Restaurant in Playa de las Américas, Spain
Canarian tasting menus, Michelin-backed, book Wednesday.
Taste 1973 holds a 2024 Michelin star and operates Wednesday to Saturday, dinner only, inside Playa de las Américas' five-star Hotel Villa Cortés. Two tasting menus built entirely around Canarian culinary history, dry-aged fish, and a trolley of over 50 local cheeses. Book three to four weeks out minimum for weekends — this is the most serious food address in the Canary Islands.
Taste 1973 is one of the hardest reservations in the Canary Islands right now. The restaurant operates Wednesday through Saturday, dinner only (7 PM to 11 PM), and with a 2024 Michelin star drawing international attention to what was already a well-regarded address inside Playa de las Américas' Hotel Villa Cortés, availability disappears fast. Your leading window: target Wednesday or Thursday, when weekend demand drops off and tables are marginally more accessible. Book at least three to four weeks out for a weekend slot; midweek, two weeks may suffice, but don't push it. There is no walk-in culture here.
Inside the five-star Hotel Villa Cortés on Avenida Rafael Puig Lluvina, Taste 1973 is a tasting-menu-only restaurant built around one clear purpose: documenting and celebrating the culinary history of the Canary Islands. Every dish on the two menus, named Roque Guincho and Roque de Arona Hío, traces its origins to the archipelago. Each course arrives with an information card detailing the product used and its provenance, with individual dishes dedicated to specific islands in the chain. This is not fusion cooking or Continental technique with local garnish; the Canarian identity is, as Michelin's own assessors noted, present in every dish.
The kitchen is led by chef Diego Schattenhofer, an Argentine who has spent approximately two decades working in the Canary Islands. That tenure shows in the depth of the sourcing and the specificity of the historical research behind the menus. The team supporting him is genuinely unusual for a restaurant at this level: it includes marine biologists, neurologists, and historians who have worked to recover the culinary heritage of the Guanche people, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands. The result is a tasting menu format that carries more intellectual weight than most of its price-tier peers in Spain.
Two dishes from the current programme have drawn particular attention from Michelin: a seafood rice with scarlet red prawns, and a course listed as Thunnus thynnus — bluefin tuna, handled through the kitchen's noted dry-ageing approach to fish. Dry-aged fish is a technique that requires precise temperature control and timing, and Taste 1973 has made it a house signature. If you are familiar with the approach from Japanese contexts, the Canarian application here is distinct in character. The cheese trolley, rolling out over 50 varieties of Canary Island cheese, closes the savoury sequence and functions as both a practical highlight and a lesson in how much the islands produce that rarely travels to the mainland.
The restaurant sits within a luxury hotel property, which shapes the visual register of the room. The setting at Villa Cortés leans toward a colonial-meets-Moorish aesthetic that is consistent throughout the hotel. Within the dining space, the presentation is formal without being stiff: information cards accompany each course, the cheese trolley arrives tableside, and service operates at a pace that suits a multi-course tasting format over several hours. Rated 4.9 on Google across 74 reviews, the consistency of the experience tracks closely with what Michelin's inspectors found.
The price bracket is €€€€, placing it at the leading of what Playa de las Américas offers and in the same tier as Spain's most decorated creative kitchens. For the Canary Islands specifically, there is no direct comparable at this level of culinary ambition within the immediate area. If you are travelling to Tenerife primarily for food, Taste 1973 is the table to prioritise. If you are already staying at Villa Cortés, booking dinner here on at least one night is a direct decision. For other dining on the island, [El Lajar de Bello](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/el-lajar-de-bello-playa-de-las-amricas-restaurant) and [Goxoa (Grills)](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/goxoa-playa-de-las-amricas-restaurant) offer strong alternatives at lower price points when you want something less structured. A broader view of the island's options is in our [full Playa de las Américas restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/playa-de-las-americas).
This restaurant is built for food-focused travellers who want a structured, research-backed tasting experience rather than a relaxed dinner. If you are visiting the Canary Islands and want to understand the islands' food culture at its most considered, two-plus hours at Taste 1973 will do more for that than any number of casual meals. It is well-suited to solo diners who want to eat at the bar or counter positions where interaction with the service team enriches the information-card format , more on that below. Groups of two to four who are comfortable with a long tasting format will find the pacing well-managed. It is not the right choice if you are looking for a quick dinner or a flexible à la carte experience.
Given the editorial angle assigned to this page, it is worth being direct about what counter or bar-adjacent seating adds at Taste 1973 specifically. The information-card format that accompanies each course is designed for dialogue: where did this fish come from, which island does this dish represent, what does the dry-ageing process look like. Seated at or near the kitchen service pass, that dialogue opens up in a way it cannot at a table in the middle of the room. For solo diners in particular, a counter position turns a tasting menu into something closer to a guided tutorial on Canarian food history. If the booking system gives you a choice of position, take the counter. The food is identical; the experience is richer.
Service runs Wednesday to Saturday from 7 PM. The restaurant is closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, so factor that into your Tenerife itinerary. A tasting menu at this price tier in Spain typically runs two to three hours; plan your evening accordingly. Dress to match the five-star hotel context: smart casual at minimum, with most diners opting for something more formal. No phone or website is listed in our current data, so the most reliable booking route is directly through the Hotel Villa Cortés reception or via the hotel's online booking infrastructure. For everything else the area offers, see our guides to [Playa de las Américas hotels](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/playa-de-las-americas), [bars](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/playa-de-las-americas), [wineries](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/playa-de-las-americas), and [experiences](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/playa-de-las-americas).
