The Plough — Restaurant in Tías

Inside this place looks like a traditional eatery, with a lot of rustic charm. A small family place that offers no fanciness and simple dishes. And sometimes that is where the best food comes from these small places. Wifey was so adamant on the slow cooked lamb shoulder, that hubby really didn't have the choice. He wouldn't have chosen anything else anyway. Not to say that there was nothing else, as there were some really good options... But slow roasted lamb shoulder was a must. Cooked and flavoured with a tumeric hubby found it was delicious. Wifey who previously tried it, in a previous visit could not remember if it was curried, and did prefered the non tumeric version. Served with vegetables and chips. All cooked in the juices made everything so morish. And on a slightly cooler night... a good hearty stew style meal was a welcomed choice. It was so tasty I wished they served a buttered roll with it, so I could scoop up all the sauce and flavours. The chips, soaked in lamb juice and hungrily scooped up served as a substitute... But I would have preferred bread. The plough sounds like an old English pub, and it really isn't, it's the El Arno. It really has a Spanish family rustic charm about it. I think it translates to The Plough, but I think El Arno sounds much better. Sadly the biggest problem is the bins across the road. I can imagine these may be very smelly in summer. And because of them we did sit inside, as there was a slight whiff. They are certainly an eye sore that may put you off. If only they put up wooden fencing to hide them. Staff here are very friendly and very willing to attend to every request. It's certainly a great place to eat. They even have some decent desserts available. We shared a tiramisu, it was creamy and so delicious. I was told they are handmade everyday, and I do believe it. One of the staff even drew a smiley face on it. The owner?, is a bit of cheeky chappie in a very friendly way. And wifey and hubby recommend this place as a good restaurant that offers simple...

Perhaps we just got unlucky but we were not very satisfied with our food. However others in the restaurant were speaking very highly of their food.. Detailed review below.

I had a T-Bone steak as it was on offer (€16) and it took over most of my plate. It was HUGE! Great value. However I asked for Medium and the steak I received was nearly well done. I'm also pretty sure it was not seasoned as I didn't get any hint of salt & pepper. It came with fries, mushrooms, onions and vegetables. The veg wasn't very nice and seemed to be tossed in oil or perhaps lightly fried. There was no sauce.

My girlfriend ordered the fillet steak. In similar fashion she asked for medium but hers came out more cooked than mine did. Way overdone and not even pink. Hers came with a mushroom sauce, rice, fries, and vegetables. Sauce was a bit bland.

All that being said, I do question if we just got unlucky. There was a couple behind us had the lamb (Which was also on offer €14) and highly recommended it to a couple that arrived when were leaving. A couple next to us had lamb and fresh sea bass, and they were also clearly very happy with their food as they were chatting with the waiter stating how beautiful the food was. I think maybe we just made a bad choice with steak.

Service was impeccable. The waiter served us with a smile and told us all about the daily specials and what fish was fresh that day. He was highly attentive to all the patrons in the restaurant. Very friendly and welcoming on arrival. I'm sure he noticed that our steaks were overdone as he did come over after the first two or three bites to ask if the meat was ok. I didn't feel like sending back my steak so I just said it was fine. I'd honestly feel bad sending back a steak that size!

The restaurant itself is a small little family owned restaurant off the strip. Cosy...

Visited The Plough midweek after passing there several nights and noticing it was always full and had people queing to get in. Get there early as table space is limited. We had a meal for two without booking at around 6:30pm and ot seated straight away although already busy. Head waiter rattled through his list of specials at speed which, made it difficult to follow. He was irritated at being asked to repeat them. We ordered a fillet steak off the menu and a shoulder of lamb from the specials which was reported to be exceptionally tender. The steak was well cooked with a mushroom sauce and was served with a few small potatoes rice and veg. The lamb was served with chips and veg. Unfortunately the rice had hard pieces of uncooked gains, the lamb was not tender and fall off the bones as described, the steak tasted of balsamic vinegar and both meals weren't hot. Eaten but overall disappointing, especially given the reviews, queues and head waiter hype. Also the head waiter has a less than friendly service style charging around in a manically efficient style. The younger staff are friendlier and make up for it somewhat. Average food, average service, possibly better on another day. Sadly I won't be there...