IBS Travel Journals - Eating out
EATING OUT in Lanzarote
Travel diary - Eating dairy free, yeast free, meat free, low sugar and fat
I don't eat out often due to a mix of my anxiety disorder and IBS food intolerance's. Crowded noisy places are difficult for me to handle, then there's the extra obstacle of working out what food on the menu I can eat.
For the first problem I find sitting at a chair with my back to the rest of the restaurant helps. With the second problem I tend to go on line and check the restaurants menu's out before picking where to go out and eat. Either way it limits where I can go, which is why we went Self Catering.
So how do 2 women with IBS and totally different food triggers find some place to eat........
Lol, every time we went for a walk round Costa Teguise we would end up reading restaurant menu's. We eventually found a few places to eat out in the evening.
Our first meal was in
El Maestro restuarant (website link)
On the Calle Los Olas, just off the Av Arenas Blancas that runs along the Costa Teguise beach front.
Serves modern international food. During the day you can eat out on the large patio garden, and during the evening they close the glass doors and light braziers to keep of the chill. If your going on a winter sun holiday to the Canary Islands, better remember to pack a cardigan the nights get chilly.
I had a prawn and smoked salmon with avocado salad. It came plated on a flat bread. Tasted great and totally dairy and yeast free. Mum had chicken fajitas, both our meals tasted great and the waiting staff were friendly.
We ate there our on the last night of our holiday but our meal wasn't as good. I had fried squid with canarian potatoes. The potatoes were great but half of my squid was over cooked and chewy.
Mum had ordered chicken with mozzarella and ham in a cream sauce.
Perhaps the description didn't translate well into English. Instead of chicken wrapped in mozzarella and ham, she got chicken stuffed with mozzarella and ham. There also wasn't a cream sauce. It tasted good but it wasn't what she thought she had ordered.
Normally at the end of a meal in Britain when you ask for your bill it comes along with chocolate mints. In Lanzarote your bill comes with a small sherry. Lol, just once Id like to get something I can actually drink or eat. I gave mine to mum.
Fish and Chips
It got to be a standing joke with us, the only thing the other British holiday makers seemed to eat was a full fried breakfast or fish and chips. We eventually started craving one. I generally avoid fried food, it gives me really bad indigestion. We found a British style chippy off the main beach. A normal fish supper comes with buttered bread and a cup of tea. Not in Costa Teguise, it comes with a beer or soft drink .
The owner did my mum a favour and made her a cup of tea. I'm not joking she seemed put out, we ended up whispering the whole time we were there. The chips were great, fresh cut not frozen and fried to perfection. Unfortunately mum's fish was under cooked. The fish had been cooked at the same time but mum's cod was thicker, while mine was cooked perfectly.
La Hasienda
This is a sister restaurant to the El Maestro than serves Tex Mex food. It's situated on the same street.
First meal out I had the veggie Burrito with out cheese, then a mango carpaccio with manderine sorbet.
Mum had the Beverley hills - A chicken breast covered in melted cheese and topped with bacon. Both mains came with rice and beans. Her dessert was a apple cake served with a carmel sauce and scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Again wait staff were helpful and friendly. Both our meals tasted great, I had no problem getting my order with out cheese.
We visited for a second time a few days later for lunch. I had a tuna mayo wrap with chips, while mum had a chicken bagette. Pretty impressed as the chicken had obviously been cooked whole and shredded, most restaurants buy there's pre-cut. While my wrap had been warmed before the tuna mayo was added. There was crunchy fresh corn mixed in as well.
Got to say this was our favourite place to eat. We talked to one of the British staff and he gave us great advice on catching the local bus. No 3 from Costa Teguise takes you to Puerto del carmen.
Playa Blanca - Trip
Lucky for me most cafes have baked potatoes on the menu. Trying to order mine with out cheese was a bit harder to do though. Tried to say Sin Queso only to confuse the waiter. Finally breached the language banner by saying lactosa intolerancia. Both our baked potatoes came with a fresh tomato sauce. (Not ketchup!!) A good light meal for the middle of the day.
We ate there our on the last night of our holiday but our meal wasn't as good. I had fried squid with canarian potatoes. The potatoes were great but half of my squid was over cooked and chewy.
Mum had ordered chicken with mozzarella and ham in a cream sauce.
Perhaps the description didn't translate well into English. Instead of chicken wrapped in mozzarella and ham, she got chicken stuffed with mozzarella and ham. There also wasn't a cream sauce. It tasted good but it wasn't what she thought she had ordered.
