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, delicious, a nice sized portion but just one failing for me, balsamic vinegar was sprinkled on the dish, I do not like balsamic vinegar! Never the less the dish was very nice - I ate the bits covered in the balsamic first! Why oh why can a restaurant not serve what it says on the menu, the balsamic could and should have been placed on the table to add as desired.

Mains:-

Platija plancha (7.50) grilled plaice with garlic butter with frittied potatoes carrots and peas. The fish although it was a flat fish was not plaice as we know it, the flesh was too soft and not the right consistency for plaice - it was mostly devoured but the fish declared too soft.

Conejo al Ajillo (8.50) - grilled rabbit with garlic, several chunks of lovely garlic coated rabbit - very nice indeed. Came with the same potatoes, peas and carrots as above. If you don’t mind getting the meat from the bones then give this a whirl it is superb - boneless eaters steer clear!

Parillada de Carne (9.50) mixed grill consisting of steak, chicken, bacon (belly I think) sausage and a fried egg on top - and guess what potatoes, peas and carrots. The meal was a plateful and was very nice, a good size if you are hungry.

Puds:-

Crumble Manzana Caramello (3.50) a nice apple crumble with custard.

Arroz con leche (3.00) a nice warm rice pudding.

Coffees at 1.00, pint beer at 2.50, tubo at 1.50, water at 1.50 and bread x3 .30 each. Had a bottle of Ribera tempranillo from the Moro stable at 14.00

Overall a very nice meal and restaurant the total cost being 71.40 - we will return.

Rincon Del Puerto (Garrucha)

Venue:- Restaurante Rincon Del Puerto

Location :- Port of Garrucha at the lighthouse



The restaurant is on the beach side of the road overlooking the harbour. It is a large restaurant with an outdoor drink and snack area and outdoor dining area and an inside dining area. The restaurant specializes in the local catch and is well frequented by Spanish people. We went for lunch and ate from the a la carte.

Starters.

Gazpacho (4.00) - very nice gazpacho, plenty of it and very delicious, loads of red peppers, green peppers, onions and tomatoes - didn’t add the cheapo nasty mini breadsticks, make real croutons - how long does it take? This is probably once of the best gazpachos around. The other was a mixed salad (6.00), very nice plentiful salad with all the usual bits including tuna.

Mains.

Emperador (15.00) - nice large piece of sword fish done ‘a la plancha’ and served with garlic potatoes and a grilled tomato. The tomato was grilled, lovely, would have liked more! The potato was again lovely with plentiful garlic pieces in it - very nice. The fish cooked perfectly, boneless and skinless and plentiful - very nice. The other was the fish platter twice (20.00 each) - a nice platter consisting of sardines, calamari, baby squid and bocorones - a plentiful plate, nice.

Drinks - Cerveza at 3.50 a pint, normal for this area, water 1.00 coffee at 1.20 and bread at 1.00. The food here is always excellent but I feel it is well overpriced, I have had better tasting, more fish variety and cheaper fritura elsewhere - ie. Sol Y Playa at Carboneras. Still if you are in the area and don’t mind the prices give it whirl it will not disappoint. Total cost for 3 people 83.20.