Sticking my neck out

I’m always wary about making recommendations to people because e.g. you never know whether the restaurant that you find delightful might just seem awful to someone else and the great service you received from a particular company might just have been a one off. I remember once telling a couple that they would have a superb holiday at a particular hotel in Loret de Mar. When they came back, they’d hated it; the food we had loved was just awful and the staff we found friendly they thought were too casual.

However, I have felt confident in the past to recommend to people:

• Pepe Lorente in Bigastro for any steel or aluminium work. Rafa is very good at coming up with creative solutions to your needs.
• CAMINOSAT for servicing and repairs to Saunier Duval boilers – this guy really does go the extra mile to be helpful (ask Ron Willsher).
• Andy Cole for any building work – he has done lots of jobs up here at Villas Andrea - all on recommendation by word of mouth.
• Juan Diaz near the park for hairdressing, one of the first people we got to know in Bigastro.
• Eladia Robles Grau for nails etc. Pam not only gets a good service for her nails but a free Spanish lesson thrown in as well.
• Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Clinic, Bigastro for great value massage.
• SMILE near the water park in Torrevieja for gentle dentistry.

and for eating:

• Portico Mar near Guardamar for international cuisine at a good price.
• El Muelle on the front at Torrevieja for first class Italian food and a sea view.
• Patio Andaluz for decent food and good entertainment (my favourite here is fried baby quid followed by rabbit in garlic).
• La Herradura just outside Los Montesinos for Spanish food and flamenco (however, the last person I told about this place thought the portions were small). Note that service is at its best on non flamenco nights when they serve food in the courtyard.
• The restaurant at Rebate for its menu del dia and farm shop. The a la carte menu is not cheap though so make sure you ask for the menu del dia.

Now I feel confident to also recommend:

Rubio Movil on the road into Torrevieja from the CV95 for servicing and repairs to Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda. They not only did a perfect job repairing my Roomster but delivered it back spotless – even the tyres were painted black.

The Wok Buffet in the Consum complex on the way to Quesada. There are loads of Wok Buffets in this area to choose from and they all offer something similar for about the same price. What makes this one stand out is the fact that it is busy which means the food is hot. To me, there is nothing worse than the cold Chinese food you get in some of these places.