Restaurante Temático El Jardín de la Sal — Restaurant in Fuencaliente de la Palma

I would love to give this place more stars, but I feel it wouldn't be honest as they set expectations high with their appearance in the Michelin guide, and I was really disappointed.

To start with the positive aspects, many of the negative reviews here state that they had to wait a long time to be served, and some even accuse the staff of bad treatment. I think that criticism is unfair. First of all, you have to understand that it's the only restaurant in a very isolated area, and it's also very popular so be prepared to wait, not only for your table, but also for your food. Go prepared to wait, and maybe take a snack. The service was organised, polite, and professional.

What really disappointed me was that a chef, who is in the Michelin guide, would send out of the kitchen what I got on the table. Unfortunately, I ordered the "pastel de espinacas" or spinach pie. I get that it's a fish specialist place and I ordered a vegetarian option, but still, I expected a minimum quality from a restaurant with such a good reputation. Instead, what I got was a dish filled with insipid spinach which had been burnt, yes burnt, in the oven. It was literally black and cindered on the outside. Not golden, not crispy or crunchy, but burnt. The texture, taste and temperature were all wrong and it was pretty much inedible.

I don't like to cause a fuss in a restaurant, but I did expect a waiter or the chef even, to care about my sending back a practically untouched dish. Nope. Not at all.

9 euros doesn't seem expensive to me, but for a bag of burnt spinach,...

What a special place to have your evening meal in a glass sided restaurant overlooking the ocean and watching the setting sun. Their was also a balcony area for warmer weather and cafe area too. The restaurants has all different salts on display from around the world and their was red wine and lemon flavours on the table along with the natural one. A very pleasant restaurant with a good atmosphere and very attentive staff who were very accommodating of those of us with dietary requirements. The food was well presented, had lots of flavours and textures and was tasty. Their was no rush between courses and portions were generous. I struggled to eat all my food and missed the soup course altogether. We had 5 courses. The only reason that I never gave 5 stars was because it would of been so much better if the hot courses, (soup and fish) were served hot not tepid and my husbands apple cake was a bit overcooked, bordering on burnt. We had a lovely evening. The pathway back to carpark only has subdued lighting so take extra care as although its mainly gravel their are a few rocks. Whilst you are here you can take the self tour of the salt production area, visit the lighthouse and nearby beach. It is a very scenic area to visit with...

All online information about opening hours is to be taken with a grain of salt.

Even on your own website it impossible to find correct information about the opening hours of the restaurant and the cafetaria. I hoped to go there on friday, but the online information said it was open until six, and there was not enough time. Later I found out that at least the cafetaria is open until 7 (or is it?) and I could easily have gone there.

I tried again on saturday, even though I had to be at the airport at 2 o'clock. But, the website says open from 11 AM... So plenty of time. At the site, there is a sign that says the restaurant opens at 1 pm. Bummer, again, not enough time. But hey, there's the cafetaria that should be open from 11! Oh wait, that one does not open at all. No explanation given.

I would not normally make an issue about something like this, but this is a remote location and there are no other options in the vicinity. Not providing your customers with correct and easy to find information about your opening hours on your website makes no sense from a business point of view, and it cost me precious time, money and effort getting there...