Top 10 Gran Canaria restaurants

Every once and while, you need to spoil yourselves on the food front. The beauty of Gran Canaria's restaurants is that their very diversity means you don't necessarily have to dip too deep into your pockets. From cheap eats to fine dining, take your pick. In no particular order, they are as follows:

1.) Restaurante Grill Mirador Cuevas BascamaoRestaurante Grill Mirador Cuevas Bascamao

Well off the tourist map, Restaurante Grill Mirador Cuevas Bascamao takes advantage of its proximity to Santa Maria de Guia's cheese producers. So the famed queso de flor (flower cheese) turns up at this cave restaurant with amazing views of the north of the island. Along with other Canarian classics such as potaje de jaramago (wild rocket stew).

Contact details: Lomo Bascamao 59, KM 10, 35450, Santa Maria de Guia. +34 928 171 112

Distance from airport: 54.2km (33.7 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 30.9km (19.2 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 86.3km (53.6 miles)

Opening hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays 1:00pm-5:00pm and Saturdays 1:00pm-5:00pm and 8:00pm-11:00pm

2.) Thomas Algo? Restaurante GastrobarThomas Algo?

As well as being a cunning linguist, Austrian chef Thomas Leeb's a dab hand in the kitchen. The name of the restaurant's a play on the Spanish expression, "Tomas algo?", meaning "Will you have something (to eat)?" Leeb's exquisite slow-food creations have won him a slew of awards.

Contact details: Calle Profesor Agustin Millares Carlo 9, 35003, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. +34 928 382 818. website.

Distance from airport: 21.7km (13.5 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 3.9km (2.4 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 53.8km (33.4 miles)

Opening hours: Monday to Wednesday 9:00am-5:00pm, Thursdays and Fridays 9:00am-5:00pm and 8:00pm-12:00am, and Saturdays 1:00pm-5:00pm and 8:00pm-12:00am

3.) Restaurante Ca' MiguelRestaurante Ca Miguel

Although it's undergone some sustained gentrification, Arinaga's still very much a place where Canarians visit rather than tourists. And so Restaurante Ca' Miguel continue to serve what their local staff grew up on, the likes of pulpo frito (fried octopus) and the pictured gofio escaldado (scalded cornmeal). Commendably, this beachside eatery has recently become the first restaurant on Gran Canaria to offer gluten-free alternatives for all its menu entries.

Contact details: Calle Alcala Galiano 17, 35118, Arinaga, Aguimes. +34 928 183 130. website.

Distance from airport: 13.2km (8.2 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 37.9km (23.5 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 28.4km (17.6 miles)

Opening hours: Sunday to Wednesday 12:00pm-4:30pm and Thursday to Saturday 12:00pm-4:30pm and 8:00pm-11:30pm

4.) El ApartamentoEl Apartamento

If 2014 was the year Gran Canaria locals discovered brunch, capital eatery El Apartamento was one of the places they flocked to. Although this swish joint offers dishes post-midday as well as pre-. Take a gastronomic world tour by way of Morocco (tajine), New Orleans (jambalaya), and Peru (lomo saltado).

Contact details: Avenida Mesa y López 1, 35006, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. +34 828 014 331. website.

Distance from airport: 26.6km (16.5 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 1.9km (1.2 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 58.7km (36.5 miles)

Opening hours: Mondays and Tuesdays 8:30am-8:00pm, Wednesdays and Thursdays 8:30am-11:30pm, Fridays 8:30am-2:00am, Saturdays 10:00am-2:00am, and Sundays 10:00am-8:00pm

5.) Restaurante MonzónRestaurante Monzon

They're mountain people in Valsequillo, and all that altitude gives them quite the appetite. So join them tucking into hearty fayre at Restaurante Monzón. Housed in a Canarian property more than 300 hundred years old, Eusebito Monzón and Teresa Santana opened this restaurant back in 1949. And the third generation is about to take over the reins, continuing what their grandparents established.

