Las Cuevas – San Miguel

December 2009 – The return to England of our friends Amin and Marie (Amin is our web designer by the way), although sad, gave us the opportunity to dine on their last night here at Las Cuevas, a cute little venue in the cave-house quarter of San Miguel. Its a place we take most of our visitors to, being something a bit different and offering typical local dishes. John and Glenda, two of our best friends, joined us for this auspicious occasion making a jolly little party.

Being a chilly night in December the restaurant was empty and we got the impression they had opened just for us. On arrival our hosts proudly showed us around all the nooks and crannies of the cave, stuffed full with artefacts from times gone by including pictures of the restoration of the derelict cave to the cosy and popular restaurant it is today.

We took our time choosing from the menu which has a few quirky translations but in the end opted for a selection of starters including vegetable soup, stuffed peppers, home-made pate, stuffed crepes and smoked salmon & cheese parcels. Some unusual combinations, mostly involving various vegetable mixes which didn´t quite work somehow and most came with some kind of drizzled sweet sauce and copious amounts of warm shredded lettuce for some unknown reason..an attempt we assumed at TV chef presentation which didn´t really come off. The pate was very good though and Marie enjoyed the peppers, the lesson here would appear to be “keep it simple”.

There being six of us we managed to sample a good variety of main courses,  sea bass with a cava sauce, entrecote in red wine, medallions of beef with herb butter, slow-cooked shoulder of lamb and duck breast with mango. The meat and fish dishes were, on the whole, delicious but if we were expecting the vegetable accompaniments to be better than the average Spanish restaurant we were disappointed. The usual sprinkling of tinned veg and half a dozen chips..que sera..

Nevertheless the evening was extremely enjoyable, the house wine was excellent and we finished off by sharing a Pijama (selection of desserts), ice cream and a cheese board. The Feliciana family were very friendly and during coffee and brandies Madam Rosa sang us an old Spanish lovesong, a lovely memory for Amin and Marie to take back with them.

We like this restaurant…although the food isn´t the best Las Cuevas doesn´t claim to be an international restaurant. Its a family-run Spanish restaurant offering traditional Spanish fare and the charming setting and staff make it well worth a visit.

Las Cuevas can be found in Barrio 1º de Mayo in the heart of San Miguel village. More information can be found on their website www.lascuevas.ecsocial.com . Reservations advisable as there is limited seating. Tel 966723432 or 646475186