The Ugly Duckling — Restaurant in La Oliva

You'd be quackers not to book a table at The Ugly Duckling!

My partner and I recently spent a week in Corralejo and were fortunate to be able to book a table at The Ugly Duckling 2 weeks prior to our visit - on the requested date availability was already extremely limited so book ahead as far as possible. Booking is essential, but incredibly easy and convenient via WhatsApp.

On arrival Henrik was a fantastic host who welcomed us with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine. We chose to sit inside to stay out of the sun, but it made no difference to the service - Henrik gave all tables, inside and out, equal exceptional service. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble.

The menu is the work of Christian who has developed extremely tasty European fusion dishes with Danish at their core - all beautifully presented and made with fresh ingredients. The food here really is a feast for the eyes before you even pick up your fork!

From the menu we chose Smoked Salmon and Iberian Ham and Pear for starters, and the Duck and Beef Tenderloin for mains. We took Henrik’s suggestions for sauces and can wholeheartedly recommend the Whisky Sauce with the duck - just WOW! Did I mention Christian was a flavour genius?!

Henrik made lovely wine recommendations from the wine list, but offered us a bottle of wine from a Tenerife vineyard, he had a small quantity of, which was not on the list. We are glad we asked for a recommendation as this bottle was exceptional with both the beef and duck. Henrik and Christian are clearly focused on the blend of flavours and the wine/food combination is no exception.

The portions are a good size but we were not to be beaten before dessert - we opted for Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Cake. Fortunately we were staying in the centre of Corralejo and the walk back was equal to the number of calories consumed - it’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

During our stay we dined at 4 of the top 10 restaurants in Corralejo. In our opinion The Ugly Duckling was head and shoulders above the competition and that is no slight on the others which are fantastic too. We cannot recommend this place highly enough and long may Henrik and Christian continue to get the great reviews which are richly deserved! We will definitely book again for...

We visited on Saturday 24th March. The best restaurant in Fuerteventura.

Last year when we were staying in Corralego we were recommended to eat at the Ugly Duckling but were told that we had to book. I contacted them and managed to get a booking for the following week. Unfortunately on the day of the booking we had a very apologetic phone call from Henrik informing us that the chef had been taken ill so they had to cancel. We were determined to try this place so before our next visit I phoned from England two weeks before we were due to arrive. There were only two places left for the date we wanted so I booked for 6:30. Unfortunately again on the day of our meal we had a phone call informing us that they had had a power cut and they had to cancel but Henrik promised to put us at the top of the waiting list. True to his word next day we received a call telling us that they had a cancellation and we could eat at 6:45. We were very pleased that at last we would get to try there food. We received a very warm welcome from Henrik. Started with a complementary glass of cava. My wife chose buffalo mozzarella to start followed by duck with spinach and red wine with mustard sauce and Canarian potatoes. I had grilled prawn on a sour cream chive base followed by steak tenderloin with roasted cube potatoes and a green salad. For pudding we both chose the vodka and cava sorbet with a raspberry coulee. The meal was without doubt the finest we had had in all our visits to Fuerteventura and we have had some delicious meals in the past. To drink we had a bottle of rose volcano and we finished off with a Danish liquorice vodka. I cannot stress enough that booking is essential while we were there Henrik was constantly apologising and sending customers who turned up without booking away. It’s a very popular place and well worth the €80 price tag. We said our goodbyes and thanked him for a very memorable experience and made our way home very glad that we had received that last phone call. The restaurant was all we had hoped for and more and We would recommend it to anyone although it might make it harder to get a booking in the future. We will return on our next visit to...

We were keen to visit The Ugly Duckling on our recent holiday because we had seen so many positive reviews. We had good communication with Henrik and booked a table for 4 on the Saturday night. From the moment we arrived it was a special evening. Henrik is very attentive to guests – you really feel like you are the only people in the restaurant. A complimentary glass of cava was very welcome whilst we perused the menu. Henrik was happy to talk through the menu and any specific dishes. I started with a green salad – simple but beautifully executed and my partner had garlic bread. For mains I had the Danish Stew – the meat was tender, the sauce rich and bursting with flavour. My wife had the Iberican Pork – not the sort of dish she would normally go for but she thoroughly enjoyed it. Desserts were good and we had a nice liquorice liqueur to finish the evening. Our friends also enjoyed their meal and were as impressed as we were by the whole evening. Great food, excellent friendly service and a nice relaxed atmosphere all add up to the best restaurant experience we have had in our years of visiting Corralejo (about 20 visits between the two couples). All in all a great experience and highly...