Still delicious. Still the best place in Turre for tapas, raciones or a full meal.
So many years ago Turre was the town of restaurants. It was well known that if you wanted to eat out you went to Turre.
We had the Adelina or the Meco for the “foriegners”, then defined as anyone from further away than Murcia or Albacete. Whereas the locals ate in Orsoca.
Well, you know the story. It ends up with Meson del Pobre having to publish an apoloy in the English-language press and Stoneys sports bar opening up.
But, one brave couple went against the tide and opened their own restaurant with typical food. Marcos and Cati. In La Pará. As I explained before, but will explain again for the benefit of my monolingual Catalan and Galician readers, La Pará mean “the stop” in Andaluz.
Bloody delicious stew. Are you cold? Hungry? Can’t be bothered with a three course meal each and just fancy some home cooked food shared between the table? Go to La Pará where they can serve you anything, as long as you like Spanish, home made and tasty.
La Pará restaurant
Top of Turre on the left. Come on, Turre ain’t that big.
La Pará is a new bar and restaurant that has opened up at the top of the main street in Turre, as you leave going out towards the cementery.
It´s very, very nicely done out inside, with no expense spared on the décor. This was done by someone who plans to stay a while, and these people are Ana, her husband Marcos and Ana’s sister whose name escapes me (but I´ll find out next time I go down there). Ana will be remembered as the lady who has graced a number of bars in Cabrera and has now branched out on her own.
The large patio outside has a number of tables and chairs, and is a pleasent, sheltered spot from whence to sit and ponder upon Life. The main bar is tastefully done out, and the restaurant, while small, is also a comfortable place.
The food is Turre in style. Gurullos, Pelotas, Migas, Morcillas and more all adorn the menu. All homemade, all delicious, and almost all of them sampled by me.
The philosophy behind the menu is a wonderful one – they will cook what they want, what is in season, and if they run out they tell you so, instead of having a lot of frozen stuff lying around. So it´s fresh, it´s off the plancha, and it can be eaten as a full meal, as dishes to pick at between the group, or simply as a tapa with a beer.
If Marcos is on duty in the afternoon the toros might be on the TV – if Ana, possibly it might be off or tuned to something tasteful. Marcos looks glum, but is a happy man at heart.
Recommendation? Delicious. Try it, you´ll be back, unless your palate doesn´t pass ketchup on chips.
PS – La Pará, in case you´re wondering, is slang meaning “the Stop”. La Parada – or ¡aki la pará! as they shout to conductors around here.
Aguila is a workers bar in Albox. But by gum, it’s a good one.
Inside, in a main room, darkened by the windows which are tightly shuttered against the danger of the summer sun, wizened men and worker foremen sit hunched over the bar, drinking their carajillos. A low background murmur from conversation is constantly audible – the minute you look to see where it’s coming from the conversation stalls and you find that the talkers are looking back at you, as if you had intercepted a drug deal (they’re probably talking about last nights game).
Tapas are enormous, and decent. A tercio and what was basically a half racion of magra, together with several large hunks of bread, was mine for only €1,40.
The coffee is strong. Very strong. Good though. €0,90.
Tapas are limited, but when the plancha is on (middays) the wife will serve you up some damned good meatstuff off the plancha. No menu – it depends on what she’s brought that morning.
It’s not the sort of place women venture into – not because it’s seedy, or because it’s dirty, but because it’s a mans’ bar when men get together for a morning coffee and their wives are wise enough to allow them to pretend they are still their own man. Evidence of this was that the damas was being used to store a couple of bicycles. The lightswitch for the mens was by the door, next to an exposed wire where the (broken) handdryer was situated, great fun in the dark.
In short, my sort of place. Don’t bother going if you don’t speak Spanish, or are adverse to Ducados second hand smoke.
Cafe Bar Aguila, Albox
In Calle del Rulador, on the “incoming” road down from the cementery.
Meson Geres is in Vera, and a place I first discovered while having a quick coffee with the subdirector of Banco Andalucia. It’s hidden in between the banks and the notaries, and as such, is clean, quick and tasty.
They do a “quick” menu del dia, in which you sit down, the waiter comes out, rattles off a long list of food, and you order the only item on the menu you heard.
The food is mainly aimed at office workers, which means it’s a decent menu del dia that you can eat and enjoy, but won’t break the budget. You don’t get anything fancy, but you leave full and happy. Probably not worth driving 20km for, but if you’re in the area it’s not a bad option.
On this occasion I was waiting for the Notario to return, so I had a few quick beers and tapas. Very nice. Tapas were fresh, beers were quick, service was pleasent and the price? €1.20 for a cana and a (decent sized) tapa.
