25 Best Restaurants in Canary Islands, Spain

A five-minute drive from the Casa del Vino, in the township of El Sauzal, you'll find this award-winning winery and restaurant perched on a bluff overlooking the ocean. After a lunch of crackly pulled (local heritage-breed cochino negro) pork and roasted potatoes, waddle over to the bodega for a tour and tasting, and if you're looking for a gluggable souvenir, snap up a bottle of the tintilla, a smoky, complex red aged in French oak barrels that's nearly impossible to find in shops.

Shaded by a splendid ficus that keeps the terraza cool in the midday heat, La Bodega de Santiago is worth going out of your way to visit. The traditional Canarian menu is exquisite, integrating meats and produce from the surrounding farms and complementing dishes with island wines. The rosemary-scented kid goat is memorable, as are the freshly pounded mojos and stewed garbanzos (chickpeas). Call ahead to book a patio table.

In the small town of Villaverde, halfway between Puerto del Rosario and Corralejo, is one of the island's best-kept culinary secrets. At this small restaurant, Canarian dishes are served family style in the center of the table. Favorites include huevos amarrados (literally "tied-up eggs," but really half-boiled eggs with fries and spicy sausage) and paprika-dusted fried octopus with potatoes.

Figurines of the Virgin Mary and other religious paraphernalia line the walls of this eclectic tavern with low ceilings and a cozy, countrified feel. Hand-cut jamón (ham) and runny-in-the-center tortillas make wonderful appetizers; save room for the conejo en salmorejo (roast rabbit in a paprika-garlic sauce) and homemade desserts.

Halfway up a pleasant pedestrian street in Vegueta, this French café-restaurant with red walls and old photos of Las Palmas specializes in mushroom dishes. Choose from more than 15 preparations, or forgo the fungi and try the meat dishes and giant revueltos (scrambled eggs). Portions are large, ideal for sharing.

Down a plant-lined alley off the Plaza del Charco, this family-run restaurant is in a typical local house, with a labyrinth of small rooms leading off the main hall; you might find yourself sitting next to a collection of old photos, a pile of hats, or some rustic artifacts. Standouts on the traditional Canarian menu include puchero canario (chickpea stew with vegetables, pork, and chicken), piñas con costillas y papas (corn on the cob with spareribs and potatoes), and rabbit with salmorejo sauce. Save room for homemade desserts such as tarta de gofio (maize flour tart).

Strewn with nautical gewgaws and awash with color, Charco Vivo has indoor and outdoor seating, with tables overlooking the sea or the San Ginés lagoon. House specials include matrimonio (a "marriage" of squid rings and fish) and clams washed down with local wines. If the restaurant is busy, you might get a table just across the street at the sister bar, where the bocadillo de calamares (baguette stuffed with fried squid rings) tops the menu.

Tables are hard to come by at this busy restaurant in a typical Triana house: there's usually a line outside the door. The concise, contemporary menu includes truffled gnocchi, baked cod with seasonal vegetables, and steak tartare, a house specialty.

The buzz around this down-home Santa Cruz standby is well deserved, as you'll see when you sample chef Carlos's steak tartare, the best in town, or his rustic snail stew enriched with trotters (don't knock it till you try it). The star dessert is huevo mole, egg yolk and sugar whipped into a creamy mousse.

This must be one of the world's most unusual restaurants. Here, in the heart of Timanfaya National Park, chicken, steaks, and spicy sausages are cooked over a volcanic crater using the earth's natural heat. Be forewarned: the food is nowhere near as epic as the environs, and on chilly days, you might be served cold meat as all barbecue dishes are cooked outdoors, but it's still a worthwhile bucket-list dining experience. El Diablo is situated inside the park beyond the ticket booth, which means you can't eat here without purchasing entry into the park.

This eccentric indoor-outdoor restaurant one municipality over from El Paso specializes in flavorful allergen-free food prepared for guests with any range of dietary requirements. All ingredients are organic; nearly every dish is gluten-, dairy-, and nut-free; and the best part is, you don't miss these common ingredients, thanks to the chef's creativity. Highlights include the La Palma-raised braised beef, cooked sous-vide until it's spoon-tender, and the flight of homemade sorbets made with local fruit and freshly pressed almond milk.    

