Food and Drink (click for more pictures) 

Eating at La Cencerrita is a very informal affair - but very enjoyable! With views that not even the most expensive restaurant can provide, eating al fresco is a delight here.

Breakfast - No hurry to get out of bed!  Have your breakfast wherever and whenever you desire - whether it's in bed (with the doors thrown open so you can wake up to the mountain view), on your private veranda or perhaps by the pool after your early morning dip?  The choice is yours!

BBQ - Make use of the smashing Italian BBQ - Meat and fish is much cheaper in Spain than in most of Europe and you have yourself a real gourmet meal.

Dinner - If you would like us to cook you dinner one night, please give us as much notice as possible - however, some things can rustled up fairly quickly too if there are sudden changes in plan. Take a look at our menu.

Fish - The Spanish love their fish and generally it's a very reasonable cost: Salmon fillet is just 8 euros a kilo and good sized prawns about 6-7 euros! (Put the prawns in the grill pan with a little chopped garlic and olive oil and push gently around to heat through - serve with wedges of lemon and chunks of barra/baguette) Below is the fish counter in a Mercadona supermarket. On request, they will also clean the fish (and remove the head if you prefer) so there's nothing more to do than pop it on the BBQ. (Serve with patatas barbacoa - spiced potato wedges from the frozen cabinet near the chips- just pop in the oven for 20 mins - delicious!)

Supermarket - Our favourite is Mercadona (a new one has just opened in Estacion de Cartama).  Clean, competitively priced, well-lit and clearly laid out - some of the signs are even in English!  Open from 09:15 to 21:15 without a break for siesta (unlike many of the smaller shops).

Red Wine - For a good earthy, full bodied Rioja, the cheaper “Siglo” (about 4.50 euros) is excellent.  For a light red table wine try “Vega Christina” (by far the best of the cheap wines .. under a euro and very pleasant).  It is also good for mixing up as Sangria: In Mercadona, buy “gaseosa”, like a light lemonade but kept with the water,  and their peach and grape long life juice – melecoton y uva.  Chopped up apple makes it even nicer. This is much less astringent than Sangria made with orange juice or the ready made variety!  Vega Christina can also simply be mixed with gaseosa as Tinto Verano – very popular in the bars as a refreshing drink … often sold by the jug-full! The “brick cartons” of red wine are perfectly adequate for mixing up as well … less than a euro … in fact, less than milk! 

White wine - Quite frankly we have no idea!!! The cheap ones don’t agree with us (awful hangovers!) and we can’t afford the more expensive ones.  However, if you do fancy a bit of a treat, some of the inexpensive cavas (Spanish champagne) are really nice when chilled … but the best by far is the black frosted bottle of “Freixenet” – Cordon Negro – it comes in at a little over 5 euros and is worth every penny! (Beware - The more expensive one isn’t as nice!)

"Squash" - as sold in the UK is not readily available.  We suggest a good substitute is your favorite fruit juices diluted with gaseosa - fruit juice on it's own is not particularly thirst quenching.

Water - Don’t forget you’ll need to drink plenty of water too!!!  Wine is very dehydrating, particularly in the hotter months.  In summer Alan tends to stick to lagers (Mercadona's own, Steinburg) and Colleen drinks long fruit vodkas: Local vodka (about 4.50 euros) with half fruit juice and half gaseosa with plenty of ice cubes. Very refreshing.