Contact details: Plaza San Miguel 3, 35017, Valsequillo. +34 928 705 043. website.

Distance from airport: 19.9km (12.4 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 29.2km (18.1 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 52km (32.3 miles)

Opening hours: Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 10:00am-4:30pm and Fridays and Saturdays 10:30am-12:00am

6.) Pizzeria CaminitoPizzeria Caminito

Every neighbourhood deserves a restaurant of the calibre and value of Pizzeria Caminito. Follow in the footsteps of the good denizens of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria's Vegueta by stepping into an establishment which prides itself on its pizza Buenos-Aires style. Finish off a bargain meal with polvitos, a famous Uruguayan dessert.

Contact details: Paseo de San Jose 32, 35015, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. +34 928 320 240. website.

Distance from airport: 20.6km (12.8 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 5.8km (3.6 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 52.6km (32.7 miles)

Opening hours: Sundays and Tuesday-Thursday 12:30pm-4:00pm and 7:30pm-11:30pm and Fridays and Saturdays 12:30pm-4:00pm and 8:00pm-12:00am

7.) Restaurante Calma ChichaRestaurante Calma Chicha

My oh my, hasn't Playa del Ingles spruced itself up. No longer the preserve of the 18-30 crowd, there are classy eateries springing up like Restaurante Calma Chicha. Serving contemporary Spanish cuisine with Mediterranen flourishes, one of the restaurant's signature dishes is Capucino de seta, esparragos, y trufa negra (wild mushroom, asparagus, and black truffle soup served like a cappucino).

Contact details: Apartamentos Solymar, Avenida de Tirajana 4, 35100, Playa del Ingles. +34 928 760 714. website.

Distance from airport: 34.2km (21.3 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 58.9km (36.6 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 3.1km (1.9 miles)

Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 6:30pm-10:45pm

8.) NautiloNautilo

You can't get much closer to the Atlantic Ocean than at Nautilo, located next to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria's opera house aka Auditorio Alfredo Kraus. Little wonder the fish and seafood looks and tastes so fresh. The restaurant uses the same basic ingredients as others which are also close to Las Canteras beach; the difference is in the attention to detail Nautilo apply to the art of plating.

Contact details: Calle Covadonga 2, 35010, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. +34 657 729 536. website.

Distance from airport: 25.8km (16 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 2km (1.2 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 57.9km (36 miles)

Opening hours: Wednesdays 8:30pm-12:00am, Thursday-Saturday 12:30pm-4:30pm and 8:30pm-12:00am, and Sundays 12:30pm-4:30pm

9.) El Alpendre del ArteEl Alpendre del Arte

Enjoy dinner and a show at an establishment that's as much performance venue as restaurant. You'll be able to catch the island's best bands live as you tuck into the house specials which include grilled meats. El Alpendre del Arte's home to both an intimate wooden interior and spacious terrace.

Contact details: Calle Doctor Joaquin Artiles 42, 35260, Aguimes. +34 928 983 890

Distance from airport: 10.3km (6.4 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 35km (21.8 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 31.1km (19.3 miles)

Opening hours: Sunday-Thursday 12:00pm-12:00am and Fridays and Saturdays 12:00pm-2:00am

10.) El EquilibristaEl Equilibrista

The Dutch footballing legend turned manager turned pundit Ruud Gullit is famous for his "sexy football" line. If football's the beautiful game, what chef Carmelo Florida's doing at El Equilibrista's is seductive cuisine. Whereby staple ingredients are transformed Cinderella-style into lipsmacking sensations.

Contact details: Calle Ingeniero Salinas 23, 35006, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. +34 928 234 326. website.

Distance from airport: 25.1km (15.6 miles)

Distance from centre of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: 1.9km (1.2 miles)

Distance from Playa del Inglés: 57.2km (35.5 miles)

Opening hours: Wednesday-Saturday 12:45pm-4:45pm and 7:45pm-12:00am and Sundays 12:45pm-4:45pm