Where to eat the best paella in Tenerife (spoiler: overlooking the sea)
Let’s be honest from the start: a lot of paella gets eaten in Tenerife, but good paella — real Spanish rice, the kind that has you scraping up the socarrat with your spoon and no shame whatsoever — is rarer than you’d think.
And we understand why. Paella is one of those dishes everyone thinks they can make and very few truly master. Overcooked rice, a weak stock, questionable frozen prawns… you’ve been there, no doubt. So have we, which is why at Bésame Mucho we take our rice dishes for what they are: serious business. Serious in the kitchen, at least. At the table, with your feet almost in the sand of Playa de Troya, things are rather more relaxed.
If you’re looking for where to eat paella in Tenerife — whether you’re on holiday in the south or you live here and fancy treating yourself — stick around, because this one’s for you.
What makes a paella "the best"?
Before we talk about us (we’ll get there, don’t worry), let’s talk about rice. Because a great paella isn’t down to luck — it comes down to three things:
The stock. No shortcuts here. A fish and shellfish stock made slowly, with real heads and shells, is what separates a memorable rice dish from a forgettable one. Rice is a sponge: it tastes of what it drinks.
The produce. On an island surrounded by the Atlantic, serving mediocre seafood ought to be a criminal offence. Mediterranean red prawn, carabinero, lobster, cuttlefish… when the produce is this good, the rice only has to keep up.
The cooking point. Never soupy when it should be dry, never dry when it should be creamy. Every rice dish has its point and its timing, and only craft gets you there.
Use that yardstick to judge any arrocería on the island. We apply it every single day.
The moment it all happens: the rice soaking up a fish and shellfish stock made slowly over a low flame.
Our paella, rice and fideuá menu in Costa Adeje
At Bésame Mucho we don’t have “a paella”. We have ten different ways of understanding rice, and each one has its own loyal following. Allow us to introduce them, the way you’d introduce old friends:
The classics that never let you down
The Arroz del Senyoret — the “young gentleman’s rice” — is the favourite of anyone who wants to enjoy without doing the work: prawns and fish already peeled and boned, zero effort and all the flavour. The name comes from exactly that: the young Valencian gentleman who didn’t want to get his hands dirty. We’re not judging. We understand him perfectly.
And our Arroz especial de la casa — the house special squid rice — is our most personal touch: proper squid in a rice dish that’s been winning over regulars for years. If it’s “de la casa”, there’s a reason for it.
House special squid rice and Arroz del Senyoret: the classics that have kept people coming back for years.
The ones that come to impress
The Arroz de carabinero — scarlet prawn rice — is the king of the menu. The carabinero is quite possibly the most intense crustacean in existence, and when its coral melts into the rice, important things happen. If you’re celebrating something — or simply celebrating that it’s Tuesday — this is your rice.
The Arroz caldoso de bogavante — soupy lobster rice — is pure comfort with class: a spoon, a deep, rich broth and generous chunks of lobster. One of those dishes that demands a long sobremesa and another bottle of chilled white.
And the Arroz con gamba roja — Mediterranean red prawn rice — … little needs saying. Red prawn is in a league of its own, and here it lends the rice that sweet, briny flavour you don’t forget.
Lobster, dry or soupy: two different ways of ending up mopping the pan clean. With the second, the spoon is compulsory.
The different ones (and the most photographed)
The Arroz negro — black rice with cuttlefish and crispy fried baby squid — is the cheekiest of the lot: rice dyed with squid ink, meltingly tender cuttlefish and crisp baby squid on top. The contrast of textures is addictive and, let’s be honest, it looks spectacular in photos.
And fideuá? We defend it proudly. Our Fideuá with Mediterranean red prawn and our Fideuá with cuttlefish in its own ink prove that noodles, when treated properly, have nothing to envy rice. If you’ve never tried a fideuá in Tenerife made the way Levantine tradition demands, you’ve now got plans.
For anyone who fancies going off-script, the Mezze maniche pasta with lobster demi-glace is that dish you order “just to try” and end up defending as though you invented it.
And yes, we’ve thought of those who don’t eat shellfish too: our vegetarian rice isn’t a compromise dish, it’s a rice dish with all the credentials (and the only one you can order for a single person).
All our rice dishes are cooked to order for a minimum of two people, priced per person. Because rice, like good news, is meant to be shared. You can see every dish on our full menu.
Black rice (arroz negro) with cuttlefish and baby squid, and red prawn fideuá: the two dishes that most often end up on Instagram before they end up in your mouth.
Paella by the sea:
location matters
(a great deal)
We could get poetic about it, but let’s be practical: the same rice tastes better with the Atlantic in front of you. It’s scientifically proven (well, no, but it should be).
Bésame Mucho sits right on the seafront at Playa de Troya, in Costa Adeje, inside Monkey Beach Club. Which means that between one mouthful and the next you have the sea, the breeze and that southern Tenerife light you simply can’t export. Eating a lobster rice dish while looking out at the ocean is one of those experiences that justifies a holiday… or a Sunday escape, if you’re a local.
That southern light you can’t export. The table, on the other hand, you can book.
House tips for enjoying your rice as it deserves
Come with time to spare.
A good rice dish is cooked to order and takes exactly as long as it takes. Order an aperitif, a glass of wine, and let the kitchen work its magic.
Come with company.
Our rice dishes are made for sharing (minimum two people), which is how they’ve always been eaten.
Book ahead, especially at weekends.
Here’s the thing about the seafront: everybody wants it.
Let us recommend.
If you’re torn between two rice dishes, ask the team. They know what’s coming out best that day.
Here even the tableware has personality. Imagine the rice.
Come and see for yourself:
(this isn't something you tell,
it's something you taste)
We could write a thousand words about the best paellas in Tenerife, but in the end a rice dish isn’t read: it’s eaten. So the invitation is simple.
You’ll find us at Playa de Troya, Costa Adeje. Take a look at our full menu, choose your rice (or let us surprise you) and book your table. The sea, the socarrat and all of us are waiting for you.
Bésame Mucho — paella, Spanish rice dishes, fideuás and kisses to the palate, facing the sea in Costa Adeje.
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