Old house in the village of Teguise. Coffee, tea, tapas and wine. HOURS: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturdays, closed; Sundays, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. LOCATION: Plaza San Francisco, 5, Villa de Teguise. Information and reservations: +34 928 845 101.
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The old building that houses Cafetería Cejas has enough elements to be visited for its architecture. It has two main rooms, apart from the entry-reception room. The interior room, spacious and with very high ceilings (see photograph at lower center), is decorated with bright red tones with wood on the ceiling and the lower part of the walls; the comfortable tables are made of marble and the chairs of wood. The antique furniture that culminates its decor, along with the art work scattered throughout the room -which is a non-smoking area- give the place its stately aspect.
The other room, a traditional Canarian patio, has the same characteristics as the interior room, with the difference that it can be open to the sky (this is the smoking area). This room is also furnished with marble tables and iron chairs, with the addition of wide benches and wooden armchairs. Some volcanic stone caps that support the structure of the building emerge from the red walls. The artwork as a decorative complement is replaced in this interior patio by some historical photographs of Teguise. A photograph that shows a woman holding her baby feeding from a goat’s teat in an old Teguise bedroom is very striking.
The wine and coffee list of Cafetería Cejas is quite limited, with only one Ribera del Duero and one Rioja for red wines and a dry and semi-dry Yaiza, and the coffee selection is almost non-existent, as there is only plain coffee or coffee with milk. On the other hand, the tea selection is a pleasant surprise. White, red, and green tea, combined with some varieties that are usually hard to find in Lanzarote. The China Pai Mutan, which is a white tea with a fruity aroma, or the China Jasmine, which is a green tea with perfumed jasmine flowers are some examples of the wide selection of teas (the varieties of teas are shown to the public in the picture on the right).
The atmosphere in Cafetería Cejas is very quiet. Its best customers are usually tourists who are visiting the old town of Teguise and stop to regain some strength or people who are attracted by this unique building while strolling around La Villa. The service is friendly and quick. Speaking of regaining strength, the cafeteria offers very good tapas: stew, shredded beef in a tomato sauce base called ropa vieja, tortilla, homemade meatballs. It also offers various kinds of sandwiches and croissants, along with a good selection of pastries with homemade cakes baked daily. Cafetería Cejas offers its facilities to celebrate special events or medium-size group reunions (approximately 15-20 people). For this, it is necessary to ask for information and make reservations in advance at the cafeteria or by calling +34 928 845 101.
What to do before and after: A walk through the historic area of La Villa. Lunch or dinner at Íkarus, followed by a cultural visit to Spínola Palace or the Museum of the Emigrant. A few kilometers away, in Nazaret, there is La Cueva, an ideal after-dinner place. Teguise is well placed in the center of the island, so we can go by car to Costa Teguise or Arrecife if we want some nightlife.