AFRICA Restaurants SPAIN

Time-Honored Mirador de Garachico

As my husband and I continue our escapades in the Canaries, our road trip from Costa Adeje took us to the highest of the highs along the peaks of Los Gigantes, unto a small ancient tucked-away village at the foothills called Masca, and down to the northwest coast of Tenerife into the town of Garachico which is snuggled below a 500-meter cliff. Without doubt the least spoilt coastal municipality of the island, Garachico is famous for being a coastline built on volcanic debris where natural rock formations were spontaneously transformed into fabulous geological swimming pools. One could truly tell that the locals do their best to take care of their environment and preserve the natural state of their charming little town. History and tradition has always been an important facet in the culture of the Spanish people after all.

Style Details

Outfit | GAP
Bag | GIVENCHY
Sunglasses | CELINE
Shoes | UNISA
Necklace | c/o HAPPINESS BOUTIQUE

Since we had a long adventurous day exploring the island, we decided to venture off to a time-honored restaurant in the middle of Garachico’s old town called Mirador de Garachico. Here we were introduced to an authentic local cuisine by Christian Mejias, a member of this traditional family-owned restaurant. Christian was the perfect host, welcoming, friendly and tremendously informative. During the meal, he told us a lot of entertaining facts about Tenerife and the history of Garachico. His pleasant character further elevated the ambiance of this elegant restaurant whose setting was in a conventional Canarian manor converted into a modern restaurant. Canarian architecture is a marvelous mix of the traditional designs from Andalucia and Portugal combined with its own colonial structures. Mirador de Garachico is a fine place to dine while enjoying a stately and traditional atmosphere. According to our conversation with Christian, Garachico was the original capital of Tenerife until the volcano erupted many centuries ago and destroyed the city. Approximately 300 meters away, seen from the shores of Garachico, is a protected little isle called Roque de Garachico – a fine example of an island that was formed by the eruption of a local underwater volcano.

Mirador de Garachico modifies their menu every season. During autumn, the meals tend to include castanas, a type of dried fruit, and mushroom. Throughout my travels in Spain I noticed that one must be able to somehow speak with locals in Spanish but I must say that the service in this particular restaurant was sensational and I truly could feel that they try their best to be accommodating and converse with their various international guests. Shortly after, we were courteously served two different kinds of warm bread with a side garlic butter and white wine.

For the first course we had the autumn landscape salad which featured mini vegetables, young salad leaves, black pudding dumplings, apples, chestnuts, white grapes, and (yes!) foie gras. It was a very interesting and quite a refreshing salad. The grapes add a slight sweetness to it while the fragments of foie gras garnished around the salad provides that added delightful pleasure. I must say it’s quite rare for my husband to like salads but this one won his heart (stomach, really…) because of the pleasing flavors and textures.

Another appetizer we sampled was a Spanish tapa that won the 2013 Best Canarian Tapa Competition. It featured a Bacalao cold-water fish with red and green Canarian salsa served with sweet potato chips. It also had mashed sweet potato, salted fish, sweet blood sausage and red pepper served with the perfect cactus pear marmalade. The fish was light and flakey and the dish in its entirety was very delicious. It felt light yet heavy due to the potatoes. I must say, it had an impressive amount of flavor for a starter dish.

The next plate is pampano with risotto rice and cilantro. This fish was actually caught by Christian’s uncle! The pampano was a tremendously dense and fatty fish. It was delicious and rich in its natural flavor. Paired with the risotto rice and cilantro cream, it was an ultra-amazing combination. My husband even enjoyed the skin of the pampano as it was so flawlessly crispy and lightly salted.

For the main, we enjoyed an old-fashioned black pork dish from the Canary Islands served with potato and squash which also featured olive wood from Majorca. It came on a lovely plate with a captivating arrangement. This dish also won the tapa championship in Tenerife. The pork was quite rich and brilliantly cooked and braised. The glazing makes it look attractive and the taste was splendidly delicious. To no surprise, it was an alluringly filling dish.

We enjoyed two desserts which were a gofio pie and passion fruit parfait. The gofio pie had dried figs and bananas with palm honey. It felt like the whole wheat of desserts. If a dessert could actually feel healthy this would be it – except for the luscious ice cream on the side! The passion fruit parfait was served with chocolate cream and berries and was a delectable tarty dish. The ice cream balances out the flavors while the chocolate just explodes with sumptuous flavor.

Mirador de Garachico is a destination on its own. Located in a 17^th century village, its appeal is one that will fill you with fascination and delicious food. The beguiling family owned restaurant works exclusively with local farmers who deliver the freshest of produce at all times. Its menu filled with award-winning new Canarian cuisine entices both the locals and the city’s urban visitors. Enrapturing your taste buds and senses, Mirador de Garachico menu offers a new take on old-fashioned classics that will surely leave you enthralled. Book a table here now!