Restaurante La Guagua Blanca — Restaurant in San Bartolomé de Tirajana

After an initial effusive welcome, I was disappointed with my food which was 'unusual' to say the least. I chose 2 of the specials. My starter consisted of small chunks of tuna, with green olives & cherry tomatoes, in a thin warm tomato sauce/soup?! It was average but not what I expected, didn't do much to showcase the fresh tuna. My main dish of beef was extremely disappointing. Thin slices of beef which disintegrated - tender but lacking in flavour. The only accompaniment was soft 'mushy' broccoli with cheese on top. The whole dish lacked a contrasting crunchy texture plus it was lukewarm verging on cold in places. The seafood pasta eaten by one of our party, was served in a huge clumsy foil parcel. The seafood was fine but the giant pieces of pasta added nothing to the dish!

We weren't asked if we were happy with our food. After waiting 25 mins, our mains plates had been cleared but no one asked us if we wanted dessert or coffee. It seemed as though, now we'd been fed that was it. So finding it impossible to catch the attention of waiting staff, I asked a passing waitress if we could have our bill. This came but when I complained about being ignored, I was told I should have waved! And that I was being unreasonable! We paid the bill & left.

As I had booked using the app, The Fork, I wanted to write a review the next day, but imagine my surprise to find the restaurant had flagged us as a 'no show'! I contacted The Fork who said that restaurants often do this to avoid an...

What makes this restaurant great goes beyond the amazing food. It's incredibly authentic, the staff are so passionate about the food and the experience. Our of every restaurant we've tried in Gran Canaria, Guagua Blanca stands out head and shoulders above the rest. The food was impeccable. As someone who loves fresh pasta, this was perfection. The waiter kindly offered for us to try the nduja before ordering, to ensure it wasn't too spicy. (It wasn't, it was perfect!). The special starter of Arancini was so densely packed with flavour, great recommendation from our waiter. The nduja and burrata pasta was phenomenal, the homemade nduja was so much better than any others I've ever had, and the pasta was perfection.

Sometimes in restaurants, the dessert is an afterthought, but not here. The same importance was clearly placed on every course here as the coulant and ricotta were exceptional.

However what made this more than just good food was the whole experience. The staff were so so friendly, helpful, and most of all very passionate about what they offer in that beautiful restaurant. They made the experience feel so authentic, you kind of forget you're in Gran Canaria. They offered to personalise the experience to ensure every step of the journey was to your liking, and most of all did this in a way that wasn't intrusive. All I can say is that I cannot wait to go back.

After reading about their story after I left, I have so much respect for these people....

By far the best Italian I have had in a LONG time!! From start to finish, La guagua did not disappoint. Although we didn’t think we would be keen on Italian in Spain, we were so so happy we visited.

We sat in the outdoor area, carefully decorated and made to feel like a rustic finca (farm), with low twinkling lights hung from the ceiling- very romantic. We were greeted with complimentary Prosecco and a spoon of mozzarella/tomato tasting. Such a warm welcome from the staff- appeared to be the owner, and the waiter, who was very passionate about the specials and their Italian wine selection.

The food: we ordered the Caponata (Aubergine, tomato) special (AMAZNG) and could have been a dish on its own because it came with so much! Also ordered the meat/cheese selection, accompanied by a pesto/garlic butter, which was heavenly.

For mains, we ordered 2 of the specials- a handmade pasta with pork sausage, sage, tallegio cheese, and truffle (my bf hates tallegio and truffle and he was floored with how delicious the combination and well prepared the dish was), as well as the “Porky” which was slowly cooked pork in a red wine reduction accompanied with roasted potatoes and slow cooked red onions.

We were too full for dessert, but would...