Of all the translations that I have seen on Lanzarote that have gone wrong, this one has to be the worst. I think the original says “a typical dish from southern India with a helping of lamb in onion and black pepper sauce”.

What it actually says, in German, is not really translatable back into English, but it comes out something like this: “a typical plate from the southern bit of the Indian (person) with assistance from the lamb in a sauce from onions and black pepper”.

This looks like a typical computer translation – word for word ignoring the context of the text. So why do restaurants get away with this so much on Lanzarote? Do the tourist not care as long as it’s comprehensible? Do the restaurants not want to spend money on proper translations? If you have any ideas on this subject, please leave a comment!

Lani’s is a chain of restaurants on Lanzarote. Each restaurant has a culinary theme on which the menu is based.

If you follow the Avenida de la Playas long enough, you eventually come to Lani’s Indian Tandoori, serving a variety of Indian dishes, but also a selection of standard cuisine for people prefer something else. This can be useful if you are in a group and not everyone is into Indian food – other Indian restaurants tend only to have Indian dishes and are therefore not so suitable.

Although the food is good, I find this restaurant a bit pricey – starting from the bread rolls and butter, and continuing with the size of the portions and the fact that for most things you have to pay extra for rice. So to make it worthwhile, you really do want to have good Indian food in a restaurant that is not doing exclusively that.

Unfortunately, the German translation of the menu takes some deciphering as it is often a literal translation from English, leaving the German tourist completely baffled as to what is on offer.

For visitors to the old town of Puerto del Carmen it is also a long way to walk (about 45 minutes, if you don’t stop to look at the souvenir shops on the way!).

To reserve a table, call 928 841 051.