Vaca Azul . Blue Cow Restaurant + Map

Started by PHo, July 22, 2013, 09:10:48 AM

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PHo

It's called Vaca Azul, which means Blue Cow.  It is well recommended by lots of people, and we have had some good meals there, though I think there are lots of other equally good fish restaurants around. It is well located, right on the old harbour at Cotillo, with a terrace with great sea views. Enjoy.


[map]?=28.68410584609494,%20-14.01168338863829=19=Vaca Azul - Blue Cow=hybrid[/map]

jg

We keep going back there and, while there is never anything to complain about, it is never quite as good as we think it will be.
JG

KWC

John I will be going in on Friday 6th September for lunch, and will report back on my opinion of the food and service.


HannahW

Over-rated and over priced!!

MinRich

Nice location and service was good . It costs too much for us and we haven't been back , you can eat twice in another restaurant for the same money ish

suendrob

Each year we eat at the Blue Cow. Not fish though, as it doesn't look  as good as some other places.
There is a little corner table on the lower terrace which we book, as it has the perfect outlook on the famous Cotillo Sunset. Last year however we went in September instead of October and the sun went behind a building to set!!!!!  We get there on Oct 2nd so we should be ok.
Very friendly and efficient service. Very good food. Yes,  It is a bit expensive but still quite reasonable value.

seeitasitis

You are paying extra for the location.

KWC

We had a lovely mixed grilled fish dish in there last Wednesday and it was expensive, but great service and good quality food.
We had a nice table at the end looking right over and into the water which was nice.

suendrob

Well, we went here again while we were out a coule of weeks back. Same romantic sunset watching table, the boss remembered us yet again.
I had shark, Sue had goat. Very good, perfect service, really can't fault the place. You really are paying for quality food as well as the location, but it's well worth it.

lisal

Having recently returned from new year week in El cotillio, I have to say that of all the meals we had , ( we ate out each evening) we were really disappointed with this restaurant. My husband ordered a plate of fish of the day having had really good plates of fish elsewhere. When it arrived I nearly spat my wine out laughing. There was a great fuss behind me as they removed the flesh from the bone with a flourish, only to place a fillet of fish the size of a goldfish! This is no exaggeration! The waiter apologised for the almost empty plate saying that he had returned the other fish as it was undercooked and that it would be returned cooked in a few moments. We thought that the next fish would be bigger , afraid not! I wish I had taken a photo! The price of this plate  2 x goldfish  with 4 Canarian potatoes?  I think it was around the 16 euros mark! Which was disgraceful!  :o Every where else we went the fish has been excellent , plentiful and usually one of the cheapest items on the menu. I will NOT be going to this restaurant again! Apart from that,  my return to  Cotillo was magical , the weather fabulous , and I am now wishing I was back again!  ;D Happy new year fuerte ....missing you!

Champlain Girl

The meal we had was dreadful and very expensive, won't go again!

CG

SoCal

Atmosphere: very pleasant. About as close in El Cotillo to a high quality restaurant one would see in an in international city.  There is an upstairs, which is basically a very large patio and a downstairs which includes an inside area and an outdoor patio.  One can smoke on the patios, which should be noted for the majority of individuals who would spend money at an expensive restaurant like La Vaca Azul.  With the proper table, one can see the sunset; otherwise the view of the old harbor is pleasant.

Food: Mostly very good, but it had it's moments. I visited Vaca Azul twice.  Both times I asked for the fresh fish with the assumption that they should choose the best fish, much like my experience in La Pared. The first time I asked for "natural" (very appropriate for us nudists) and the second time, "Canary style" which means with garlic. Both times the fish was very fresh, pleasant tasting, but as one fellow forum contributor said – of a very small quantity.  The Dorado fish I had at Torino's bar was larger, as meatier and more filling, yet just as fresh.  The spices chosen by Vaca Azul were very good. For the natural presentation, olive oil and coarse cracked pepper where used. Excellent – why can't more restaurants use freshly cracked pepper? The skin was a bit salty for my tastes, but not overwhelming.  For the second fish, Canary style, the garlic addition was appreciated and added but not overwhelm the taste of the fish. Again, both servings would be characterized as small. The additional cuscus blend and the salad garnish were very tasty. (I will try to repeat the cuscus when I return to my own kitchen.)  As for the "starter" of mussels with a pesto sauce, it was astonishingly bland. The salad with basmati dressing was more flavorful. I can say the bread was warm and very good. Nice mojo sauce, second to Azzurro's heavy garlic based mojo sauce.

Service: generally quite fast, though when they were very busy, I went to the bar to pay. I was impressed they were willing to "clean" the fish for me, though the first time the server was so poor, the manager (owner?)  ended up taking over. Given how little fish I ended up with the first time, I cleaned my fish the second time. I asked for a "digestivo" the first night and the server seemed to go out of his way to find something... which was basically "honey rum".  They seemed to be interested in my experience, which was nice. Note they accept credit cards, including "weird-ass" American cards without a problem.

