We’ve reviewed Emma’s Cantina Mexicana in Puerto del Carmen before, but having enjoyed the home-made „Chili Rojo“ this year, I felt it deserved a special mention.

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!

We first discovered the beach at Los Pocillos in Puerto del Carmen when we visited the nearby ¡Estupendo! Office.

Having only visited the Playa Grande previously, we found that it had some definite advantages.

Playa Los Pocillos

For a start it is easier to park the car there! But as the beach itself is on a corner, it means that children can go out quite a way into the sea without getting out of their depth. (more…)

„What do they do if it’s full?” – the words of Germany’s chef and restaurant tester Christian Rach came to mind as I visited “El Puerto” in the Calle Teide in Puerto del Carmen for the first time.  Only two tables – including ours – had anyone at them, and yet we had to wait a whole hour for our food and another 30 minutes for the bill.

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. (more…)