Bandera Gastro Bellavista

"16/3/22 We three middle aged British pescatarian guys were in GC in February 2017 and had been to this restaurant then a couple of times, giving it 5/5 on TA for both visits. We decided on this holiday to return and combine it with a shopping trip to Lidl not far away. We arrived in the area around 3 and I looked up the restaurant from my spreadsheets of the time. We were to look for Bandera but could not find it. We did find a quite busy LCdH though in roughly the same place. We thought maybe Bandera had closed down. On TA I found a Bandera four km away so maybe it had moved? There was a chalkboard showing the Menu del Dia and another showing Tapas. As we took a table by the window a smart woman arrived and offered to explain in English the a la carte menu, tapas dishes she had on offer and the MdD offered. She then said that she recognised us from years ago! Wow! I explained about our last visit and she said she had changed the name. We were quite flattered. I did not have any photos on my phone going back that far unfortunately, I would have had one of the proprietress serving. Once again the diners were mostly locals, everyone spoke Spanish. We explained we were pescatarians which reduced the choice obviously but she offered to add tuna to the starter chickpea salad on the MdD just for me! My friend chose a vegetable minestrone starter and a spinach quiche. I decided on home-made 'fish fingers ' as my main course. Our friend just wanted a Wok Langostinos off the a la carte menu. We asked if there was a litre carafe of house wine but there was not so we asked for a bottle of house Rose, although no prices were displayed or wine menu offered. As a local Spanish restaurant maybe the locals trusted the judgement of the owners. It was a gamble ordering this wine but we were quite content and relaxed. The wine came and our friend was offered it first to taste. Yes it was acceptable so he poured us all a moderate half glass full. It was actually very different and nice. I looked it up on my Vivino app and it was a Laus Rosado 2019 from Somontano in mainland Spain. We were toasting to the meal by 3:10. The first courses arrived by 3:15 and were all generous, well presented and tasty. The tuna in my black chickpea salad really helped, thanks. The minestrone was nicely spiced and my friend enjoyed it. The spinach flan was what the proprietress was eating in her break and was succulent and flavoursome. All good so far! The water delivered the main courses at around 3:23 and as we were eating our starters slowly to savour them they bumped into the main courses, no problem. The fish fingers were not your usual Captain Bird 's Eye! Four proper piping hot, crunchy chunky fish 'finger ' fillets in a tasty batter with crispy chips. Our friend 's Prawn Wok dish was piping hot too and very generous and tasty with normal sized well marinated prawns, string noodles and fresh vegetables all stir fried. After finishing the mains and chickpea salad my friend and I, on the menus, were offered a choice of deserts; the most appealing being the home made bread pudding so two were chosen. Our friend asked for a double espresso only. By 3:42 they arrived and the puddings were drizzled with a caramel sauce and were delicious. We spent another twenty minutes savouring the (unknown cost) wine in amongst the Spanish locals who were beginning to disperse. We asked for the bill (in trepidation) which came at a very reasonable €56! OK it was our priciest meal yet but it was proper Spanish food with Hande 's twist. The wine turned out to be a very reasonable €16! The double espresso was €2.20. The proprietress left and we bad her farewell. She returned again having forgotten something and we asked about the history of the restaurant. Apparently she was Hande herself and had set up another Bandera restaurant branch four km away and diners who reviewed were getting them mixed up, especially if they wanted Russian Salad done her way. The other restaurant had a different chef and their own version. As a result her ratings went down (we remember this one as being very high on TA). She decided to change this restaurant to reflect her name as the chef. She thanked us for our loyalty in effect, bad farewell and walked off into the distance. One thing that might be an improvement is having the roller down on the motorway side as it spoils the experience marginally. It might also help reduce any wind for the diners. We left around 4:15 sated and happy to make our way to Lidl to shop for our self catering needs!"