Overall: if you read the comments here, you get a sense of the experience one has at this restaurant. It is wildly popular. The manager told me that normally I would have to reserve a table. Frankly, I don't know why. I have better fish meals and better views at a beach bar. Fish should be their number one option, given how they present themselves.  Sadly, the expression that best describes my experience is, again to quote someone here, "overrated and overpriced."  The food wasn't terrible – it was quite good, but the experience wasn't special.

Some background info: both times I intentionally visited while quite hungry (food always tastes better when one is hungry according to the BBC) . The first time I ate only the fish and left unsatisfied, hence the choice of a starter for the second time.

Smoking: Most people don't smoke and very few international people who spend money on quality meals smoke. So why have a pricy restaurant where one person's habit can affect everyone?  During my first meal, I sat indoors. However, a person outdoors smoked for which the smoke blew in and affected my meal. Fortunately, only  at the very end.  The second time, I asked to be seated where smoke would  not affect me. They placed me upstairs. Eventually, one woman smoked and I asked to be reseated, which I was. Unfortunately, it was downstairs next to the gelato display with its compressor running.  If this where a beach bar, so be it, but this was supposed to be fine dining.  I give them credit for reseating me and they seemed to understand why I moved, but there was a sense, "This is Spain".  I later spoke to the manager, who seemed to seriously wanted to know the opinion of the strange person from Los Angeles. When I said, "People with money", he finished with "don't smoke." So he understands. Oddly, the attitude should be, "we are a private organization, so we should be able to establish our rules." 

Because the manager/(owner?) seemed very interested in my opinion, I will visit again, but not before I visit other locations.  However, if you are looking for the best fish in El Cotillo, this is not a bad place, but you might look around. I would still rather spend my money at Azzurro.
Biking and beaches - total freedom

Ivemovedon

A bit similar to our experiences there. Hit and miss. Keep them coming Socal but you must be running out of places to experience, especially in Cotillo. What is in your lunchtime sandwiches ?. Which side of the bed do you get out of in the morning?. Which is the best cabilleros in the village?. So much to tell.

Who needs Michael Palin?.Brilliant, keep it going.

SoCal

Quote from: stedge on April 16, 2014, 07:46:19 AM
A bit similar to our experiences there. Hit and miss. Keep them coming Socal but you must be running out of places to experience, especially in Cotillo. What is in your lunchtime sandwiches ?. Which side of the bed do you get out of in the morning?. Which is the best cabilleros in the village?. So much to tell.

Who needs Michael Palin?.Brilliant, keep it going.

In El Cotillo alone, Tripadviser lists something like 25 places.  And I do get out. Tonight's dinner will be in Villaverde.  With respect to lunch, I'm saving a battle of the beach bars of El Cotillo until I've had a chance to visit one of the bars one more time.

If some folks find my reviews useful, great. If others find it wasted electrons - oh well. Then don't look. ;)
Biking and beaches - total freedom

KWC

Quote from: SoCal on April 16, 2014, 13:33:52 PM
Quote from: stedge on April 16, 2014, 07:46:19 AM
A bit similar to our experiences there. Hit and miss. Keep them coming Socal but you must be running out of places to experience, especially in Cotillo. What is in your lunchtime sandwiches ?. Which side of the bed do you get out of in the morning?. Which is the best cabilleros in the village?. So much to tell.

Who needs Michael Palin?.Brilliant, keep it going.

In El Cotillo alone, Tripadviser lists something like 25 places.  And I do get out. Tonight's dinner will be in Villaverde.  With respect to lunch, I'm saving a battle of the beach bars of El Cotillo until I've had a chance to visit one of the bars one more time.

If some folks find my reviews useful, great. If others find it wasted electrons - oh well. Then don't look. ;)

Keep em coming SoCal, I find them very refreshing and an honest appraisal of your experiences.

Where are you heading to in Villaverde BTW?

Kenny

SoCal

Find out tomorrow. It comes highly recommended. We will see.
Biking and beaches - total freedom

KWC

Quote from: SoCal on April 16, 2014, 14:06:50 PM
Find out tomorrow. It comes highly recommended. We will see.

If its this one I can certainly recommend it: El Horno.

Great rustic looking interior, great steaks if that's your fancy and excellent service.

PHo

Totally agree KWC. El Horno is the best restaurant on the island, IMHO. And it is now open seven days a week all day. Always full of locals.

westhamrule

We had the mixed Paella at Vaca Azul which was really nice. Service though was haphazard.

suendrob

Saturday night at the Blue Cow again. Seems like all new staff. New menu  and according to the owner, new chef.
It's definitely moved up a gear. This is really good quality cooking..
Octopus Roman Style, quite simple, but perfectly done. Grilled Duck Breast very nice, tasty and well presented.
They are still using the old menu folders and writing style on the pages, so the new style food came as a bit of a surprise. Really, this  is how it should always have been, for the price.
Very busy, as it always is, but good service, we were well looked after.
With those 2 plates, 2 own made puddings and 4 small beers just under 50 euro.
There was nothing actually wrong before, but now it is spot on.

Ivemovedon

Ate there in September and have to agree the food was great. Service was very friendly and efficient so no complaints at all. Although mainly a fish restarant even the goat stew was a winner, rivalling that of Los Pinchitos in Lajares. Can't give it a better recommendation than that.