Where is it? In the street with the banks, turn right after the Banco Andalucia.
Resid. Alcana – Edif. del Mar, Local 3, Vera, Almeria
Tlf 950 392 243
Asuntxu is a fun little place on Mojacar Playa with tapas and a twist – you serve your own beer from the taps installed in the centre of the tables.
It’s actually good fun, just choose a table, get it switched on and off you go, pulling your own beers. Drink as little or as much as you want to, and get charged by the centilitre. €5 for a litre, which isn’t much more than you would pay buying it by the glass over the counter (assuming, say, €1,50 for a 33cl.). The beer’s “Cruzcampo”, but Heinekein is available behind the bar. Plus lots of wines, spirits, etc.
The amount pulled per table is shown on the screens dotted around, so you can keep an eye on the amount consumed and the price incurred. And if your neighbour goes to the toilet, well, if you’re quick you can have a crafty glass off his pump.
They also, and I’m not sure how legal this is, have a leaderboard. So you can see who’s drinking the most, in the least amount of time. And if you get into the top 5, you can assign your name to the leaderboard and see if you get knocked off. Great fun!
Tapas are plentiful, but despite the fact it says “restaurant” outside it’s really tapas and raciones. They looked good, and the kitchen seemed busy the night we were there.
It’s run by a couple from Garrucha; she’s petite, busy and charming and he’s a large chap with a scowl. He’s not allowed out from behind the bar, probably because he’s a walking advert for the dangers of beer drinking.
Casting around for something to add to my new look blog, I was stuck until called up by a Spanish friend for a beer at midday. Time being pressing, we popped along for a few tapas at Meson Verfran in Los Gallardos, a place I find I haven’t reviewed since 2006, despite frequently popping in for a snack.
I find it strange how these Spanish mesóns can carry along without a glitch for year after year, while the English places, qualitywise, tend to sway around like an elderly transit van in a high wind. It must be the difference between the expat setting up a holiday business in a foreign clime, and a local setting up a business for life.
I find Verfran (and del Pobre, and Millindurrio, and all the rest of them) to be the same now as it was when it started – good, decent, home cooking in a clean and friendly environment. No fuss, no fancy settings, just a place where you can either have food or a drink with some friends, knowing that while no Michelin inspector will be cluttering the place up, at least you won’t leave hungry. And, I may add, I’ve often had my fill of beer and tapas in there for less money than starters on the Playa.
Where is it?
Meson VerFran
Los Gallardos
Enter Los Gallardos from the main road by the EcoMueble entrance, going down to the main square.
Tapas, for those of you who don´t know, are a time honoured Andalucian tradition, consisting of a small portion of food served with your drink. The idea´s been grabbed by fashionable Madrileños, who have refined it and exported it world wide, but I still don´t think it´s a proper tapa unless it fulfills it´s original function of keeping the flies out of your drink. And the idea of being charged for a tapa is enough to make the local boy in me rise up in protest.
That said, on bad days when I have to hide from the customers, I´ll often call up a couple of friends at midday and vanish off for a quick drink and a few tapas. If we have to be back soon, we go to Meson Verfran in Los Gallardos – if not, further afield. A firm favourite of ours has always been Bar Plaza, in Vera, just opposite the bull ring.
They don´t serve proper meals, but it´s always busy with local workers who have popped in for a few tapas, or their big brothers the infamous racion (a ration of whatever, larger than a bite size tapa, but you do have to pay for it instead of getting it free with a drink). Two large vitrinas show off the currently available tapas, and they usually have a selection of embutidos (cured meats) behind the counter. Drinks are a lot cheaper than in the usual tourist rip off bars, the coffees actually quite good for a workers bar, and it´s always spotless.
The methodology? Order a drink, point to the food, and smile. If they try to charge you for the tapa, simply point out that you’re not from Madrid.
Where is it?
Bar Plaza, Vera
Opposite the bullring, next to the old SEDESA office.
Hostal El Pago is small family run Hostal (the Spanish equivalent of a better class B&B) in Turre.
Now, as I live just nearby, I´ve never actually stayed there, but I have convinced Jose to show me round some of the rooms, and my, they certainly were spotless! Comfortable looking beds, spacious rooms and as many extra blankets and towels as you can stuff in a suitcase.
Jose & Maria are old acquaintances, as I often pop in with some friends who work nearby for coffee and tapas. The downstairs restaurant does a comfortable trade in Menu del Dias and bar trade, and Maria is always happy to whip up some tapas or raciones for the hungry drinker.
