It's Suckling Pig, Jim...but not as we know it...

My favourite day of the year dawned a bit cloudy so we made the decision to go out for breakfast at the marina, and have a quick look around the market at the same time, before going to do some essential food shopping.

We picked La Petite Marmite for breakfast, and very good it was too. A full English including tea and coffee which certainly set us up for the day. The market was pretty busy, which begged the question…where are they all at night?

I was dreading going into the supermarket as I imagined that it would be really busy, like at home, but I needn’t have worried as there was only one checkout girl on and the queue was relatively short with absolutely no panic buying of sprouts and mince pies. It was all very laid back!

We bought a few essentials and some picnic items for Christmas Day and then headed back to the villa to sunbathe the rest of the day away. By now the sky had cleared and the sun had come out and it was very pleasant indeed!

In the evening we headed back to the marina for a drink at the Café del Mar and dinner at Casa Roja, which Sophie had chosen as they had pork ribs on the menu. As Keith and I had skipped lunch after our hearty breakfast we all had just the one drink and then made our way to the restaurant at the early time of 7pm. We were very surprised to discover that a considerable amount of tables had been reserved and we were lucky enough to secure one of the last tables laid for four. Or were we?

I had high hopes, I have to admit. Casa Roja is a beautiful restaurant set right on the water’s edge with an elegant interior and very attentive waiting staff. It was a bit posh with the beautiful people in attendance! The starters ranged in price from around 8-10 euros with the mains hovering around the 17-20 euro mark, but as it was Christmas Eve, we wanted to push the boat out a bit and have a special meal.

Sophie is "not amused" at Casa Roja.

 The children wanted a starter of mixed croquettes followed by the pork ribs, but the waiter told us the ribs weren’t available but he had pork chops in a spicy sauce instead. I ordered a starter of scrambled egg, mushrooms and prawns which was delicious. Keith didn’t fancy anything at all but managed to hoover up a couple of Mikey’s croquettes.

For a main course Keith and I had been tempted by the Chateaubriand, but the waiter told us he had a special of suckling pig on the menu, something Keith had wanted to have since we arrived. So we were both swayed into ordering the dish, which, with hindsight was a big mistake…

The children’s main courses arrived and Mikey clearly wasn’t happy – he said the sauce was too peppery. Our suckling pig arrived and it certainly wasn’t how we expected it to be! We’ve both had it before at an excellent restaurant in Mallorca but I have no idea what the chef thought he was doing with it in Lanzarote… There was a rounded heap of shredded pork, topped by a rubbery piece of skin (?) accompanied by a crispy bit of what looked like leather. Next to this was what I assumed to be a cored apple (I think) and a smear of apple sauce, although of this I can’t be certain. No vegetables to speak of.

All around us, lots of people were arriving, some were turned away, while some had booked and the restaurant was really busy. One table next to us has stuck to their guns and ordered the chateaubriand and it looked wonderful – and they had vegetables!

And it turned out to be cheaper than our awful main course as well! We were charged the eye-watering amount of 22 euros for the plate of rubbish while the chateaubriand was 18 euros and the children’s meals, instead of being a tad over 13 euros morphed into an 18 euro meal! With my dessert (I needed something sweet to make up for my disappointment) and a bottle of average Rioja, the bill came to a hefty 155 euros which almost made me cry, seeing as we were so disappointed.

The staff were busier and busier as the evening progressed and we had to wait ages for the bill so Keith got his revenge by leaving an extremely paltry tip of 4 euros! Oh dear!

It was back to the villa and a glass of wine on the terrace and a chance to chew over the fat…literally!