Does bullying go on in the fish world? If it does I think my dinnertime tuna could have been one of the enforcers, maybe even The Codfather, it was big, a whopper, I didn’t know whether to eat it or offer it a seat at our table. I looked around and my friends plates were also dominated by equally generous and tasty portions. This was of course all in the line of work, albeit in very good company. The setting was the La Cofradia (The Brotherhood) restaurant in the newly restored fishermans block by the Muelle Pesquero, and the gathering was for Tenerife Magazine.
On yet another cloudless sunny Tenerife day I met John Beckley at Sorted Sites in downtown Los Cristianos and he drove us to Santa Cruz to pick up Arantxa Ros, one of the more enlightened social media users in the hotel and tourism trade. Heading on to Puerto de la Cruz we met Jack and Andrea Montgomery and followed their recomendation to try La Cofradia in Calle Las Lonjas. The functional frontage was soon contrasted by the bright modern interior but we chose the outside terrace looking out onto the festive fun fair on the quay side and the turret of the old battlements complete with a sturdy canon peeping over the mottled brick wall. In the distance the sea was lapping over the sea wall while the small harbour offered a much more sedate scene with fishing boats gently bobbing up and down.
A new year and a time to reflect and plan ahead, the last few days Tenerife Magazine has been getting 1,000 visitors a day and the Facebook friends are about to spill over the 3,000 mark. Arantxa was able to give us a refreshing insight into some possible new ways to spread the good word based on her local knowledge and experience. The arrival of a large plate of sardines was a welcome interuption and a good curtain raiser for the main course, my Atun en Salmorejo sauce was a challenge even for my ravenous appetite and the side order of canarian potatoes shared their bathing pleasure between the tangy salmorejo sauce and the usual choice of hot or mild mojo sauce. Dessert seemed the natural way to round it off, a bowl of caramello ice cream hit the spot for me with a coffee afterwards to keep it all tidy.
As the sun crept onto and across the terrace several of the other tables filled and emptied, a very popular spot, luckily Jack and Andrea had pre booked (Tel 922383409) the previous day. Suitably fed and watered we reluctantly departed to digest the ideas we had bounced around, hopefully you will appreciate our plans for Tenerife Magazine in the coming year, and La Cofradia has definately reeled me in for a return visit.