Over 4,000 tapas. Fourteen local restaurants. Four villages across the northeast corner of La Laguna. That’s the headline from this year’s Ruta de la Tapa de la Comarca Nordeste, and it’s a pretty decent result by any measure.
The route took in Tejina, Valle de Guerra, Punta del Hidalgo, and Bajamar — villages that don’t always get the attention they deserve when people talk about eating out in Tenerife. Most visitors gravitate south. Even a lot of residents don’t make it up to this part of the island as often as they probably should.
That’s exactly the kind of thing these routes are designed to fix.
What the route actually involved
Fourteen establishments signed up, each putting together a tapa as part of the initiative. The event was organised by La Laguna council’s commerce department in partnership with FAUCA, La Laguna Zona Comercial, and Volcanic Xperience — not a bad coalition when you’re trying to get people moving around a municipality.
The councillor for Tourism and Commerce, Estefanía Díaz, described the response as strong from both businesses and the public. Iván Pérez from La Laguna Zona Comercial called the balance “very positive,” pointing to consistent participation throughout and a good atmosphere in the participating venues.
Fair enough. Over 4,000 tapas sold across a handful of villages doesn’t happen by accident.
Why this kind of thing is important to Tenerife
There’s a version of Tenerife that visitors see — the south coast resorts, the tourist strips, the places that have been polished for export. And then there’s the rest of it.
The northeast of La Laguna is very much the rest of it, and that’s meant as a compliment. These are working villages with real bars and restaurants where people eat because they live nearby, not because they’ve been pointed there by a hotel concierge.
Getting people to cross from one village to the next, to try a tapa here and a glass of wine there, is a simple idea that does a lot of work. It brings foot traffic to places that need it. It introduces people to spots they might otherwise drive through without stopping. And it gives local restaurants a reason to put something a bit special together.
Juan Antonio Alonso from GMR Canarias highlighted the use of locally sourced produce as part of the mix — something that gets talked about a lot in the Canaries but doesn’t always translate into practice. When it does, it’s worth a mention.
Abbas Moujir from FAUCA made the broader point well: these initiatives don’t just generate an afternoon out. They generate actual business activity for local traders. That matters more than it might sound, especially in areas that sit outside the main tourist circuits.
Will it happen again?
The council has confirmed it intends to keep backing this kind of initiative, which suggests another edition is on the way. If you’ve not explored the northeast of La Laguna properly, this is as good a reason as any to change that. This year’s numbers suggest plenty of people already agree.