Taberna Tío Martín — Restaurant in Arona

Excellent Spanish regional dishes, but beware !!

Opened a few months, a replacement for the previous La Taberna De La Brasa which we visited a few years ago but closed during the pandemic. We expected good food and where not disappointed. The staff are happy to answer any questions and offer friendly advice saying the food is generally served Spanish style, to be shared. The menu brings dishes from all regions of Spain.

They serve the traditional Canarian dried bread which you ‘smash’ then unwrap to access the small bits, accompanied with paprika infused butter.

Our first dish of 6 Croquettes (€10) where very tasty but not special. Next we had the artisan Chorizo (€10.80) served with Padron Peppers, absolutely delicious. The chorizo was hot with pimenton and complemented the very tasty Padron Peppers. Our next dish, Pulpo a Feira (€17.60) similar to Pulpo a la Gallega, slices of tender Octopus tentacles dusted with paprika served on a bed of delicious cooked sliced potatoes. Our final dish, chosen due to the numerous references to it in review of the restaurant was the Iberian pork cheeks stewed with red wine served on a bed of mashed potatoes (€16). We where not disappointed, totally delicious, mouthwatering, cut with a spoon tender on delicious mash, served with deep rich sauce, as it should be.

Bread, two coffees and a bottle of Vino dels Casa Tinto (€20) brought to total to €87.40 quite expensive but totally delicious food, but not quite !!

The surprise is that IGIC of 7% is then added bringing the actual total to €93.52 The status of tax is NOT indicated on the menu and one assumes, unless told otherwise that tax is included on the price displayed.

Can we recommend this restaurant, yes for the food but be aware of the surprise. We have had food just as delicious and at 2/3 the price but not necessarily with the same breadth of regional options.

We have edited this review in light of recent observations. The menu displayed outside this restaurant, currently is out of date with the ‘actual’ menu. This my entice you inside only to be hit with price increases and then the issue of IGIC added to the the final bill, of which you will be unaware. The food is good, but the pricing leaves a nasty taste in your mouth. We will not...

Came here the other night after trying this place last time I came to Tenerife last March. Being a bit of o foodie I knew it was decent quality. Iordered the Russian salad which was tasty (but can't see what twist there was!? ) I then ordered the boiled Octopus Galician style. When it arrived I noticed it doesn't look anything like the pictures of it on Instagram that they have, as the potatoes underneath were finely cut and it was swimming in olive oil. Unfortunately the potatoes had soaked up so much olive oil that is all you could taste was olive oil and gave a slightly bitter aftertaste. After a couple of mouthfuls I realised that I will not enjoy this and did not eat it. After speaking to the manager as to why I did not enjoy it I think he got the wrong end of the stick because he brought a bottle of olive oil out and said this is what we use it's top quality. Anyway he asked if I would like to choose something else and he recommends the pigs cheeks (which I ordered last time I was here) and sure enough they were delicious. \asked for the bill and to my absolute shock horror they had left the Octopus on the bill for 21 euro!! I couldn't believe I tried to explain again but nothing ...anyway I didn't want to get into an argument so I paid leaving on good terms. I’ve attached the pictures of their Instagram pictures of the Galician Octopus they advertise and you will see they use different potato which will make huge difference !

Every restaurant makes mistakes from time to time and some more than others but it's the way they rectify the situation is the key. For a supposedly fine dining establishment to not listen to complaints about a dish from a genuine customer is really bad!! I would of liked to come here again but unfortunately I will not be returning after this experience and cannot recommend Also please note … why do you throw chips on top of a couple of your dishes ? It’s suppose to be an authentic Spanish restaurant… I had the Goat last time and looked like someone had grabbed a handful of chips and garnished the plate...

The food is a 4/5 , service 5/5. This place has really good “base level” ingredients, they are of high quality and the execution is far better than many other places nearby. I give the food 4/5 because I wish they’d push themselves lightly to the next level - add more salt, add more lemon, herbs etc execution is 5/5 but a small push would also little a give more character to the dishes. We tried the simple tomato salad - don’t hesitate to go stronger on the onion, vinegar and salt to really elevate the great ingredients. For the Aroz marinaro (seafood paella) - don’t hesitate to add more salt, more lemon, more fish flavours if you want to keep the seafood portions “limited” but add character. For desert we got the crema catalana - very light, well executed but, again, try adding in a herb to the crema - rosemary? Lavender? - these simple small additions would have make us leave with our minds blown. However the service was 5/5 we were happy to leave the team a 20€ tip for their enthusiasm, kindness and attention to detail & requests (extra lemon, salt etc came out as soon as we asked for it). Also 5/5 for the wine selection - don’t hesitate to pick up the Polpo Albariño - great price, very mineral - great for fish.

The menu is curated - all dishes coming from various parts of Spain - very creative and fun.

I could easily see this place in the Michelin guide if they just pushed their flavours a little more and added in more personality to already great ingredients.

Compliments to the whole team - I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this place for anyone looking for something slightly more sophisticated than your average Spanish restaurant...