When a Lanzaroteño wants a proper lunch on a Thursday, they don’t book a restaurant with sea views. They drive to the teleclub in their village. They sit down, listen to the waiter reel off the day’s dishes, order a stew, mop up the sauce with bread and pay less than €15. That’s it.
Teleclubs are the part of the island most guidebooks skip, and one of the best reasons to hire a car and leave the resort strip behind.
What a teleclub actually is
The name goes back to the 1960s. The government installed televisions in communal buildings in the smaller villages so that people could watch together — few households owned a set. When television stopped being a luxury, those rooms went quiet.
In Lanzarote, instead of shutting them, the villages repurposed them. Bar in the morning, dining room at midday, meeting place in the evening. A neighbour ran the kitchen, home-style dishes were served at affordable prices, and the room filled with farmers, fishermen and families. Sixty years on, six of those dining rooms are still open — and they serve some of the best traditional food you can eat on the island.
How a teleclub meal works
Three things worth knowing before you walk in:
There’s no printed menu, or if there is one it doesn’t matter. The waiter tells you what’s on that day. Goat stew, sancocho, octopus ropa vieja, garbanzas compuestas, fried cheese, papas arrugadas with mojo, gofio escaldado, the fish that came in this morning. It changes with what’s arrived from the sea and the fields.
Prices aren’t on the table. It’s not a trick — they change with the product. Just ask the waiter when you order; nobody minds. As a rough guide: mains run €8–15, and a full lunch with wine works out at €20–25 per person.
Often cash, sometimes card. More teleclubs take cards these days, but not all. Carry some cash to be safe.
Closed Mondays and/or Tuesdays. This is the mistake almost everyone makes. Many teleclubs take Monday or Tuesday off. Check before you drive 40 minutes into the interior.
The six teleclubs worth the detour
Teleclub de Tao
Area: Centre · Speciality: Canarian sancocho and slow-cooked goat stew
The most famous of the six, and rightly so. The sancocho at Tao regularly turns up on lists of the island’s best traditional dishes, and the goat stew is cooked slowly, as it should be. Family atmosphere, straightforward dining room, waiters who know half the tables by name. Mains between €7 and €10.
Local tip: if you’re going on a Sunday, ring ahead. It fills up.
Teleclub de Mácher
Area: South · Speciality: Traditional Canarian cooking, perfect before or after Timanfaya
Set in Mácher, between Puerto del Carmen and the volcanic south, this is the obvious stop if you’re on the way to or back from Timanfaya, Yaiza or Playa Blanca. Very reasonable set lunch with rotating stews, generous portions, half locals half travellers.
Teleclub de Mozaga
Area: Centre · Speciality: Stews with a modern touch, plus wines from La Geria
Run by Desi, who has kept the stew tradition alive while adding tidier plating and a Canarian wine list worth pausing over. A good spot to try ropa vieja or a Canarian rancho with a glass of volcanic Malvasía from the village next door.
Teleclub de Famara
Area: West · Speciality: Octopus and daily fish with a view of the cliffs
Of all the teleclubs, this one has the best setting. Famara is the village of the long beach and the laid-back surf crowd, tucked under the Risco cliffs. The teleclub fills late — people come off the sand around three. Octopus, limpets, grilled fish, all with the Famara escarpment as your backdrop. If you’re surfing or on the beach on day 6 of the itinerary, this is your stop.
Teleclub El Mojón
Area: North · Speciality: Rural cooking and proper village atmosphere
The least touristy on the list — and, for that reason, the best pick if you want the experience unfiltered. El Mojón is a tiny village on the way to San Bartolomé and Teseguite; the teleclub is the kind of place where the waiter is also the cook, conversation crosses between tables and food comes out when it’s ready. Honest stews, village prices, no concessions to tourism.
Teleclub Mancha Blanca
Area: Centre · Speciality: Octopus ropa vieja and local produce
Mancha Blanca is the village at the gates of Timanfaya, next to the National Park Visitor Centre. It’s the obvious lunch stop if you’ve done the Fire Mountains first thing and leave the park around one. The octopus ropa vieja is the house dish and worth ordering even if it doesn’t sound familiar: shredded octopus, potatoes and a thick sauce you’ll be mopping up with bread with no shame at all.
How to get the most out of them
Turn up on Canarian time. Locals eat between 13:30 and 15:00. Arrive at one on the dot and things may not be ready; arrive at four and it’s over. The golden window is two o’clock.
Ask what’s just come off the stove. The dish the waiter recommends out loud is usually the one turning out best that day. Trust them.
Share. Portions are big. Two people with three dishes, potatoes and a bottle of house wine eat well for under €40 in total.
Don’t skip pudding. The homemade desserts — flan, baked cheesecake, figs with honey — are often better than in any tourist restaurant. Don’t assume otherwise.
How to fit them into your route
Teleclubs aren’t near the resorts, and that’s the whole point. Getting to them means driving inland roads that are part of the appeal. If you’re building a multi-day itinerary, the logic is straightforward:
– Day at Timanfaya → lunch in Mancha Blanca or Mácher.
– Day in the north (Jameos, Mirador del Río) → lunch in El Mojón or Tao.
– Day at Famara/surfing → lunch in Famara.
– Day in La Geria (wineries) → lunch in Mozaga.
You can see these stops slotted into each day in our 7 days in Lanzarote itinerary, or download the full guide with timings, maps and recommended bookings.
And without a hire car, none of this works. No teleclub has a useful public transport connection — book the car before you fly; in summer prices climb week by week.
Frequently asked questions
The full guide for eating well over a week
Our 7-day itinerary works out which teleclub fits which day, alongside the restaurants with the views, the La Geria wineries worth the visit and the coastal spots for fresh fish. Free, straight to your inbox.
Without a car, you won’t get there
Teleclubs are in inland villages with no useful public transport. Book a hire car with our local partner using code VISITLANZAROTE for a 10% discount. Free cancellation.
