Tapas are not a traditional thing in Gran Canaria. You don't get the free tapa with every beer that is so common in Mainland Spain, except on Tapas nights.

That said, there are places that offer something similar to the tapas experience in the capital Las Palmas.

Toma Pan y Moja, on ther beachfront at the southern tip of Playa Chica, is one of the best. 

It has sunset views, outdoor tables (the ones furthest from the door get less breeze) for hot days and a cosy interior for those cooler winter evenings. 

The papas con mojo with heirloom black Canary Islands potatoes are delicious (summer season only). The cold tomato soup (salmorejo) is very tasty, the croquetas excellent and the ham is decent quality. Try the tortilla española with avocado if you dare!

With friendly service, generous portions and fair prices, Toma Pan y Moja is always a good bet for a snack on the Las Canteras beachfront. 

We found  a small and informal but delicious Thai restaurant in Playa del Inglés and we think everyone should try it.

Sawadee in San Agustín, and soon also in Meloneras where the outdoor cinema used to be, is a great Thai restaurant but it is also quite big and even over the top. It's almost like eating in a Thailand theme park. Fun definitely, but not really what we associate with authentic Thai food. 

The best we've eaten has always been at a roadside restaurant, often cooked on a tin sheet, or in a family-run restaurant by the beach. Ok, so they have a few flashing lights and maybe even an electric flamingo; but not a whole flock!

So while we approve of the Sawadees, we were really excited to find that the Thai Bangkok Street Food restaurant does really good, authentic Thai food. 

This little place, at the back of Playa del Inglés at the bottom of Apartamentos Los Molinos (no longer rough and ready), is basically a standard Spanish cafe with outdoor tables. There's no airs and graces at all. 

However, the food is clearly made by a Thai cook who knows her stuff and is spot on. We had the Pad Thai and Green curry and both were tasty and spicy with the right balance of Thai flavours. 

If you can do Pad Thai right, you can pretty much do the rest so we are more than happy to recommend this place to everyone. 

We'll be going back soon to get the whole story about how the Thai Bangkok Street Food and to try the rest of the menu. 

Bululú, quite appropriately on the corner of Calle Venezuela and Olof Palme in Las Palmas, is a South American restaurant that looks towards the Caribbean and beyond for its inspiration. 

Its food is a fascinating fusion of South American and Latin Caribbean ingredients and dishes with a healthy hint of Lebanese influence mixed in. 

If that sounds like too much geography for one restaurant, don't worry: Bululú pulls it off. This is a restaurant that really understands food and specifically what makes Latin American food so delicious.

It plates up an elevated mix of sweet, hot, rich and crispy in every dish. Pabellon criollo with crispy arepas and bananas fried to the point of caramelisation. A fatoush salad that is generous and moreish, hummus with marrow and curry, served with excellent falafels. For dessert, a  rich quesillo with just the right amount of dulce de leche. 

The quality food comes with service to match. Friendly, efficient, always smiling, happy to advise. In fact, Bululú pretty much has this whole restaurant game nailed down. 

Great value and just the perfect spot for lunch in Guanarteme if you are bored of the tyranny of always having to sit on the beachfront. 

Book for a weekend table or arrive early for weekday lunchtime as Bululú has a loyal local crowd.

Bululú on Facebook

On Tripadvisor

Tel: 828 66 10 79

We stopped at Blossom Art & Food for lunch just because it looked so pretty and most of the other stands at the food strip on the top floor of The Market wetren't open. The serfvice was frioendly and efficient and the food did look like a piece of art. Unfortunately, it tasted like one too.  

It feels mean to give a restaurant a bad review during these times when just being open is an achievement. However, the freedom to be honest is one of the main reasons we decided to go down the route of member-only content.

Blossom Art & Food has a great location at the tip of The Market shoppping centre. All tables are outdoors and shaded by yellow canopies and umbrellas. It feels bright and airy and there is a good breeze. 

The menu is international and the Thai dishes caught our eye straight away so we ordered the Thai salad followed by the Pad Thai. The salad looked great with a generous helping of prawns and bits of mango. The salad was a bit old and we had to fish out a couople of brown bits. And they seemed to have forgotten the dressing because it was dry. The prawns were fine although the batter could have been crispy rather than soft. 

The Pad Thai was of a smiliar quality with mushy spaghetti instead iof noodles and the sweet/ sour balance all wrong. It tasted like it was made by siomeone who had never eaten a real one. 

Maybe we asked too much by ordering two Thai dishes at a restaurant that isn't a specialist but if they are on the menu, they should be good quality.

We'd go back for a sunset drink just just for the location but I don't think we'd eat here again. 

The Hotel THe Puerto de Mogán pool isn't the biggest or the most spectacular on the island, but it makes the list of best Gran Canaria pools thanks to its views and ocean access. 

Gran Canaria Info shows you the best of the island and here's one of its best swimming pools; The tropical wonder at the Maspalomas & Tabaiba Princess hotels in Campo Internacional. Here's why you have to swim in it.

The Costa Meloneras hotel in Gran Canaria have this on their a la carte restaurant wine list and it's a great example of a dry Canary Islands white. 

This is one of the best value Canarian white wines and is easy to find in Gran Canaria's supermarkets.

It's easy to find great spots to eat nowadays. You just go to Tripadvisor, pick one close to the top of the list and fine dining and satisfaction are guaranteed. Or not ...

"Not without tannins" said the New York Times review of this Gran Canaria red made with local listan negro grapes. It was right: Fronton has a hint of wood resin from the oak barrels but also enough fruit and herby notes to make it a great value Gran Canaria red.