If you already live in a vacation destination, you don’t need a lot to get the holiday feeling. With the Mediterranean Sea a half an hour’s drive from our home, it’s easy to find ourselves in a postcard setting. And having dinner with Chéri at beach restaurant Chiringuito in Vias Plage adds to that holiday vibe. La vie est belle when enjoying a plate full of comfort food with a refreshing drink in our hands while facing the blue sea.
Front row
I had made a reservation for the restaurant part, a clean boho chic open space with a view of the Med. Before you can sit back and relax, it’s best to reserve a table via Chiringuito’s website. There are two servings for dinner, meaning you have to finish your meal in two hours if you’re in the first service. Chéri and I didn’t really mind, as we had enough time to enjoy a starter, main and dessert. Chéri and I were seated front row on the terrace so that we could almost touch the sea. You can also rent out comfy sunbeds where you can order food. By the time we arrived, there were still quite a lot of people extending their day at this more chilled-out part of the restaurant.
Picada Chiringuito
Chiringuito doesn’t offer a set menu, like many other beach restaurants around, but there are plenty of choices anyway. As we were looking at the menu, I spotted a delicious-looking platter full of tapas-style finger food passing by. In case you’re wondering, it’s the Picada Chiringuito (35 euros). This had to be our starter, although perhaps it was slightly too big for two persons… We didn’t mind sharing it only between the two of us though, as it was too good!
Sunset
Because I had a foresight of this huge starter when ordering, I continued with what I thought was a light caesar salad. However, it was a richly filled dish, topped off with crispy chicken strips. Chéri had a duck burger with chunky fries, and we both struggled a little to finish our plates. Not because the food wasn’t tasty, it was! But this way we could order a little dessert. Luckily, the last courses weren’t as big as the starter and the main one. The divine deconstructed lemon and raspberry pie for Chéri came in a jar. So did my heavenly iced banoffee cake, which I chose following the waiter’s advice. As we were done in a mere two hours, Chéri and I went for a little romantic walk along the beach while the sunset slowly transformed the sky into beautiful colours. And it just felt like holiday.
