Les Tendes

Les Tendes is a classic; one of these place s that has always been there and that you forget to go back and then remember and wonder why you took so long.

Maybe it was the three children in the intervening years.

Not a great place for kids, being on a main road, just where the road from Almassera meets the one to Port Saplaya from Alboraya. But a good place to go if you’ve managed to dump the kids on someone and fancy a bit of atmosphere in an old building that probably used to be a farm building, and a bit of simple, home cooking.

I like restaurants where you can see the cooks from your table; that way you know if you’ve annoyed the waiter enough to tempt him to spit in your salad.

The cooks at Les Tendes appear to be somebody’s grandmothers, and as we all know, they make the best chefs.

There are two dining rooms; one when you enter which is a simple room which looks like someone’s large farm kitchen, and at the back, a more decorative space with some serious rustic décor.

The food is simple too; lots of rolls and tapas or a few rice dishes, which change on a daily basis. This is the kind of place where you are likely to find a couple of Guardia Civils snatching a snack, as we did.

Simple, but well cooked; the pescaditos were delicious, although I was disappointed that they were served headless, as if we were tourists! The sepia was among the best I’ve ever had, screaming with flavour.

And the grilled vegetables were outstanding; it’s always refreshing to discover how such simple ingredients can be turned into a feast.

I think I’ve abused the word ‘simple’, but Les Tendes is like stepping back in time to an age when farmers would wander into their local bar to satiate their basic needs with no-nonsense fare before heading back out to the fields to shear a sheep or scythe a few acres of alfalfa.

Before you leave, check out the freco on the ceiling in the back dining room; not the kind of thing you find in your average eatery.

Avinguda del Mar, 59, Almàssera.