Discover An Authentic Guachinche In Tenerife

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This is a guest post from one of our readers.

If it’s traditional Canarian cooking that you’re looking for on your holiday in Tenerife, you might want to take a break from the many restaurants in Los Cristianos, or Playa de las Americas, which tend to serve up the usual tourist menus. Instead head off the beaten track for an experience that’s much more authentic: a meal in a guachinche.

What is a guachinche?

A guachinche is the name given to a make-shift restaurant in Tenerife, once typically set up in the home garage. However, the past few years have seen them cropping up in a number of unique places, from allotment sheds to banana plantations. You’ll find variations on guachinches in Gran Canaria, but these makeshift eateries are typical to Tenerife and worth checking out if you’re looking for a unique experience on the island.

Where can I find one?

Your best chance of finding a guachinche is in the area between Tacoronte and Los Realjos. They are far more common on the northern slopes of the island where winemaking is prevalent as they were initially set up as a means to serve the house wine and make a tiny bit of cash on the side. You may seem them in the south during fiestas or the wine harvest, although they are much less common in this area. When seeking one out, look for tell-tale signs and arrows around town. Many savvy locals have marked out guachinches on FourSquare so if you have access to the mobile app, you’ll have a more modern way of spotting guachinches that are local to your resort.

What are they like?

Don’t be nervous, these eateries are completely regulated and there are certain laws that they must abide by. They must for example offer no more than three dishes and only serve water and their own wine. It is not possible to buy beer or spirits in a guachinche and if you see ice-cream on the menu then it simply isn’t authentic. When their wine runs out the guachinche will shut down until the next batch is ready and therefore it isn’t always possible to tell whether or not a particular venue will be open whilst you’re on your holiday.

However, these three gems are considered by many to be the best on the island:

Vitoria

This wins points for its unique setting; in a cattle shed right next to a cliff. Customers sit on old cardboard tubes and eat from a table made from a cable roller. You buy the meat that you want to eat by the kilo and one of the staff will cook it for you on an old barbecue. It’s great value for money and you’ll find the guachinche just off the motorway at El Sauzal.

El Nervioso

Just off the motorway by Tenerife’s North Airport, you’ll find El Nervioso. This is one of the larger guachinches on the island and seats close to 100 people in its deli-style dining area. As a larger venue, it offers customers a more varied menu although they must take a ticket before placing their order. Most types of meat feature on the menu, although the fillet steak with wrinkled Canarian potatoes is particularly good.

El Requinto

This guachinche is in the town of Tacoronte and particularly popular with locals as the wine is really good. If you like what you’re drinking then you’ll find that most of the restaurants allow you to buy wine by the barrel, which makes the perfect holiday souvenir. El Requinto is particularly well known for its starters, particularly the cheese croquettes which feature an almond crust and are served with blueberry jam.

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*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!