Ninen — Restaurant in Yaiza

A delightful, fresh, flavourful meal filled with love and passion!

Last night after the usual "what do you fancy to eat tonight" fiasco, I uncharacteristically declared to my husband that "I really fancy pasta".

Being complete and unwavering foodies he set out on his quest on the great wide web to find Playa Blanca's finest offering of pasta...and was magically lead to "Ninen".

Ninen, a solely pasta based restaurant, secretly nestled towards the port end of the bustling playa blanca high street.

Blink, and you would miss it!

On busier days it is highly recommended that you book a table, but fortunately we had the sheer luck to visit on a Monday and nab ourselves the perfect table, window seat, right in the middle of it all!

A beautifully quaint and personal space with accents and hints of Italy, we knew we were in for an experience of true Italian flavours.

Walter our server for the evening was very patient with us and we didn't feel pressurised or rushed to have our table turned over as you so often do on the restaurants based on the front.

The food we had was outstanding! To start my husband had the mussels which came in a spicy sauce with the special touch of a piece of toasted bread nestled at the bottom to soak up all the lovely juices! My avocado and prawn salad was delicious! Very generously portioned and could quite easily have been shared between two...I ate the whole thing!!

Now for the main course, the moment we were most excited about. All the pasta at Ninen is made fresh and cooked beautifully al-dente. I had chosen a funghi ravioli in a creamy sauce...needless to say, I didn't want it to end! Under recommendation from Walter my husband had the special of the day which was a tagliatelle with sausage sourced from Napoli and mushrooms.

I quote him now:

"It was hearty, deeply flavourful but had the look of nouveau quisine. I wanted to order it again straight after having it!"

Having now realised we were experiencing true Italian cuisine, when we glanced at the dessert menu, we instantly knew we had to finish the evening off with Tiramisu and a delicious coffee!

We had a wonderful evening from start to finish and were truly impressed by the level of professionalism and quality produced by the 3 man team. To them we say thank you so very much!

We will be telling...

If you are reading this, and wondering if you should make a reservation at Ninen, take this as the sign you're looking for: you should just close this window and go eat there.

Are you still reading? Ok I shall provide details. This is without exception one of the finest restaurants I have ever visited in any country. The pasta is fresh and made in-house, and it shows. The starters we tried (burrata and grilled cheese with ham) were incredible. We have tried the bucatini and the tagliatelle ragu, the gnocchi and I can't recall the other dish but honestly it doesn't matter. Close your eyes, point at the menu, and you're good.

The desserts are equally exquisite. We tried the chocolate mousse, the tiramisu, the affogato, and the Panna Cotta. They were fantastic. I am running out of superlatives.

What sets Ninen apart is the staff. Their chef is staggeringly talented. Nico and Luciana are so friendly, and so welcoming, it's like you are dining in their home.

The place is very small and intimate and reservations are a must. I cannot tell you how much I will miss eating at Ninen. We have to come back to Lanzarote just for a meal and some wine.

Are you still reading this?...

I have an indifferent prospective on this establishment. Firstly I made a booking with the help of the owner. He told me to expect an email to confirm my booking. This did not happen . I phoned the restaurant to establish if I had a booking. I was told if I did not receive an email regarding my booking then I did not have one . So I thought that’s it , no worries. Then the next day I received a phone call berating me for not attending my reservation the previous night. Of course I was furious so I went to the restaurant and established the guy didn’t send me an email to confirm my reservation . All said and done the food was average nothing spectacular my wife’s lasagne was dry no tomato flavouring or sauce . My own dish while tasty was nothing more than tagatelle with Bolognese . My overall view is this is a restaurant with potential but under the current management it leaves a lot...