The 21 best Lanzarote restaurants
Island restaurateurs have responded to the desire to savour locally sourced produce, which Lanzarote offers in abundance – particularly seafood. Lanzarote's Malvasia wines are handily an ideal foil for seafood and are growing in stature beyond the island. Restaurant owners have also responded to the desire to sample more creative cooking to spice up the traditional dishes.
For more Lanzarote, see our guides to the best bars and nightlife, things to do and beaches.
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Best all-rounders
Best for families
Best for cheap eats
Best for walk ins
Best for fine dining
Best for views
Best all-rounders
La Cantina Teguise
This old world charmer is set in a whitewashed historic house in Teguise, the oldest village in Lanzarote. Teguise's Sunday morning market is one of the most famous in Macaronesia, and dining here afterwards makes an ideal day out. Sound provenance is a key focus. Mains include the local catch of the day and Iberian pork fillet marinaded in mandarin, soy and garlic. There is also a fresh, bright tapas menu that allows you to discover the island's produce, such as superb Lanzarote smoked salmon (from Ugo) and some of the island cheeses (the goat cheeses are especially good). Washed down, of course, with a glass of their excellent Lanzarote wines, or one of their craft beers.
Area/neighbourhood: Costa Teguise
Contact: cantinateguise.com
Price: ££
Reservations: Recommended (essential on Sunday)
Jameos del Agua
It's another aesthetically pleasing treat from Lanzarote's uber architect Cesar Manrique. The jaw-dropping lair he fashioned here – with underground tunnels and pools set into the volcanic caverns – is positively Bond villain. This is a unique chance to dine in a lava cave restaurant after a wee aperitif by the water. They now offer a la carte as well as set menus. Kick off with the likes of fried Lanzarote smoked cheese, spiced with carrot jam, followed by fresh fish, a well-cooked steak or Saharan squid with those irresistible salted wrinkly Canarian potatoes. The setting is sublime and the gloriously playful, unwaveringly tasteful, ghost of Manrique is everywhere. Live music and DJs add even more atmosphere on summer evenings at weekends.
Area/neighbourhood: Punta Mujeres
Contact: cactlanzarote.com
Price: £££
Reservations: Essential
Aljibe del Obispo
Not content with forging some of the finest wine in the Canaries, this brilliant winery also now boasts a fittingly remarkable place to eat. Recline just yards away from the vines as the island's fine wines and produce enjoy a dalliance dancing across your taste buds. A glass of crisp, minerally Malvasia Volcanica is the ideal companion for this farm-to-table restaurant. Savour their own Uga Farm cheese, flavoursome local organic tomato, and Atlantic tuna and fresh white fish hauled from just across the water on La Graciosa.
Restaurante Tacande
The restaurant's founder, Víctor Betancort, is fast becoming a local legend, and it runs in the family, as his father is a winemaker. Tacande introduces your taste buds to the much less renowned Ye-Lajares wine region and their thoughtfully sourced 'KM 0' produce. Sound provenance is paramount here. Constantly surprising dishes sweep from fried Lanzarote goat empanada, through to grilled cheese from Haría mountain with a Tinajo tomato chutney, and on to Lanzarote grouper cooked Thai-style with Canarian coconuts.
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Best for families
Mexico Lindo
If all that boat-fresh grilled local seafood smothered in delicious Canarian mojo sauce gets too much, Playa Blanca now has an ethnic eatery worthy of a detour. The hotel's only a la carte option soars across the Atlantic for an authentic sojourn to Mexico. Kick off with taste bud-tickling fresh ceviche, or Yucatan chicken and lime soup, washed down with a proper tequila, then move on to one of their fully loaded tacos. For something a little different opt for red snapper wrapped in banana skin with poblano chilli strips. It's worth lingering on for a cocktail too as they mix a decent one here. On hot nights you can sit outside and feel the ocean breezes as the resort's pools bubble in the distance.
Dunas de Famara
You don't have to surf to savour Famara these days. This swish restaurant offers one of Lanzarote's most impressive tasting menus, served just back from the roaring Atlantic and bursting with island flavours. It's worth coming here for La Santa and king prawns from the nearby eponymous village, which both star on the grilled seafood platter alongside clams, razor clams, cockles and mussels. Another highlight is the delicious black rice laced with cuttlefish and baby squid. This is a relaxed venue, ideal for introducing wee ones to finer dining.
Mirador El Roque
Dine overlooking the waters the busy local boats haul in the catch of the day from. Make sure to book a table outside, and recline swathed in the smells of garlicky fish, the perfect foil for a glass of crisp Lanzarote white wine. Snare the glorious bocinegro if they have it in; ubiquitous similarly local fish cherne is an excellent fallback. A seafood platter here is a life-affirming treat. Busy, bustling and ideal for families worried about taking their boisterous kids out.
