Chez Damien - Playa de la Américas

We lived in the hotel Vanilla and lucky enough we took B&B, only breakfast. We went a couple of times to Chez Damien for evening dinner and both the service along with very good food made us very happy and content.

Last time I go by trip advisor, to start with they have the wrong address so had to get 2 taxis , when you are the only people in a restaurant it is a warning sign , good service but food average , NOT FRENCH. Photos and write up is great , I give it 3 out of 10 . I cancelled a table at Nub because someone said it should have a Michelin star. Great place if you are on a bargain all inclusive.

What can I say?? This is our 8th visit to this restaurant, each visit has been amazing, the food the service are all exquisite, its not the cheapest but in my view it is the best. We never come away disappointed

Lovely poolside restaurant….live music most evenings…extremely polite and friendly staff…excellent food and wine…we were actually guests at the hotel but saw many diners, some in large groups, visiting the restaurant and they seemed to be having a great time …

It’s not uncommon for hotels to have a “fine dining” restaurant that’s open to public. To make it a success and to justify the usual highish prices, there’s a need for really good quality food and a nice atmosphere. Chez Damien is the Vanilla Garden’s attempt at the genre but, whilst they generally succeed on the food aspect, the atmosphere is pretty much zero. It’s tucked away at the back of the hotel’s buffet restaurant, separated only by a semi opaque curtain. Definitely nothing “fine dining” about that. As for the menu, it’s a pretty good example of what you might expect from “Modern French” cuisine – a few very traditional items like snails, combined with more Pan-European dishes. There was, of course, an amuse bouche – a mild goats cheese, drizzled with homey and encased in filo pastry. One of us got a double helping, as the other doesn’t like goats cheese. Spotting that, the server brought a replacement – unfortunately, this was foie gras which also isn’t liked so was declined with thanks. There was nothing Pan European about fish soup. This was bang-on French preparation. Deep, rich flavour to the soup and the traditional accompaniments – slices of baguette, rouille and grated cheese – just as it should be. The other starter saw the re-appearance of the goats cheese. This time, a thick slice slightly warmed through, sat on a really well dressed salad that included walnuts and thin slices of smoked duck breast.Nice. A generous portion of venison loin came perfectly cooked at medium rare. It was thickly coated in a pleasant, if overly sweet, red wine sauce. Greatly improved once most of the sauce had been scraped off. There was also a skilfully made potato galette and a dollop of carrot puree. The other main course was sea bass fillets. Like the venison, it was almost drowned in the sauce, this time a creamy one. There’s the potato galette and a puree of Romesco cauliflower. We both went with the same dessert. Three pancakes folded around a cinnamon and apple puree and served with ice cream. They’d spent a bit too long being warmed through in the pan and had gone a bit crispy round the edges which was not an improvement. That aside, this was a nice ending to the meal. Service throughout had been pleasant and attentive which, considering there were only two other tables occupied, is what you might well expect. So, it was something of an odd evening. The lack of a pleasant atmosphere means we probably won’t be back. Which is a shame, as the food was generally good and, in that respect, Chez Damien punches above the weight of many of the places in the tourist area.