Calma Chicha Restaurant — Restaurant in San Bartolomé de Tirajana

Calma Chicha in Gran Canaria offers a delightful dining experience that combines exquisite cuisine with attentive service. Nestled in what might seem an unexpected location—resembling a basement to a hotel facility—the restaurant surprises with its culinary offerings and welcoming atmosphere.

Firstly, let's talk about the food. It's not just food; it's art on a plate. Every dish is meticulously prepared and presented, earning its "picture perfect" reputation. From vibrant salads to succulent seafood and beautifully plated desserts, each item reflects both creativity and skill in the kitchen. The flavors are equally impressive, with dishes that marry local ingredients with global inspirations, ensuring a memorable gastronomic journey.

Service at Calma Chicha is another standout feature. The staff are not only professional but genuinely attentive, ensuring that every guest feels welcomed and well taken care of throughout the meal. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a returning patron, the consistency in service quality adds a layer of comfort to the dining experience.

Now, about the ambiance. While the surroundings may not match the typical image of a high-end restaurant, the focus here is clearly on what matters most: the food and the service. The cozy, somewhat unexpected setting adds a unique charm, making it feel more like discovering a hidden gem rather than a standard dining spot.

Overall, dining at Calma Chicha is a pleasurable experience for both the senses and the soul. Whether you're drawn in by the promise of beautifully presented dishes, attentive service, or simply seeking a culinary adventure off the beaten path, this restaurant delivers on all fronts. It's a testament to how exceptional food and genuine hospitality can elevate an unconventional setting into a memorable dining...

This was a new restaurant for us, we had walked past a few times and it looked lovely so decided to give it a try. We didn't have a reservation, but we were told as long as we were finished by 21:30, they could give us a table - great! We were attracted by the menu of the day for €26.50, but sadly this is not available on saturdays, so we had to choose from the a la carte menu. There are some interesting dishes here, quite fish and seafood focused, with unusual flavour combinations. Definitely not your usual tourist restaurant, way more gourmet. Prices around €15 for starters and around €20 for mains.

Highlights - the cerviche and passion fruit starter, the wild boar fillet main and the oxtail main were stand out dishes, full of clever flavour pairings. Note that there are no sides with any main course, and where this was a particular issue was with the steak which was simply a piece of sliced steak on a plate for €25 - no garnish or anything other than the meat. Whilst the steak was tasty, it felt overpriced for what was served. Plus they charge €1.50 each for a bread roll and butter, which at the price point of this restaurant seems very mean.

If you are charging these prices, you need to have the service to match, but sadly it all felt very amateur. Table not laid correctly, wrong items arriving multiple times, different shapes and sizes of glasses used for the same drinks and worst of all was the way we were told to leave as they needed the table back. No friendly reminder that they had another reservation (which we had agreed beforehand) just a "can you leave now as we need the table back" immediately after we had paid. This was at 21:00, so well before the pre-advised time of 21.30 that we knew they had the next reservation.

It has potential, but failed to deliver on...

UPDATE: After reading what the restaurant replied back you can see that not only they have a bad tasting menu they also have very bad manners.

All I have to say is please start tasting your food before you serve it to customers and learn to take a bad review better. We have no issue paying 65€ for a tasting menu. But for an edible one. We have been to several award winning tasting menus before and never had any problem paying as the food was delicious. I also failed to notice any awards at your restaurant please update your response when you receive one. I won’t hold my breathe. Btw not once we were asked if we were enjoying the food.

Original review below:

Me and my partner went for the tasting menu and were left very disappointed. Expensive tasting menu where food was bland and some of it even not good at all. It was presented really well but the gazpacho at the start of it was difficult for us both to eat. Flavors didn’t compliment each other at all. We thought that maybe it was just that cause gazpacho normally isn’t for everyone but the second and third plate were more of the same. Desert was incredibly sour. Got a belly ache from it. Service was lovely but I would not recommend going here. 140euros that we both think were not worthy of paying at...