Terraza Playa is one of the few places in Puerto del Carmen where you can enjoy a meal literally “on the beach.” The name means “Beach terrace,” and although there is an inside section, most of the tables are on the terrace on the small beach close to Lani’s Suites. You access it down the steps at the side of Lani’s and you can admire the gorgeous stone work on the steps on the way down.
We called in for Sunday lunch, and managed to get a table right on the front of the terrace. The restaurant is very popular with Canarians, and there were a couple of large multi generational families enjoying on other tables.
We’d decided before we arrived that we were going to have a Paella. The menu isn’t huge, but includes steaks, rabbit, pastas and omelettes, but the emphasis is on fresh fish, and there’s a good selection of it.
We knew the paella a Terraza Playa would be freshly cooked and would take some time, so we ordered fried goats cheese with a marmalade to keep us going and to enjoy with the bottle of Bermejo blanco seco we had ordered. The cheese was delicious, with a nice crust of breadcrumbs and a gooey centre, perfectly complemented by the sweet sauce.
There are two types of paella on offer and they are for a minimum of two people. One is a mixed paella, with meat and fish, and the other is paella de pescado y marisco, with fish and shell fish. We went for the latter.
The service at Terraza Playa is a little disorganised. I heard a couple of people telling the waiters that only part of their drinks orders had arrived, and I’m almost certain another couple, who arrived some time after we did, and who ordered the same paella as us, actually received our order. We weren’t concerned as there wasn’t a hurry and we sat back and enjoyed our wine and the view of the beach.
It was worth the wait! The paella that arrived was smaller than many, but made up for it by being incredibly tasty, and absolutely packed with quality fish. The rice was well cooked, although could have done with longer to develop the crunchy bottom, but you could taste straight away that the stock used was freshly made – fishy and gorgeous! There were chunks of lovely white fish all through the rice, and the dish was topped with huge mussels and two very large shrimp. The deep ochre yellow colour only comes from using top quality saffron, as opposed to the usual powdered colorante. We both enjoyed every mouthful.
After polishing off our wine, we enjoyed a coffee and a Baileys’s each (in lieu of desert) before heading down to the beach to relax.
Our total bill was €61, which included a shared starter, bottles of good wine and water, coffee and liqueur. The paella was €23.50 for two of us.
Restaurante Terraza Playa is at Avenida de las Playas 28 in Puerto del Carmen and they are on Facebook. You can call them on 928 51 54 17 – we’d advise booking for Sunday lunch.
For Information, we don’t give reviews in return for free food or advertising and we never tell the restaurant we’re planning to review them. We simply rock up, eat our meal, pay the bill, and then write our review.
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