A Tapas Trail Through the Best Restaurants in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote

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Tapas. Perfect for those who, like me, are indecisive. Great for adventurous eaters who want to try something new but aren’t sure if they’ll like it. It suits those in search of either a snack or a feast, and it’s the ultimate social meal, giving you the opportunity to bond with old and new friends over shared plates. Let me give you some context, before introducing to you the best tapas restaurants in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote.

Around Christmas time each year, my diet becomes rather tapas heavy when I make an annual trip to Playa Blanca, Lanzarote, to visit my boyfriend’s family. Every year, and often a tradition on New Year’s Day, my boyfriend and I make sure that we spend a day sat in the sunshine with a several glasses of cold, crisp white wine whilst sampling the tapas at some of the best restaurants in Playa Blanca.

best tapas restaurants in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote - beef and potato stew in a black tapas dish

We like to do this by embarking on what we call a tapas trail, which involves walking down to Playa Blanca’s marina and stopping at as many places as possible in the marina for a tapas or two and, of course, a glass of wine. This will include several dishes of prawns in garlic (followed by garlic breath for the foreseeable future), plus other favourites such as croquettes, fried cheese, Canarian potatoes, Spanish omelette and beef/chickpea stew.

This blog post will show you my favourite restaurants on the Playa Blanca tapas trail (named as such by me). Before we get started, I’m just going to pop in a link to my blog post about the ultimate Lanzarote road trip, incase you’re looking for other things to do in Lanzarote. It’s all laid out in a nice logical order to help you plan your own one day road trip around the island.

Best Tapas Restaurants in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote: La Taberna

I only discovered La Taberna for the first time a couple of years ago, and was gutted that I’d been missing out on this place during all of my previous visits to Lanzarote – it’s definitely one of the best tapas restaurants in Playa Blanca!

best tapas restaurants playa blanca lanzarote - 3 tapas dishes including prawns, stew and garlic chicken

Here you’ll find simple, authentic tapas dishes at a reasonable price, with dishes written on a blackboard on a wall and food served as and when ready. The view over the marina is beautiful from La Taberna and the service is friendly and efficient. My only advice would be not to order the house white wine – I didn’t enjoy it at all and wished I’d ordered one of the Lanzarote wines that I know and love.

Recommended dishes: garlic prawns, garlic chicken, grilled cheese, beef stew.

Best Tapas Restaurants in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote: Berrugo Tapas Bar

When you order your drink at Berrugo, it’s brought out with a bowl of crunchy nibbles. Have a taste of these and you’ll already know you’ve made a great choice in sitting here.

Berrugo has a similar feel to La Taberna in that the food is simple and traditional, but there’s a bit more of a buzz here. If you time it right, you’ll also get treated to some live music whilst you enjoy some of the best tapas in Playa Blanca.

Recommended dishes: dates with bacon, fried cheese in filo pastry, fried baby squid, grilled boar.

Best Tapas Restaurants in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote: Liken

Liken isn’t really a tapas bar, it’s a proper restaurant probably more suited to a nice dinner out. But I’m going to include it here because I had the most incredible starter when I went for dinner, and you could definitely stop here just for this before moving on to the next tapas stop.

Extra bonus points for beautiful outdoor seating on a balcony jutting out over the marina, and my favourite Lanzarote wine, Bermejo, is cheap here! You’ll notice that I’m only including one recommended dish below, and that’s because it’s utterly fabulous.

Recommended dish: tacos with goat meat and pickled onion.

Best Tapas Restaurants in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote: Lani’s Snack Bar

My first ever experience of tapas was at Lani’s, when I came on holiday to Playa Blanca with a friend as a teenager. It’s been my go-to for the best tapas in Playa Blanca ever since. The food is straight-talking and delicious, and the generous portion sizes make it excellent value for money and one of the best restaurants in Playa Blanca, in my opinion.

