Sunset in El Cotillo with wood-fired pizza on the beach
El Cotillo has one of the finest sunsets in the Canaries, and we are named after its beach. Where to watch it, which pizza to order, and how to time it.
In El Cotillo the day does not end — it takes its leave. Around nine in the evening in summer the north wind drops, the noise falls a tone, and the whole village starts looking the same way. To the west there is nothing between you and the Atlantic, and that is exactly what makes this corner of Fuerteventura one of the best places in the islands to watch the sun go down.
We have it easy: we are named after the beach. Piedra Playa is what people here call Playa del Castillo, the open, wave-swept stretch of sand just south of the village. We carry its name because it is our place — the same one you walk to at half past eight with a towel and no particular hurry.
The recipe is simple and needs no booking. Pick your spot: the sand at Piedra Playa if you like the waves breaking close, the low rocks by the Tostón lighthouse if you prefer a clean horizon, or any of the small northern cliffs, where the sea turns orange before the sky does. Then order a pizza.
Our dough is worked slowly and baked to order, so it comes out thin and crisp with a high edge. A Margherita when you want the place to say more than the meal. A Diavola if the evening calls for spicy chorizo. A Frutos del Mar with prawns and tuna, which beside the Atlantic makes all the sense in the world. Or a white one — no tomato — like the Yeray, with prawns and courgette, the one people order once they have been a few times.
How it works: we deliver within roughly 5 km of Avenida Los Lagos, which covers El Cotillo and its surroundings, for 2 € and about 35 minutes from kitchen to door. If you will be on the beach or near the cliffs, give us a clear reference where we can find you — an apartment, a car park, a specific entrance — and time your order for half an hour before sunset. You can also collect it on your way: we are a few minutes' walk away.
One tip from people who watch it every day: arrive early. The good part is not the sun touching the water, it is the twenty minutes afterwards, when the sky turns pink behind you and everyone who was leaving turns back around. By then it helps to have the box open on your knees and a slice in your hand.
You will find us at Avenida Los Lagos 3-5, open evenings every day except Thursday, and at lunchtime on Saturdays and Sundays. Bring a jumper: the moment the sun goes, El Cotillo cools down.