Restaurant Review: Las Colinas del Sur in Granada, Nicaragua
There’s nothing like cruising around Central America’s largest lake in a boat to a make you crave an excellent fish dinner. We enjoyed a fantastic tour through Las Isletas, the 365-island, volcanic archipelago learning about the lake’s sharks, (really!! the only lake in the world teeming with bull sharks) monkeys, fabulous summer homes and the occasional pirate-themed bar. You’ll find these types of small boat tours advertised throughout Granada. One surefire option for grabbing a private boat and enjoying a relaxing island tour is to head down to the lakefront by taxi and choose between the available boats.
One of Granada’s go-to seafood restaurants is Las Colinas del Sur. Located in a slightly sketchy, out-of-the-way section of Granada, note: take a cab from the city center, this famous dirt floor restaurant serves fresh-caught lake fish and traditional Nicaraguan cuisine beneath a massive tent-like structure.
La Colinas del Sur is most famous for its fried guapote fish, which is an ugly, carnivorous beast, closely related to the bass family. It is served whole, yet miraculously deboned, accompanied by tomatoes, onions and fresh avocados. Even the most immoveable foodie can’t help but be charmed by this tasty snaggletooth monster on a plate.
(this monster fish-face photo taken on my Blackberry)
Other notable dishes at Las Colinas include tasty fried Tostones. Crunchy plantains are accompanied by salty-fresh farmer’s cheese.
This typical Nicaraguan dish is best enjoyed with the accompanying and insanely spicy salsa fresca, made from tomatoes, onions, cilantro and the hottest little green peppers I’ve ever put in my mouth. They look deceptively like green peas, BUT THEY ARE NOT GREEN PEAS! Of course, food this hot usually elicits a table-wide contest in which I end up with burning gums and require multiple kleenexes. The fresh salsa at Las Colinas was by far the best I sampled in Nicaragua.
This avocado salad was also incredible. We don’t get avocados like this in the States – completely beyond huge, and full of deep, buttery flavor.
Avocado Salad at Las Colinas del Sur in Granada, Nicaragua
The meal at Las Colinas was a terrific way to spend an evening after working up our appetites on a day that could have been ripped from the reels of “The Amazing Race.” See the previous entry for tales of monkeys, volcanoes and bats. Here’s one last bat cave pic for the road. Hint: look closely.
2010 Mileage Total: 30611