There’s loads of choice on the menu with burgers, kebabs and spit-roasted chicken alongside the extensive tapas selection, so it’s perfect for fussy eaters. Note that there is a separate tapas bar and restaurant next to each other, both called Lani’s. Make sure to head to Lani’s Snack Bar rather than the restaurant!

best tapas restaurants playa blanca lanzarote - garlic prawns, with potatoes and mojo in the background

It’s not just the food that makes Lani’s Snack Bar one of the best tapas restaurants in Playa Blanca. There’s comfortable seating, fantastic service and a great view.

You can admire thousands of fish swimming beneath you through sections of glass flooring, and the waiters will usually bring out bread especially for you to feed the fish over the side of the decking. They sometimes even have a DJ on – nothing too intense but perfect for relaxing with a glass of wine in the sunshine.

Recommended dishes: ribs, fried aubergine with palm honey, garlic prawns, croquettes.

Best Tapas Restaurants in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote: El Mirador

Whilst the tapas are good at El Mirador, they’re a bit on the expensive side compared to the rest of the marina so we usually just stop for a drink. It’s my favourite spot in the marina because the sangria is fantastic and its the perfect spot for watching the sun set over the sea.

Coupled with comfy sofas and chilled out background music, you couldn’t feel any more ‘holiday’ if you tried. Oh, and as well as the sangria I would highly recommend the Gin Fizz cocktail!

Recommended dish: gin fizz, sangria (neither are strictly a dish but hey, this is my recommendation).

best tapas restaurants playa blanca lanzarote - a sunset over the sea admired from the marina

Best Tapas Restaurants in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote: One Bar

One Bar is at the end of our tapas trail, meaning that we usually get distracted by the sunset and sangria at El Mirador before we make it that far. One Bar sits at the end of the marina overlooking the harbour entrance and the sea – not only is it great for yacht watching, it’s also a proper little sun trap!

As we haven’t been for a while I can’t remember the specifics but I do remember that the croquettes here were the best on the tapas trail – we tried a couple of different ones and I polished off a load of mushroom croquettes despite not liking mushrooms, so they must be good!

Recommended dishes: mushroom croquettes, black pudding with fried eggs.

Bonus Recommendations

Before I finish up this blog post, I must mention two other restaurants which aren’t on the marina tapas trail but are 100% worth a visit if you’re in Playa Blanca.

Casa El Barba

Casa El Barba a little out of the way but can be reached by car or, even better, by walking along the Papagayo beaches for about an hour. I absolutely love the romance of walking along the beach with my feet in the sea, stopping for lunch and a bottle of wine with an incredible view, and then strolling back at sunset. There’s a variety of dishes on the menu that are perfect for a light lunch including a few tapas dishes and sandwiches.

But the thing that sets Casa el Barba apart (other than the fantastic location) is the fresh fish… my boyfriend and I usually share the fish of the day with some chips and house wine (another reason to visit this restaurant). The wine is grown and made locally and comes in an unlabelled bottle. It’s so good that one bottle turned in to three on our last visit.

Recommended dishes: garlic prawns, Spanish omelette, Canarian potatoes, fish of the day

best tapas restaurants playa blanca lanzarote - garlic prawns shown close up, with a glass of white wine next to it and the sea in the bacgkround

Alfie’s Bar & Kitchen

The second bonus recommendation is Alfie’s Bar & Kitchen in Las Coloradas. I’m a little biased here because it’s owned by my boyfriend’s family, but honestly it’s really, really good! You’re guaranteed a warm welcome, an expertly made cocktail (Alfie makes the best Sangria I’ve ever tried) and homemade, comforting food always made with fresh ingredients.

Recommended dishes: steak & ale pie, scampi and chips, caesar salad, rolo pie

So there you have it, a guide to taking a tapas trail through Playa Blanca, stopping at some of the best tapas restaurants in Playa Blanca. If you have any favourites that I’ve missed out please let me know and I’ll make sure to give them a go next time!

Looking for a hotel in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote?

Here are a few recommendations based on hotels I’ve stayed in, snuck into to use the pool (shhhh!) or had friends and family stay in*:

Looking for the best tapas in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote? This guide will take you on a tapas trail and tell you the best dishes to order at each restaurant. Canaries, Canary Islands, Spanish Islands, foodie travel, travel inspiration, budget travel, holiday ideas

Nell xx

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