Punta Dell'Est

I fancied some fresh pasta last night and had read about a bistro-café, on the ouskirts of El Cotillo, which serves Italian food.

It took me less than eight minutes to walk from my side of the village to the other, where Punta Dell'Est is located.

It overlooks the wasteland or semi-desert to one side; and the main bus station straight ahead.

When I arrived, after 6pm, there were no customers there other than a few locals chatting at a table outside.

I wandered in and the chef-owner and waitress (wife?) were behind the counter.

They greeted me and I inquired if they were open (they seem to close at 7pm during the week and 9pm weekends).

Affirmative; so I installed myself at an outside table, read the small, handwritten menu, asked for the wifi password, and generally made myself at home.

I ordered a restorative and, after some deliberation, decided upon the Caramelle pasta with cheese and pear mascarpone in a gorganzola sauce.

The waitress brought me some crusty bread and grated Parmesan cheese.

I'm confident that my dish was freshly prepared, though I don't know whether the pasta was made in advance or not. It tasted very fresh to me.

Chef introduced himself to me afterwards, given that I had complimented them on the meal, and apprised me that cooking pasta was his hobby.

He was a cheerful, jolly, bearded, large kind of fellow, a fortunate circumstance for his patrons.

Needless to say, the pasta was sumptuous, especially given the price, €10; and the G&T, €4.

I look forward to revisiting Punta Dell'Est.