353841 4 Location 570729 Another evening in Playa de las Americas.  This time a large party, celebrating the festive season, so a big test for a restaurant I think!  Bianco has been much recommended to me over the last year or so.  The decor is true to its name, white, cool, serene, very stylish, splashes of red here and there.  I knew that one side of this restaurant was open terrace, so I dressed accordingly.  However, the blinds were down, shutting out the chill evening air, and I wasn't at all cold. As we gathered in the bar, awaiting the late comers, we gawped at the dexterity of the barmen, doing their Tom Cruise imitations....in fact, females in the party wouldn't have cared less about their antics....they were very easy on the eye anyway!  They also mix a darn good champagne cocktail...no token splash of brandy here! The food was excellent.  It's hard to judge a restaurant on a busy night, just before Christmas, as well as our party they had another large, festive group, so I wouldn't want to put anyone off when I say that my goat's cheese salad was a little disappointing.  When I bear in mind the last time I this was in Provence, too, maybe I was expecting too much.  The salad just wasn't as fresh, nor the cheese so melt-in-the-mouth as I hoped.  I had the feeling it had been sitting out waiting for a while, which it might well have done.  The menu had been sent to us in advance to choose, and I realized that the Vegetarian Lasagne I'd picked out wasn't the right sort of dish for the sort of night, but it was delicious, light, not in the least bit soggy. Having made healthy choices for first and second courses I decided to really go for it with desert and indulged in a brownie with ice cream and all sorts of bits and pieces.  It was gorgeous...not up to American standards, but a very passable treat! The wines were chosen by our hosts, and I didn't see the bill, so I can't really comment on those, but it wasn't until this morning, when I realized how unobtrusive the service had been that I appreciated its quality.  The staff were just great, friendly but discreet, and appropriately tolerant of our fairly noisy repartee!  For sure somewhere I would like to go and seriously test the menu one day! 2006-12-16T04:37:54-08:00 564133942 2006-12-04T16:00:00-08:00 0 16 159783 3106212 353841 0 247240 0.0 2006-12-04T16:00:00-08:00 Published 0.0 2006-12-16T04:37:54-08:00 89422 0