La Dolce Vita

Although specialised on Italian food, the restaurant also offers a selection of non-Italian dishes. The children’s menu has a variety of items on it, and the children’s pizza is a particularly good choice as it allows them to choose any pizza of the normal menu and have it in a slightly smaller size for a set price.

The food itself was good, and the pizza was even accompanied by a proper pizza cutter! The wine selection was similar to in Puerto Viejo below, but actually slightly cheaper. The house wine, whilst not bad, was from the mainland, although local wines were also available.

Instead of ordering a starter, we took the bread rolls and butter which were brought to the table anyway. These turned out to be fresh and warm.

The restaurant has friendly staff, although sometimes it did take a moment to attract their attention. As we left there was a whole round of “good byes” to do, including the kitchen staff and the pizza baker!

La Dolce Vita is closed on Thursdays.

Unlike the “Chili con Carne” which is made of minced beef, Chili Rojo uses chunks of beef in a sauce with garlic, chili, cumin, red peppers and red wine. It is served on a bed of mexican rice with frijoles (re-fried beans) and corn-on-the-cob.

It looked so delicious when it arrived, that I took a photo of it:

And it was hot. The menu apologises that the dish cannot be made less spicy and I was offered a taster in advance, but there was no need. It was not only very tasty but sufficiently spicy as to put it on a par with Pique a lo Macho in Mainz. I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Here, on two stands run by the El Puerto restaurant from Puerto del Carmen, German sausages and other cooked food are served. The sausages are called „Thüringer“, a type of fried pork sausage that comes from the Thuringia area of the former GDR and contains a small amount of spices.

A range of beers are also on offer.

El Puerto is a restaurant that serves German food, so schnitzel and geschnetzeltes have been combined with Canarian influences.  Unfortunately, when we visited, the ceiling fans were not working, and during the evening it kept getting warmer.  The smell of old fat in my corner of the restaurant didn’t help my first opinion either.

It is probably therefore better to sit at one of the two tables in front of the restaurant, even though these are next to the road.  Otherwise, the inside is decorated with a mixture of German, in particular Thuringian, and fish and nautical themes.  The music is provided by MDR, an station in the Eastern part of Germany.

The food itself was not that bad, so if you are looking for German food on Lanzarote then this may be the place to go.  But it was nothing special.  I’d be particularly interested in how it can take a whole hour to cook chicken breast or schnitzel with chips?

I also have no idea how a restaurant owner who – when asked for the bill – can just say to his guests “slowly”.  A glass of Ronmiel with whipped cream on top doesn’t make up for that either.

In any case, a report on our visit would not be complete without mentioning the cuckoo clock, which cuckooed at 10 minutes past every half hour.

For German food on Lanzarote, I preferred the nearby restaurant “Simposio”, which has sadly now closed.

El Puerto is closed on Sundays, as on this day they have a stall at the market in Teguise.  There the food comes quicker and, in my opinion, tastes better.  But more about that another day…

When I first went there some years ago, I was not particularly impressed. A combination of wrong or late food and the rolls and butter trick were enough to put me off for several years. That is, until I received a tip that the quality of service varied depending on the staff who were on duty. So armed with information on which waiters and waitresses to watch out for, I went back there this year.

This time, the experience was totally different. Not only could we choose our food in our own time, but we were also advised on which fish was fresh and even given the honest information as to which fish was delivered frozen.

I went for the fresh fish and selected barracuda, and I was not disappointed. The fish was served with a small salad, three dips and Canarian potatoes.

What also impressed me was being asked whether or not we wanted rolls as a starter, rather than them just being placed on the table and charged for as had previously been the case.

The menu is not entirely based on fish, so there are alternatives like steak on offer and also a children’s menu with both fish and other items on it.

The view from Mardeleva’s outdoor tables is perfect to watch the sun go down behind the island and see the lights come on across the water on Fuerteventura. You can also look down on Puerto del Carmen’s harbour as the last boats tie up for the night. The new walkway along the harbour also has a set of steps leading up to it.

With the right staff, eating there can make it a nice evening out. It’s just a shame that catching the wrong crew can make the evening such a disappointment.