Algo Mas — Restaurant in Antigua

You know the worst thing about Algo Mas. If you see my new pictures, the lighting is so low that your meal looks like cat sick. So just a word of warning these pictures will be a poor representation of the fantastic meal you will be served here. Hubby and Wifey have eaten here many times, and each time is a fantastic experience. The only other issue Algo Mas has, is it's out of the way. So you aren't likely to stumble on this restaurant. You actually have to know about it in order to visit it, and if you don't come here you will have missed out on something special in Caleta de Fuste. Hubby had the Boscaiola Pasta, something a little different. It didn't sound great on the board, but I am glad I tried it. It was delicious and I really enjoyed every bite. A sort of creamy pasta with little bits of mild sweet sausage. The pasta was too bitey for my liking, but that's just a personal preference, still I would have Oliver Twisted it, if I had a choice. Wifey had the Orange Glazed Salmon and absolutely enjoyed every bite. Such an uncommon combination, but Wifey keeps banging on about, even after the holiday. She really loved it, and having had a taste, hubby agrees but not his thing. We were stuffed, but hubby had to try the tiramisu. I must say it was really nice to round the evening off, along with cappuccino too. And a whiskey, which they gave me free instead of the after dinner shot. Not what I wanted but it was much appreciated. The other great thing about Algo Mas is the staff, they are so friendly and accommodating. Always pleasant and willing to work with a smile. Hubby and Wifey recommended this place... Also you might want to book, I think Thursday and Saturday have live music, also Bbq on those days too. However check beforehand as it's not always a guarantee. Sadly we missed out, which is a shame as I would really like to...

Just a €6 taxi fare away from the centre of Caleta. We headed up for the Wife's Birthday meal. Lovely surroundings. Excellent reception by the team. It was quiet when we got there, but soon filled up (advisable to book ahead). It was our 1st visit so we're completely unaware of how gut bustingly huge the portions were. I could have made 6 overfilled sandwiches with all the lovely, tender marinated and roasts medium rare beef that came on starter. 😂 It was beautiful non the less. That size of the starter should've been a warning of what was to come. The other starter was Garlic Prawns in bubbling hot olive oil. Equally as delicious as the beef. In fact some of the beef was dipped in the garlic laden oil. 🤤 We then had a brief wait (should've requested a lot longer) before our mains arrived. A 'small' kids Carbonara, which was more of a solid medium. A mountain of super tender, super tasty Beef Stroganoff and what I can only describe as what seemed half the days Island catch of crustaceans (king prawns, some shelled, some not. Octopus, squid) Lightly fried in a very well seasoned flour. We were instantly and comically over faced by the amount of food in front of us. The highlight of my seafood dish were the 8 baby octopus that were an absolute pleasure. Even the wife had to admit, although optically appalled, that they were delicious. After admitting defeat we waited around to see if we had enough room for dessert. We didn't, but we ordered them anyway. Again a massive portion of tasty, sugary sweet naughtiness. It was then the Algo Mas team went out of their way to embarrass the wife by getting the quite busy restaurant to serenade her with Happy Birthday. The tl:dr version: Beautiful settings. Beautiful food. Excellent, friendly team. A definite...

Based on two visits a few years apart, I'd say it's consistent with the ratings.

Had two starters this time - octopus salad and eggplant parmigiana. (This was almost too much food, even though I had had only a light lunch and had hit the beach for a long run).

Some areas for improvement: Algo Mas should have a craft beer/cider list. When I asked about local artisanal beers, the server proposed Tropical, and then after a pause, also mentioned Paulaner and Corona. So that didn't compute. For a second, but only a second, it felt a little stuck in the past...

As honest and refreshing as it is to get pure-tasting, quality-sourced food not overdone with sauces, cheese, salt, oil/butter...after all, this is certainly a 4.7+ resto... I do think both the octopus and the parm could have used some depth of flavor and contrast. The mint was a nice touch on the octopus, but the salad still needed something else - another component or sharper accent. The eggplant parm resists the temptation of turning it into a ceramic dish of melted cheese. But again, lots of "mid-range frequencies". The generous tomato sauce was not that compelling. Perhaps it could be chunkier, more texture. And I think with parm, you really can't go wrong with pairing a panko crust with the meltingly tender part - especially if it is your one vegetarian dish competing with all sorts of succulent reef and beef (I had some of the excellent meats on last visit).

All something to consider if Michelin is indeed a...