Welcome to Tenerife, my favourite Canary Island. Tenerife blew me away and exceeded my expectations. Tenerife is home to beautiful beaches, but even more so, stunning scenery and lush green places. You can read all about the best places to see and where to go in Tenerife in my full Tenerife Travel Guide. However, next to beautiful beaches and nature, Tenerife is home to amazing tapas (we are still in Spain) and delicious wines to be bought and drank at local bodegas. Unfortunately, on a 7-day trip, I wasn’t able to visit all the amazing restaurants Tenerife has to offer, however, I tried my best to consolidate the best bars and restaurants I have visited during my holiday as well as some additional recommendations from online research to leave you with a comprehensive guide.
The first restaurant on the list is Case Riquelme, which might be one of my favourites. The food was great and I love the fact that they didn’t have a menu but just bring you the food of the day (and the prices didn’t disappoint). However, the greatest reward when visiting this restaurant is the lovely terrace with the most amazing views over the Masca Valley. A must visit when in Tenerife.
Another restaurant that was high on our list, was Dabeke in Orotava. TripAdvisor and online reviews didn’t lie, so this restaurant had to be amazing. We were surprised by how quiet the restaurant was at lunch, but they managed to serve us amazing food and excellent service. Worth the drive. While you are there, make sure to also stroll around Orotava, which is a cute little town.
As we were staying in Los Gigantes when exploring Tenerife, we visited Tas-K 3 times during our trip. I’m really a big fan of this restaaurant. The vibe is amazing and the personnel is so nice. The dishes differ daily, which makes it the perfect restaurant to visit multiple times. Best get here a bit early or be prepared to queue.
Where to stay in Los Gigantes: Royal Sun Resort, Los Gigantes is the Klayman Diamond Apartments
Our second favorite in Los Gigantes, which might also have been due to it being located next to our hotel. Mamma Lucia is an Italian Restaurant in Los Gigantes that serves great pizzas and pastas (and also their risotto was great!).
We visited Pipo Cafe on our last day, as we decided to drive past Costa Adeje / Playa de las Americanas during our drive to the airport. We hadn’t spent time exploring these more tourist beaches during our stay, but as it was conveniently located between Los Gigantes and the airport and we had some spare time after checking out our hotel, we were curious to see what the tourist hotspots looked like in Tenerife. Pipo Cafe had a great lunch menu where they serve a tapas menu.
Where to stay near Costa Adeje: Adrian Hoteles Colon Guanahani
During lunch time, we have visited the more high-end beach area La Caleta. We settled down at a seafront restaurant for some seafood pasta.
Where to stay near Caleta: H10 Costa Adeje Palace
Another place in Los Gigantes, although this one is officially located in Puerto de Santiago (which is a ~20 minute walk, dependent on where you are staying). The Fisherman’s Inn is the perfect restaurant when you are looking for a great place for sunset and fresh seafood.
La Herbieta was recommended to us as one of the best restaurants in Tenerife’s capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife for tapas. Now, I have to say, the food was good, however, compared to most other restaurants in this list, it didn’t blow me away. Looking at online reviews, it seems that the quality of dishes changes over time.
As mentioned before, unfortunately 1-week in Tenerife won’t leave you with the opportunity to visit too many restaurants at the islands. Fortunately, I did some homework and save several restaurants on my map prior to heading to Tenerife. Other restaurants that I have found as good restaurants in Tenerife are: El Mirador near Playa de Benijo, Bodeguita Canaria and San Sabastian 57 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Restaurante Guaydil in La Laguna, Restaurante La Bola de Jorge Bosch in Tegueste, Casa del Vino, El Calderito de La Abuela near Puerto de la Cruz, Restaurante La Casona del Vino, El Rebojo, Restaurante Muelle Viejo, and Monkey Beach Club. All these restaurants have been indicated on my Tenerife Travel Map, which will help you to detail your travel plan.
Tenerife is in my opinion not the island to go when you are seeking for big parties. Though I have to admit, we didn’t spend any evenings in Playa de las Americanas and neither did we go on a big bar hunt, you could already feel that there is no huge bar scene. The best idea is to head for a late dinner and enjoy some post-dinner drinks at your restaurant on the terrace. Nevertheless, Tenerife is home to quite some wineries. They are mainly located in the Nortern part of the island.
Bodega Frontos was the first bodega we had visited. The Bodega is located in the south-east of the island and can easily be reached by car. There are no open tasting moments, however, if you pass by and start chatting with the owners/employees, they are happy to serve you a tasting. We went home with two bottles to enjoy on our hotel balcony.
One of the best-known Bodegas in Tenerife is Bodegas Monje, which you can find in the northern part of the island. The building is stunning and the views from the terrace are even more beautiful. However, you can notice this is a way more touristy place than Bodega Frontos, hence we liked Frontos way more. Unfortunately, they were only serving the tasting inside, so we haven’t been able to enjoy their great outside area.
KV Bar Gourmet is a lovely little bar located at the harbour in Los Gigantes, closely located to Tas-K. Upon our arrival in Tenerife, we started with a drink at this lovely location and we came back a couple of times to enjoy a glass of rose or craft beer in the sun.
Even though a specific drink might not be one of the best bars and restaurants in Tenerife, this famous drink with its origin in Tenerife, can’t be missed. The famous drink I’m referring to is a Barraquito, a mix of espresso, milk, condensed milk and Liquor 43.
As for other bars in Tenerife that we haven’t visited, here are a couple more! Head to La Guiri when in Santa Cruz, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar or, visit Wine&Cheese if that suits your preferences better. La Laguna has many beer bars (such as Cerveceria Mitematu) as it is a student city. If you are looking for a beach bar, Coqueluche Beach Bar in Costa Adeje suits your preference.
My top tips for when visiting Lanzarote in more detail than just this hike. Read about my top 10 spots on the islands – a full guide of what you can’t miss when visiting this volcanic island.