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Best for cheap eats
Cofradia de Pescadores
This simple restaurant is run by the local fishing co-operative. Enjoy the fruits of the labours of the local fishing fleet, right down by the harbour and fish market in Playa Blanca. There are no frills in their basic dining room and brisk, at times brusque, service. Swirl in a few words of Spanish, though, and boat-fresh delights await. Ask to see the fresh fish of the day, priced by weight. If you're unsure, a shared platter offers a smorgasbord of goodies. Superb fish that's as fresh as can be are at a serious markdown, compared to the island's hotels. Well-priced Lanzarote wines too.
Area/neighbourhood: Playa Blanca
Contact: 00 34 928 34 90 66
Price: £
Opening times: Daily, 12pm-10pm
Reservations: Recommended
Típico Canario
Many a restaurant enjoys an ocean view on the promenade in Playa Blanca, but few do simple Canarian specialities as well as Típico Canario. Yes, the service gets stretched at this no-frills restaurant when they are busy and no, they won't be troubling the Michelin inspectors, but for honest Canarian food, it delivers. Seafood features heavily, but the traditional hearty goat and lamb dishes of the hinterland also appear, with both red and green mojo sauces on hand alongside those irresistible salted potatoes (papas arrugadas). You can just pop in for tapas and a glass of Malvasia, or savour one of their decent cocktails.
Tahoya
Take a dip in the gorgeous ocean pools before retreating a few blocks inland to savour home-cooked traditional specialties in homely surrounds. Lovely staff and delicious, honest food. The highlight – bar the boat-fresh white fish – is the zarzuela de mariscos, an everything but the kitchen sink seafood stew heaving with fish and shellfish that just demands bread-dunking. The decent local wines by the glass are good value too. Fits firmly in 'hidden gem' territory.
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Best for fine dining
La Cocina de Colacho
Michelin-recommended La Cocina de Colacho more than ticks all the one star boxes so a promotion may be imminent. Think an open kitchen, designer décor and a dynamic couple running the show. And what a show it is with Nicolás 'Colacho' Machín in the kitchen. Sound local provenance (including their own vegetable garden), combined with a dash of culinary creativity, conjures up one of Lanzarote's most exciting restaurants. The tasting menu – alive with salmon smoked in Uga, island cheese and cod-like cherne – is a real joy.
Area/neighbourhood: Playa Blanca
Contact: lacocinadecolacho.com
Price: £££
Reservations: Essential
Restaurante Palacio Ico
This classy Michelin-recommended getaway is the best place to dine in the historic inland town of Teguise. Housed in a boutique hotel, the dining space is all striking art and serving plates that are works of art in themselves. Settle in for their tasting menu. You're in good hands with seriously creative chef Víctor Valverde in the kitchen and one of Spain's most celebrated sommeliers, Iván Monreal, curating your matching wines. Lanzarote-landed tuna, Tinajo tomato and La Santa prawns are lifted to stellar heights in one of the most refined restaurants in the Canaries. If they keep this up a Michelin star surely beckons.
Kamezi
Lanzarote is rightly proud of its first Michelin star winner, the frankly superb Kamezi. It's a restaurant that will have anyone with anachronistic ideas about Canarian cuisine scratching their eyes and patting their stomachs. Canarian produce abounds – they'll name suppliers if you ask nicely. Savour La Santa prawns, Canarian pork and even traditional local peasant staple gofio. The latter reinvented, of course. Plump for the tasting menu for a sublime feast, or the slightly lighter eight-course tapas menu on Sundays and Mondays. Epic Canarian wines too. 11/10.
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Best for walk ins
Villa Toledo
The modern face of Costa Teguise is on show in this spectacularly set eatery. Dining in this glass-walled restaurant feels like being aboard a ship, as it hangs out over the ocean and a salty tang fills the air on their expansive terrace. Atlantic tuna spiced up with Canarian red mojo sauce tempts on the menu alongside paella and a superb lobster rice. Even better than paella is their take on that mainland Catalan classic, fideua, made with noodles rather than rice. The dynamic team here also offer an excellent brunch – the tortilla, laced with chorizo, turbocharges your day.
Mercado Diecisiete
Many of the restaurants dotted around Costa Teguise's Plaza del Pueblo Marinero (charmingly conjured up by Cesar Manrique to evoke a whitewashed Canarian village) are average. This isn't. The interior is bright and breezy, just the right side of hipster, though on a warm evening best dine outside in the buzzing square. Watch them cook your steak just how you like it in the open kitchen then have it topped with a spicy green peppercorn sauce. They are creative too, with the unlikely sounding tomato marmalade cheesecake an unexpected delight. A choice of Lanzarote Malvasia wine by the glass, which is a rare, but welcome, pleasure.
Area/neighbourhood: Costa Teguise
Contact: 00 34 928 34 62 26
Price: ££
Opening times: Daily, 1pm-11pm
Reservations: Recommended
Azotea
A breath of fresh Atlantic air in the sleepy northern resort town of Arrieta. The swish main street dining space, with its floor to ceiling windows, is backed upstairs by an open-air terrace that peers across the rooftops towards the ocean. Fried local cheese with sumptuously sweet Canarian palm honey kicks things off, before either boat-fresh fish, grilled octopus or excellent steaks. Backed up by above average paella and excellent lobster rice. Canarian beers alongside local wines.
