El Cine in Los Cristianos Tenerife has been one of our favourites for years, in fact when my wife and I got married here in Tenerife in 2004, one night we came with all of our friends that had come over for the week of our wedding…a great night…!!!
Founded in 1987, El Cine Los Cristianos celebrated its 25 year anniversary last year and if you have ever been to have dinner or lunch there, you will know why the restaurant has been in business for that long.
Good simple Canarian food, fast service although you don’t feel rushed…even though there is often a queue of people waiting for tables.
The food being served has not changed much over the years, thankfully. A good choice of fish, shellfish and deep fried octopus always fresh from the days catch and served with lashings of olive oil and a good covering of sea salt. Canarian potatoes with Mojo Verde or Mojo Rojo, Fries, Onion and Tomato salad and your choice of wine, beer or soft drinks. Over recent years they have expanded their menu…slightly… they have added chicken wings, but other than that nothing much has changed in the last 25 years. Keeping it simple, seems to have worked well for them.
The name El Cine translated to English means – the cinema – and in an interview I found on
Juan Carlos, the owner, explains that the name came from a cinema that was situated within the same road as the restaurant today, not – as many people think, that El Cine was founded on the same site as the original cinema.
The video on YouTube is an interview with Juan Carlos the owner and although you may not understand it as it is in Spanish, it takes place on the Los Cristianos harbour quayside and also within El Cine itself and still, 25 years on, you can see the enthusiasm he has for the food that the restaurant provides. You’ll see happy customers who come back time after time and staff who have worked at the restaurant for years.
Having gone out for dinner to El Cine the other night, I found that in fact something has changed since we last went. It seems that they now have their own labels on the wine bottles and a lovely bottle of red too.
As you can see in the picture above, the place was as busy as usual and from time to time the queue built up and subsided as customers were seated.
El Cine Los Cristianos is not easy to find on your first visit. If you make your way down to the seafront and along towards the port you will find the green cross for a pharmacy. If you turn up the side of the pharmacy you’ll find El Cine…if you are lucky, you won’t have to wait long in the queue…!!!