I´ve had the menu del dia on a few occasions, and it´s good, filling Spanish style cooking – let me put it this way, you won´t leave feeling hungry! The restaurant can feel a bit cold in winter, but a bottle of Joses red wine soon puts that right.
It´s not really setup for the non Spanish speaking tourist, and mainly caters to the Spanish market – if that puts you off, then please do stay away so the rest of us can enjoy it in peace!
P.S. Parking is ample!
Original comments copied from original website:
Peter Kelly (petelosolivos@hotmail.co.uk)said (08:21:21 @ ’29-Mar-08):
Came across your website by accident and enjoyed the content thoroughly.Do I get a prize for being first?
What to get a sister in law for her birthday? For Christmas she got a smoothie maker – for her birthday, she got lunch. Being a generous sort of chap, I also splashed out for the little bro, and for a friend to come along as well. I even let her choose the venue. The kid stayed at home with a baby sitter.
Vicky plumped for the Hotel Tikar, which intrigued me as I hadn´t previously been there, although I had had good reports about it. So we were agreed, and one Saturday lunch time turned up there.
I turned up at the appointed time, and found an easy parking spot just up the side of the hotel, on a road whose condition could only be described as Zimbabwean.
Entering, I was pleasantly surprised by the interior decor, which is very nicely done out. While I personally wouldn´t pay €400 for any of the paintings for sale on the walls, the overall impression was nice. Bit blue perhaps. Still, the clue is in the name.
We had a couple of quiet drinks in the comfortable lounge and bar area before walking around the screen into the main dining room. Comfy chairs. Somewhat too comfy in fact, didn´t want to get out of them. However, after being prodded a few times with a stick I stirred myself and found a table.
The chairs are, not to put too fine a point on it, damned uncomfortable when you first sit down, especially after the lounge. Still, after a bit the nether regions went numb and I was fine.
Now, the menu looked quite decent. They do a very decent set menu for €24,50. 7 starters and 8 main courses, plus desserts of the day. Also a decent little wine menu. I´m currently off the sauce, but still…
Now, I´ve gone and lost the bill, so I don´t really remember what everybody had. I do remember that I got overexcited and ordered the warm pasta in an apple and curry sauce to start with, which was nicer than expected; and the grilled pork tenderloin with a caramelised onion sauce to follow. I forget the pudding.
We finished up at around 4, pleasantly satiated from the food, and, belts undone, pottered off for a siesta. Damn nice all round, and definitely worth a visit.
Where is it?
Restaurante Azul,
Hotel Tikar,
Garrucha.
Driving into Garrucha from Las Bouganvillas roundabout, on your right half way down the street. www.hoteltikar.com
tlf 950 61 71 31
Original comments copied from original website>
Jim Simpson said (09:32:27 @ ’21-Apr-07):
Thought your review was quite accurate. I personally didn’t find the meat very good (2 x entrecote steak) and it was not cooked as requested but otherwise not bad.
I´ve been coming here ever since it opened, under the sometimes erratic management of Diego, and his somewhat surly bar staff.
Diego, in true showmanship style, has managed to create an authentic meson, and has succeeded in dragging in the local expats – but how many Spaniards do you see actually eating there?
The quality of the food here tends to vary tremendously. I´ve had decent food, and I´ve had bad food, and am even tempted to blame a nasty bout of food poisoning last year on a dodgy prawn I ate there. Other people have noticed the same thing, which is why you notice the cognoscenti peering avidly at the tapa dishes before ordering.
Tapas wise it´s quite good, and if you catch Diego in a good mood (ie the wife is out!) he´s a nice enough chap, although once during an afterhours lock in he did insist upon showing me his pictures of when he was in the Spanish Legion, posted in Africa back in Francos time, ´when men were men and Moros were shot on sight´.
He does, however, employ a number of staff whose attitude can best be described as ´surly´. While fast and efficient enough (once they deign to catch your eye), a smile seems to be beyond their capabilities.
By all means pop in and try it. If you like it, tell your friends. If you don´t, stay away. If you can´t make up your mind, just use it as a drinking joint like I do. But do let me know what you think!
Where is it?
Meson del Pobre,
Turre.
Coming into Turre over the old bridge, on your right as you enter Turre.
Original comments copied from original website:
Pam & Rod Evason (pam_evason@hotmail.com)said (14:34:40 @ ’01-May-07):
We agree with your comments and think he should change his menu now and again and have a few specials, every time we come to Turre its the same old thing time and time again. However we are fond of Diego and love his tapas especially after we’ve been on the market on a Friday!
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