La Casa de la Playa
As the name suggests, right by the sands, with the Atlantic roaring away within sea spray smelling distance. Don't expect silver service and waiting staff with all day for a chat. Do expect no fuss tapas classics. Load up your table at lunchtime with tasty delights like papas arrugadas (those delicious wrinkly Canarian potatoes) with a spicy mojo sauce and grilled garlic prawns; heaving salads too. Or linger for a sundowner on the terrace before dinner al fresco with fresh grilled fish.
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Best for views
Castillo de San José
The setting is breathtaking, occupying a prime position within the oceanfront Castillo de San Jose in Arrecife, in a stylish space that was brilliantly refashioned by Lanzarote's uber architect César Manrique. Go local to start with croquettes fashioned with a trio of local cheese, smoked paprika and gofio, topped off with a sweet homemade fig jam. Then dine with the great visionary – 'Manrique's Fish' are fish fillets in a traditional broth cream accompanied by local potatoes, pumpkin, beetroot and sweet potato. Or savour their signature beef tartare, prepared at your table. For a real treat that delves deep into the island's produce savour the seasonal tasting menu, with its seven savoury dishes and a dessert. Dine within the sturdy old walls, but enjoy the big feature windows out to the Atlantic. Ideal for a romantic rendezvous.
Area/neighbourhood: Arrecife
Contact: cactlanzarote.com
Price: ££
Reservations: Essential
Costa Azul
A sprinkling of seafood restaurants line the rugged black lava coastline of the picturesque coastal village of El Golfo. Costa Azul is the best. You can dine inside, but the dining room feels a little dark and uninviting compared to the terrace where you enjoy big skies and Atlantic surf. Prawns (cooked with garlic) or grilled limpets tempt, before a fresh fish main. Order the bocinegro if it's available, a flavoursome local fish that doesn't need garlic. Their paella is superb too. You will want to stay on afterwards with a glass of crisp Lanzarote Malvasia and just watch the Atlantic rollers thunder in.
Area/neighbourhood: El Golfo
Contact: 00 34 928 17 31 99
Price: ££
Opening times: Daily, 12pm-10pm
Reservations: Recommended
Restaurante Lilium
The shining star of Arrecife's emerging Marina district, well deserving of the Michelin Bib Gourmand it was awarded in 2019. It's an apposite symbol of the modern face of Arrecife, with chef Orlando Ortega working in an open kitchen and a striking glass façade that opens up views across the marina. The white linen tablecloths may be traditional, but the menu is creative, as it plays with local produce, such as 'Big Eye' Tuna, with a ponzu and mojo verde sauce. A stand out is the suckling pig, cooked sous vide style. The tasting menu brilliantly weaves influences from outside the island into the freshest of local ingredients. The best tables at this compact restaurant are on the terrace overlooking the marina.
Salmarina La Santa
The upmarket beach house vibe is perfect for a restaurant gazing wistfully out at the endless Atlantic breakers that bring surfers to La Santa. The ocean is the focus, but also look out for the striking sculpture by renowned Lanzarote artist Andrés Allí. Sunrise is the best time to visit, watching the sun melt into the Atlantic as you enjoy a cocktail on the outside tables, before boat-fresh seafood, including, of course, the famous local prawns. Locals insist the tastiest part is the juice from the heads.
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How we choose
Every restaurant in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighbourhood favourites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to best suit every type of traveller's taste – and consider the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest opening and provide up to date recommendations.
About our expert
Robin is a Macaronesia specialist and Telegraph Travel's Lanzarote expert. He returns frequently to the most stylish of the Canary Isles. You can find him sipping a bone-dry glass of Malvasia overlooking Lanzarote's bountiful volcanic vineyards.
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The Guardian
16 hours ago
- The Guardian
What to drink with seafood? Albariño is its natural companion
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The Sun
17 hours ago
- The Sun
Our dream cruise was like being on a floating WETHERSPOONS with drunk passengers throwing up & kids left coated in soot
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Daily Mail
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- Daily Mail
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'It felt like an 18 to 30s club at times. If you were by the pool, you'd just hear constant swearing and people getting louder through the day. 'We just thought "what have we spent our money on?" It became like Fawlty Towers. 'We were playing Scrabble on the main pool deck when a drunk passenger just walks by and vomits on the floor right next to our table. 'It smelled. It was left there for over an hour. They couldn't get a cleaner. And when you think about the bugs that go around on cruises, this is basic hygiene.' The Wrights' misery was compounded when Molly was 'covered' in black soot, believed to be 'raining' from the ship's funnels, which left her 'suffering with itching for 24 hours'. 'We were leaving the port and the kids went up to the top deck to see if the water slides were open,' Mr Wright said. 'While they were on that deck, it just rained down black stuff all over them. 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We would love a partial refund because that could go towards booking the holiday that we wanted in the first place. 'They should apologise.' A MSC Cruises spokesperson said they 'take all guest feedback seriously and regret that the Wright family's experience did not meet their expectations. 'As we have not received any additional communication from them since then, our Customer Service team will now reach out to the Wright family directly to ensure their concerns are properly reviewed and addressed.'