Normally at the end of a meal in Britain when you ask for your bill it comes along with chocolate mints. In Lanzarote your bill comes with a small sherry. Lol, just once Id like to get something I can actually drink or eat. I gave mine to mum.
Fish and Chips
It got to be a standing joke with us, the only thing the other British holiday makers seemed to eat was a full fried breakfast or fish and chips. We eventually started craving one. I generally avoid fried food, it gives me really bad indigestion. We found a British style chippy off the main beach. A normal fish supper comes with buttered bread and a cup of tea. Not in Costa Teguise, it comes with a beer or soft drink .
The owner did my mum a favour and made her a cup of tea. I'm not joking she seemed put out, we ended up whispering the whole time we were there. The chips were great, fresh cut not frozen and fried to perfection. Unfortunately mum's fish was under cooked. The fish had been cooked at the same time but mum's cod was thicker, while mine was cooked perfectly.
La Hasienda
This is a sister restaurant to the El Maestro than serves Tex Mex food. It's situated on the same street.
First meal out I had the veggie Burrito with out cheese, then a mango carpaccio with manderine sorbet.
Mum had the Beverley hills - A chicken breast covered in melted cheese and topped with bacon. Both mains came with rice and beans. Her dessert was a apple cake served with a carmel sauce and scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Again wait staff were helpful and friendly. Both our meals tasted great, I had no problem getting my order with out cheese.
We visited for a second time a few days later for lunch. I had a tuna mayo wrap with chips, while mum had a chicken bagette. Pretty impressed as the chicken had obviously been cooked whole and shredded, most restaurants buy there's pre-cut. While my wrap had been warmed before the tuna mayo was added. There was crunchy fresh corn mixed in as well.
Got to say this was our favourite place to eat. We talked to one of the British staff and he gave us great advice on catching the local bus. No 3 from Costa Teguise takes you to Puerto del carmen.
Playa Blanca - Trip
Lucky for me most cafes have baked potatoes on the menu. Trying to order mine with out cheese was a bit harder to do though. Tried to say Sin Queso only to confuse the waiter. Finally breached the language banner by saying lactosa intolerancia. Both our baked potatoes came with a fresh tomato sauce. (Not ketchup!!) A good light meal for the middle of the day.
Puerto del carmen
We took the local bus too Puerto del Carmen for a day trip, this time we found a cafe run by an ex pat so ordering was a bit easier. Only thing I could eat on the menu was canarian potatoes with mojo sauce. It's one of my favourite local dishes it's served with 2 spicy mojo sauces, red and green. Most recipes are dairy free, but you can always check.
Rancho Texas
Took a trip to Rancho Texas on our last day. Id packed an emergency snack in case there cafe didn't have anything I could eat. It's a American Western style zoo park, apparently some native canary Islanders emigrated to the USA and fought in the American Civil war. Who knew......
It's a fast food cafe, but your food is made to order. I had a salad, while mum had a cheese burger and chips. Never thought it would happen but I was getting tired of potatoes and salads by the end of the day.
Gluten Free
On our travels we found a restaurant in Costa Teguise that serves Gluten free pizza and pasta.
We took the local bus too Puerto del Carmen for a day trip, this time we found a cafe run by an ex pat so ordering was a bit easier. Only thing I could eat on the menu was canarian potatoes with mojo sauce. It's one of my favourite local dishes it's served with 2 spicy mojo sauces, red and green. Most recipes are dairy free, but you can always check.
Rancho Texas
Took a trip to Rancho Texas on our last day. Id packed an emergency snack in case there cafe didn't have anything I could eat. It's a American Western style zoo park, apparently some native canary Islanders emigrated to the USA and fought in the American Civil war. Who knew......
It's a fast food cafe, but your food is made to order. I had a salad, while mum had a cheese burger and chips. Never thought it would happen but I was getting tired of potatoes and salads by the end of the day.
Gluten Free
Top tips - to eating out
- Dont be afraid to ask, these guys want your business.
- Order 2 starters instead of a main. Just ask them to serve it at the same time as the main's
- Try out the Tapa's restaurants, another great way of customising a meal to your diet.
- Take an emergency snack if your going on a day trip.
Going self catering was the right choice I couldn't have lived on potatoes and salad for the whole holiday. However I was surprised by the number of places i could eat at. Having the freedom to do both just made the holiday better xxx
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