La Aquarela

The story

La Aquarela – Michelin-Starred Dining in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria

A Thirty-Year Legacy on Gran Canaria’s Coast

For over three decades, La Aquarela has stood on the southern coast of Gran Canaria, facing the marina of Anfi Del Mar in Patalavaca. The restaurant’s longevity is built on a simple promise: to offer pleasure in tasting food within a privileged atmosphere. That promise earned it a Michelin star in 2026, a recognition that feels like a natural culmination of years of quiet, consistent excellence.

The People Behind the Kitchen

Proprietor Gregorio Fernández has shaped the restaurant’s identity, bringing a host’s warmth and a determination to balance quality with consistency. In the kitchen, head chef German Ortega leads the creative direction, while executive chef Desiré Cabrera Peña — a Gran Canaria native with experience at Tickets (Barcelona), Gleneagles Hotel, and Andrew Fairlie (Scotland) — now steers the day-to-day cooking, strengthening the restaurant’s essence. Maitre and head sommelier Nikola Ivicic, named one of Spain’s Top 100 Sommeliers in 2026, curates an extensive wine list with a strong focus on Canary Islands wines, including rare volcanic bottlings from Lanzarote and Tenerife.

The Tasting Menus

All dining is by tasting menu. The Experience menu (158€, with optional wine pairing for 110€) moves through a dozen small courses — from a red tuna with sardine and ginger to glazed suckling lamb shoulder with mustard seed, and sweet moments like apple with sorrel and spices. The Little Experience (128€, wine pairing 63€) is a shorter version, while the Harvest menu (130€) is a vegetarian degustation that highlights the island’s garden produce, with dishes such as beetroot “a la sal” and a wild mushroom ravioli. Each menu takes about three hours to enjoy, and the kitchen can accommodate dietary restrictions when notified in advance.

Atmosphere and Location

The restaurant sits in a low-rise apartment building, with outdoor seating and a private room available. The dress code is formal casual, and the mood is one of unhurried, attentive hospitality. La Aquarela is closed on Sunday and Monday, and takes a break in early June and mid-September. For those seeking a refined taste of contemporary Canarian cuisine, this is a place that delivers on its promise, year after year.