See the comparison section below for how Taste 1973 sits against Spain's other leading creative tables.
Dinner is your only option. Taste 1973 operates exclusively in the evening, Wednesday through Saturday from 7 PM. There is no lunch service. Book dinner and plan to stay for the full tasting menu duration , two to three hours is realistic at this level.
There is no à la carte menu. You choose between two tasting menus: Roque Guincho and Roque de Arona Hío. Both are entirely Canarian in focus. The seafood rice with scarlet red prawns and the Thunnus thynnus (bluefin tuna) course are among the dishes that caught Michelin's attention. The trolley of Canary Island cheeses, covering over 50 varieties, is the highlight at the end of the savoury sequence , do not skip it. If you have dietary restrictions, flag them at the time of booking given the tasting format.
Smart casual is the practical floor, but the five-star hotel setting and Michelin star means most diners dress more formally. Think: no shorts or trainers. A collared shirt or equivalent for men; smart dress or equivalent for women. Erring toward smart-formal will not be out of place.
Yes, and arguably better solo than in a group if you want full engagement with the experience. The information-card format that accompanies each course rewards conversation with the service team, which is easier one-on-one. Request a counter or bar-adjacent seat if available when booking solo , it turns the meal into a more active exchange about Canarian food history rather than a passive multi-course dinner.
At €€€€ with a 2024 Michelin star, yes , provided tasting menus are your format. The kitchen is doing substantive research work (the Guanche culinary heritage project, the dry-aged fish programme, the 50-variety cheese trolley) that justifies the price tier in a way that pure technique-showcase restaurants often do not. In the Canary Islands specifically, there is nothing else at this level of ambition. If you are comparing it to mainland Spain's leading creative tables like [Azurmendi](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/azurmendi-larrabetzu-restaurant) or [El Celler de Can Roca](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/el-celler-de-can-roca-girona-restaurant), Taste 1973 holds its own on intellectual depth while offering something geographically specific you cannot replicate elsewhere.
It is the only format available, which removes the comparison question. Between the two menus (Roque Guincho and Roque de Arona Hío), the choice comes down to length and coverage , both are anchored in Canarian produce and history. The Michelin inspectors highlighted the consistency of execution alongside the technical depth, which is the combination that makes tasting menus at this price worth committing to. The format also benefits from the information-card system: unlike many tasting menus where you eat in relative silence between courses, here there is a structured reason to engage with what you are eating and where it comes from.
Yes. A Michelin-starred tasting menu inside a five-star hotel, with a research-driven menu format and a cheese trolley that functions as a genuine centrepiece , the components for a memorable meal are in place. The structured, multi-course format suits a celebration better than a casual dinner would. For anniversaries, significant birthdays, or a career-milestone dinner, this is the right call in Playa de las Américas. Book as far in advance as possible: special-occasion dates (Friday, Saturday) fill first and fastest.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taste 1973 | €€€€ | Hard | — |
| Aponiente | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Arzak | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Azurmendi | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Cocina Hermanos Torres | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| DiverXO | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Dinner is your only option. Taste 1973 operates Wednesday through Saturday, 7 PM to 11 PM exclusively — there is no lunch service. Build your Tenerife itinerary around the Wednesday or Thursday slots if you want the best chance at a table, since Friday and Saturday fill fastest.
There is no à la carte menu — you choose between two tasting menus: Roque Guincho or Roque de Arona Hío. Both are built entirely around Canary Island ingredients and cooking traditions, with each dish tied to a specific island via an information card. The seafood rice with scarlet red prawns and the Thunnus thynnus preparation have drawn particular attention, and the trolley of over 50 Canary Island cheeses is a highlight worth staying for.
Taste 1973 sits inside the five-star Hotel Villa Cortés, and at €€€€ pricing with a 2024 Michelin star, the setting calls for polished dress. Think business casual at minimum — jacket optional but consistent with the room. Avoid beach or resort casual; this is a structured tasting experience, not a hotel terrace dinner.
It works well for solo diners. A tasting-menu format removes the awkwardness of ordering alone, and the information cards accompanying each dish give you something to engage with throughout the meal. The research-heavy team behind the menu — marine biologists, historians, neurologists — means there is plenty of substance to absorb if you are eating without company.
At €€€€ in a resort town, it is a high ask — but a 2024 Michelin star and a genuinely differentiated concept back it up. Chef Diego Schattenhofer has spent two decades in the Canary Islands building a kitchen that draws on Guanche culinary history with a multi-disciplinary team, which is not something you find at most hotel restaurants of this price level. If you are already in Tenerife and serious about food, the value case is clear. If you are travelling specifically for the meal, compare it first against Azurmendi or Arzak on the mainland.
Yes, provided you want a structured, research-backed dinner rather than a flexible à la carte night out. Both menus commit fully to Canary Island ingredients and Guanche culinary history, with product origin cards for every dish. The dry-aged fish programme and the 50-variety cheese trolley are tangible highlights that go beyond standard tasting-menu format. If you prefer to order freely, this is not your restaurant.
It is one of the stronger special-occasion options in Tenerife, with Michelin recognition, a five-star hotel setting, and a tasting format that structures the evening naturally. The information cards and multi-course progression give the meal a ceremonial quality without being stiff. Book Wednesday or Thursday if the occasion is flexible — the room will feel less pressured than a Saturday service.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