On the main shopping street, this restaurant is a convenient place to eat after sightseeing, especially since the kitchen is open from 8 am to 11 pm. Try to snag a table on the terrace that overflows onto the leafy pedestrian street (the interior dining room is comparatively drab). The salads, particularly the ensalada de bacalao confitado con pimientos asados (slow-cooked cod with roasted peppers), are appetizing and generous.

In a dining room oozing rustic charm (think green tablecloths, beamed ceilings, and squat wine glasses), feast on rich fall-off-the-bone goat stew made with local meat, or opt for the catch of the day, served with salad and papas arrugadas.

A surprisingly varied menu—from bruschette to charcuterie boards to lovingly cooked stews—keeps things interesting at this weekday-only beachy restaurant strewn with crawling plants and twinkly lights. Surrender to your sangría cravings here without worrying about running up a high tab; it's affordable, house-made, and packs a punch.

The best of French cuisine fuses with Canarian and Spanish touches at this sophisticated venue in the Jardines de Nivaria Hotel. Dine inside under chandeliers and in classic French style or outside on the pleasant terrace. The chef, Spanish-born Rubén Cabrera, cut his teeth at Arzak and Mugaritz and creates seasonal menus hinging on whatever's at the market; there's also a tasting menu. No shorts or sandals allowed.

Behind the Atlantic Sol shopping mall, this well-established restaurant is one of the oldest in town and has been under the same management since 1989. As you might expect from the name, its interior resembles a typical Spanish tavern, with wooden furniture and beams and cozy lighting. House specialties include paella, goat stew, and steak. Book ahead or arrive early to shore up a table.

Cheap and cheerful sums up this small bar-restaurant at the north end of Maspalomas. It's usually packed with locals, who flock here for good and inexpensive Spanish classics, including revuelto de papas con jamón serrano (scrambled eggs with potatoes and Iberian ham) and bacalao con tomate (cod in tomato sauce), and tapas. The daily set menu, which has two courses, is about €10. Expect generous portions, and if you want to be sure to get in, arrive early—before 2 pm for lunch and before 9 for dinner.

A few minutes’ drive from Costa Adeje lies this oceanfront restaurant overlooking the quaint harbor of La Caleta. Watch the sun set over La Gomera island while you savor fresh local fish and shellfish and Tenerife wines. Specialties on the menu include cherne negro con ajito (black wreckfish with garlic) and bacalao con almejas (cod with clams).

Creative cooking with Canarian roots is the philosophy behind the dishes at this 10-table restaurant east of the San Ginés lagoon. In the white-tablecloth, blue-walled dining room—or, if you're lucky, on the outdoor terrace—feast on creamy croquetas with a variety of fillings and local fish spooned with nontraditional sauces.

From your patio table overlooking the harbor, feast on attractively plated modern Spanish fare such as heirloom tomato salmorejo (creamy gazpacho), griddled Iberian pork with sautéed vegetables, and rice with wild mushrooms and foie. The interior dining area is almost as charming with pendant lights and mismatched vintage chairs.

Off the tourist track, this no-frills seafood restaurant with stunning sea views is a favorite with locals. The outdoor terrace seems to hover over the sea. The restaurant's popularity makes it a noisy place at peak mealtimes, so if you want a terrace table, book ahead or arrive early.

Seafood lovers, look no further: This Galician restaurant serves some of the most pristine fish and shellfish on the island, from rape a la marinera (monkfish cooked in wine and garlic) and zarzuela de pescado y marisco (fish and seafood stew) to various rice dishes such as paella. It's a well-established favorite with islanders—many travel all the way here from Las Palmas just for dinner. It's been run by the same Galician family since 1986 that also owns Las Rías, in Meloneras, to the west of Maspalomas.

Opposite the Iberostar Grand Mencey, this tiny no-frills bar serves simple Canarian cuisine—think grilled sardines and tomato-avocado salads—in abundant portions at reasonable prices. The dining room has a beamed ceiling, low wooden stools, and barrels for tables—perfect for a quick bite but perhaps not ideal for lingering.

Those in the know come here for typical Canarian food, especially the local dayboat fish. The best tables are outside on the pedestrian street, a couple of blocks behind the port, but the interior’s cheap and cheerful wooden tables and fishing nets are nearly as charming. There’s a good-value daily menu (€12), and fish comes grilled with a side of papas arrugadas.

Students and penny-pinching travelers flock to this no-frills juice bar, as famous for its colorful smoothies (made with local fruit) as it is for its club sandwiches and filling platos combinados (lunch and dinner combos), served with fries and salad.