Gran Canaria: Rustic Tapas, Strong Coffee

The beach itself at Las Canteras Beach is rather lovely. Golden sand, rolling Atlantic waves and locals actually enjoying themselves instead of aggressively queueing for breakfast buffets. Always a good sign.

I wandered down towards La Puntilla, where the newer part of town slowly melts into the older quarter. Tucked away on a quiet side street sat Bar La Puntilla, a tiny café-bar I’d scribbled down in my notes beforehand.

Now, from the outside, you’d walk straight past it. It looked gloriously scruffy. Plastic tables, faded signage, slightly chaotic atmosphere — precisely the sort of place I tend to trust more than polished tourist restaurants charging €18 for frozen paella.

Inside, I was met with two blackboards featuring handwritten Spanish so illegible it may as well have been ancient hieroglyphics. Still, I spotted “salpicón”, and that was enough for me. A smiling older lady emerged from the kitchen, speaking no English whatsoever, which frankly reassured me even more. She handed me a small fried cheese fritter wrapped in a napkin while I waited.

Good grief.

The thing was sensational. Crisp outside, molten cheese inside, rich but oddly delicate. One bite and both of us were grinning like idiots. Food really does bypass language entirely when it’s done properly.