Los Roques, Los Abrigos, Tenerife Review

Overall Rating

Large choice of wines by the glass
Nice decor

Could be anywhere
Food not very original
Food not nice for the price
Average service
Massively overpriced for what it is

I'm very surprised by all the positive reviews of this restaurant (Los Roques). Apart from the very nice decor, my opinion is that this restaurant has very little going for it and is overpriced. There are plenty of nice restaurants in Los Abrigos, more authentic and with better food (try el Cangrejo Loco right next door). What they serve in Los Roques is taken straight out of the menu of a typical French restaurant in France (Coquilles St Jacques, Magret de Canard, Goat Cheese, Foie Gras etc). Hardly original. Reasonably well presented, but presentation should be secondary to taste. I suspect a lot of foreigners like this place because the staff is foreign. The mise en bouche was a meatball. It might have been served on a chinese soup spoon, but that didn't change the fact that it was a meatball - oh yes with a tiny slice of truffle on top. The lobster starter had very little taste but the black beans were good. The coquilles saint jacques were cold and hardly original. The wine list is quite good (but again overpriced - the Sauvignon Blanc was very nice but too expensive at 10 euros a glass) and they have quite a large choice of wines by the glass. They're very proud of their Michelin listing. Don't be fooled though, they probably got it for their wooden tables and the fact that they give you a blanket to cover yourself with on the terrace. Save your bucks and go eat where the locals do.

Members' Comments onholatenerife's Review

• etall on 25th May 2008

  I have to strongly disagree with this review. I eat here every time I'm in Tenerife which is several times a year and i find it is always excellent.
  
  To address specific points:
  
  "Could be anywhere" - the views are stunning, overlooking an almost unspoilt Canarian fishing port, see the photos on this site and the restaurant website.
  
  "Food not very original": Can't remember anywhere that I ever saw scallops stuffed with foie gras served with vanilla olive oil(they are divine) nor an avocado and lime sorbet with white chocolate and thyme. These are just two examples of what I think is a very original menu
  
  Worth noting, the last time I was there they have this fantastic local organic lamb and now grow their own salad leaves as they are moving more to local produce.
  
  in my opinion, this place is worth going out of the way for.

• martypatch on 4th Jan 2009

  I disagree with this review because it seems to me that the reviewer has an axe to grind and I think they couldn't be more wrong. Maybe they just didn't get what they expected didn't get on with the waiter or something? I've seen this exact same review on three different sites now. We tried to go to congreo loco when we were in Tenerife because of this reviewer. It has been closed by the health authorities, so I guess you get what you pay for. We ended up talking to some people eating on the terrace at Los Roques next door - we had no plans to go there - some locals that told us why Congrejo had closed. We ended up eating at Los Roques because of them. Compared to my experience, this review couldn't be more wrong.