When the weather is not ideal for swimming in the sea, there are still many activities to do on the beach, such as eating delicious food at Donde Patricio, a restaurant by the beach here in Lecheria, Anzoategui state.

It's a fifteen minute drive from home, but the setting changes. You make the transition from cityscape to seascape in a jiffy.

I had been here a couple of times a couple of years ago, for beers and snacks, but I hadn't been here for lunch in the daylight. And there was light! You see, the sky was almost misty, but the glow was strong, the kind that makes you get an unwanted tan.

Upon entering, I was surprised to see that the place was full. We had stopped at other places and they looked quite empty. Apparently, eating by the sea has its charm even for those of us who live literally by the sea. We took one the tables closest to the seashore.

There are regular customers here, from years...

...who are always welcome.

You might be wondering.... Well no, I'm not disgusted by very dirty stray kittens. I do by dirty people, though. Of course I take hygiene precautions in both cases, especially the latter, haha.

Our orders

Even though the place was full, the food came right away. I guess it's one of the advantages of ordering soup and fried food at a restaurant.

Fosforera

My sister ordered a fosforera.

I's a fish and seafood soup, made with a thick stock; its consistency is like a stew with a lot of broth, or a potage. Its red color like the head of a matchstick, I think, has earned it its name in Spanish. It's one of our traditional soups here in the east coast of Venezuela and is believed to have great aphrodisiac power--I guess, we could make a survey and see about that, haha.

She said it was good, though not as good as the last one she'd had a month ago.

Fried Sierra Steaks and Tostones

My father and my brother in law ordered similar dishes. One sierra steak was served with chimichurri on top, while the other one had lemon and and a butter and garlic light sauce.

Apparently, the fish wasn't juicy enough. But as the taste was good, they were pleased enough.

Crispy Fried Calamari and Fries

When the restaurant is full, I try to be smart and avoid classical mistakes. I play safe. I usually order fried food. If the oil is good and fresh, fried food is usually proof for hurried cooks and picky eaters.

Then I ordered crispy fried calamari and fries and so avoided being a victim of a soup that has been better at other times or a fish steak that has been juicier at other times. But I do think they could use better oil. All in all, I enjoyed my food; in the end, everyone ate from my plate. It was the best dish on our table and it was huge!

Oh, almost forget the drinks!

Lemon-Spearmint Frappé

All of us ordered the same drink. We love it. One important detail if you want to try this around here, you must tell the waiter you want it only a little sweet; otherwise, they will be generous with the sugar.

Will I recommend this restaurant?

Well, if you don't have a problem eating food fried with low quality oil, this restaurant is a good option if you're too many costumers but only one to pay the check, hehe.

The place is for simple tastes and to please the good will of coming to the beach and have a nice view of the sea and its birds while you enjoy a cold drink and tasty food.

Here's the menu,

just in case you want to take a look. The prices are there in USD, and a little blurry so you're not too aware of them, hehe.

The service is excellent,

so remember to tip your waiter, as their payment for the service isn't included in the bill. Here in my country, the custom is for it to be at least ten percent of the total bill--when it hasn't already been included.

Well, this was as much as I wanted to tell you about my visit to Donde Patricio.

Just a little detail I missed: Patricio is Patrick, and they actually have an Irish leprechaun next to the name on the sign above the door and inside the restaurant. I think Patricio may be the owner of the place and could be of Irish descent. Either that, or someone has a slightly green sense of humor.

Bye-bye!

All text and images are my own. I have taken the pictures with my Redmi 9T cell phone. And if any GIFs here, I've used GIPHY for all them.

Thank you so much for your visit :)

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