We were in Los Montesinos and decided to try somewhere new and chose Bar Graciela. Oh wow, what a pleasant find this proved to be.
A proper Spanish bar, reminding us of when we lived in a traditional, Spanish village back in Cuevas. There was no other language being spoken except for Spanish, 95% of the guys in there were workers who had called in for their 10am breakfast break and the rest were retirees out for their morning constitutional.
Everyone spoke to everyone, most knew each other and to be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if the same people were in there each and every day, Monday to Friday and possibly Saturdays too.
What I will say here is parking is ‘interesting’ to say the least. There is a car park that can accommodate say 8 cars, yet today there were over a dozen in there parked/wedged in nose to tail, most were blocked in. I’m guessing as these were all workers, they’d be leaving at roughly the same time as each other, and so there was no big issue. Needless to say, by 11.10 the bar was empty, except for Sophie and I, a couple of the old retired blokes and a worker on his own who had turned up late.
When we arrived we were behind a vehicle who had tried to squeeze into the car park, but ended up reversing back onto the street. He parked across from one of the neighbouring houses, so I tucked in behind him on the road.
What We Had
We both had a tostada and a drink, then had a second round of drinks and a tapas to share. The reason why is quite simple.
We got a table on the terrace, I went in to order, my intention was a drink each, a tostada each. The place was rammed and guys were ordering tapas left, right and centre. I was admiring all the tapas dishes, but stayed strong in what I was ordering…. at least to begin with.
Drinks.
A tanque of Mahou for myself, a Coke Zero for Soph ( which was a large 350cl bottle ). We both had another round of the same again.
Food.
Soph had a tostada con tomate, while I went for my preferred option of tostada con tomate, queso y jamon. We then had a tapas dish to share with our second rounds of drinks, this was a lovely fish tapas.
Sophs tostada was good, fresh, soft bread, a good topping of tasty tomato. My tostada was excellent, plenty of cheese, a great serving of meat and this was a really large bread portion. Despite the size, it was soft, fresh and delicious.
Tapas.
I’d seen a guy order the tapas at the bar and there were 5 portions left. When I went back in for our second round of drinks, there was just a single portion left, so fate decided that this should be the chosen one.
It was a huge chunk of white fish, with caramalised onions on the top and served with a basket of bread. Yes there were a couple of bones in the fish, but these were the large bones, so these are hard not to notice, and were easy to remove. The fish was tender, full of taste and very enjoyable.
What We Liked
Where do I start? The authenticity of the place for a start. This is a Spanish bar that is popular with the Spanish workers and locals. The staff were working hard, yet still manages a smile and a word or two with every customer.
Service was excellent, friendly, welcoming and combine this with cold drinks and great food, what more do you want in Spain?
Another thing to note, the door with the sign for the toilets, takes you into an inner courtyard, the toilets are across on the left. In the courtyard was a woman who was cleaning out a couple of pans from the kitchen. You actually felt like you were in someone’s home.
What Could Be Improved
Nada, unless they are going to build a 30 car space car park out of thin air. Get there before the 10 am rush or come at 11 to get parking spaces.
What Did It Cost Today
Our bill was 19,60€ for everything and this broke down as:
Drinks
My tanques were 3,50€ each, Sophs large bottles of Coke were 2,50€ each.
Food.
Sophie’s tostada con tomate was 1,50€ while my tostada con tomate, queso y jamon was 2,60€. The fish tapas with the bread was 3,50€
Would We Return To Bar Graciela
Let’s say we have pencilled in when we are returning and next time will be to try several different tapas, as there was a good selection and they all looked good.
How To Find Bar Graciela
If you’re coming from Quesada or Torrevieja into Los Montesinos ( or already in the town ), take the turn off down CV-943 towards La Marquesa. Follow this road, past the townhall, carry on past the tun off to Las Ninfas, keep going for 5 minutes and there’s the sharp bend and a partially hidden right turn in the road, take that turn off.
They don’t have an official Facebook page, but there is one where they get tagged in.
Coming from Greenlands / Zocco market along the CV-940, at the roundabout where you can take the third turn off onto the CV-945 into Los Montesinos, ignore this and take the second exit, staying on the CV-940.
About a kilometre and a half, on the left you’ll see Restaurante El Rincón de Morales. follow this small road a very short distance, there are a handful of small houses on your left, the bar is just pat these.
Their Address
Partida los Perez, 46, 03187 Los Montesinos, or on their business cards it is listed as Barrio los Perez, no7, 03187 Los Montesinos.
Satnav will get you here, it did for us!
