La Hoya del Camello - a fine restaurant in La Laguna

la hoya del camello

This charming restaurant has been established since 1983 and is owned and run by Enrique Reina Fuentes. Together with his formidable team, led by head chef Jesus Leiro and maitre d' Hilario Avila, he promises customers a memorable dining experience - at reasonable prices.

The restaurant's name translates as something like "The Wateringhole of the Camel"! The reason for this is uncertain, but an image of a camel forms its logo.

You first pass through a stone arch to get to the restaurant building and, on entering, you'll see a charming, spacious room, with clean lines and pristine table settings.

This main room seats about 80 people, but the restaurant also features four other separate dining rooms, seating 22, 20, 14 and eight people respectively. Each of these other areas have their own, different decor.

The aim of the boss, Enrique, is to create a "homely" feel to his restaurant and he has more than succeeded.

The venue also boasts a large, outdoor terrace and a smoking lounge.

The cuisine offered is billed as "international", but there are major influences from the Valencia region of mainland Spain.

There are unusual dishes offered for starters, such as fish cakes made from scorpion fish, piquillo peppers stuffed with cod, Andalusian squid and Madrid-style tripe.

When it comes to the main course, the restaurant's speciality comes to the fore - rice! So, there is paella on offer, with a bewildering array of versions. You can choose from the house special, or one with black rice, or a vegetarian. There's rice with rabbit and chicken, rice with lobster - and even rice soup!

Yes, as well as rice, the restaurant also concentrates heavily on seafood. But there is also a selection of meat dishes available.

La Hoya also features an extensive wine cellar, including some fine champagnes.

For reservations, telephone: (+34) 922 262054

Regarding the location of this restaurant, be careful about looking it up on the Internet. Every website showing where it is - is wrong! (Including, bizarrely, the restaurant's own site!)

This is how to find it, from the TF-5 north motorway. Exit at junction 11. On reaching the roundabout, if you're coming from the east, go straight on, without entering it, from the west, enter the roundabout and leave at the exit signposted La Laguna/San Lazaro. (Unfortunately, you are now going in the wrong direction, so, at the earliest opportunity, you need to do a u-turn.)

Stay on this road (running alongside the motorway) and, soon you'll see the restaurant on your right. There are ample carparking facilites.

la hoya del camello

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