Hola Patatas in Ciudad Quesada: 4 years in Spain… but on Fridays, the Belgian in me still wants her fries!

I’ve been living on the Costa Blanca for four years now.

Four years of sunshine, terraces, tapas, croquetas, paellas, little Spanish restaurants sometimes discovered completely by chance… and honestly, I love it.

I love life here. I love the way you sit down on a terrace just for a drink and somehow end up, two hours later, with three plates in the middle of the table. I love discovering Spanish food, trying new places, tasting things I didn’t even know existed before I moved here.

But there’s one thing that four years of Spanish sunshine have completely failed to remove from my Belgian DNA.

On Fridays…

I want fries. 😂🍟

And if you’re Belgian, I normally don’t even need to explain why.

On Fridays, back home, it’s chip-shop night 🇧🇪

I come from Flanders and grew up with that Friday habit: the friteskot, our local chip shop.

But fries obviously don’t belong to the Flemish. The friterie is Belgian.

Whether you say frituur, fritkot, friteskot or simply la friterie, depending on where you’re from, in the end we’re all talking about the same thing.

And in countless Belgian families, Friday night is almost a ritual.

The week is over, nobody particularly feels like cooking and, at some point, someone says:

“Shall we go and get fries?”

And usually, that ends the discussion. 😂

Well… almost.

Because then the second part of the problem begins.

What are we having?
Which sauce?
Who wants what?
Who’s changed their mind?
And who’s going to add something else just as it’s our turn to order?

Then we drive home with the paper parcels making the whole car smell of fries and, of course, someone starts sneaking fries before we’ve even got home.

There you go.

That’s us. ❤️

And it’s funny, because when you move abroad, you mostly think about all the new habits you’re going to pick up.

You change country, pace, food, way of life…

But you don’t necessarily think about all the little things you bring with you without even noticing.

Well, apparently, I brought Friday fries.

They moved to the Costa Blanca with me. 😂

But when I say “I want fries”…

I don’t just mean a handful of fries next to a hamburger.

You can find fries everywhere in Spain, obviously.

But when a Belgian says:

“I fancy going to the friterie,”

that’s something else.

I want proper fries.

Snacks.

Sauces.

Choice.

The parcel you take away.

That smell when you open the bag.

In short, I want THE friterie.

And then I found out that in Ciudad Quesada, Rosa and Carmelo had decided to open exactly that.

A real Belgian friterie.

Under the Costa Blanca sun.

Welcome to Hola Patatas. 🇧🇪☀️🇪🇸

Behind Hola Patatas: Rosa and Carmelo

Behind Hola Patatas are Rosa and Carmelo.

They both know the trade inside out: they worked together for years in chip shops in Belgium.

Belgian fries, catering, service, the mad rushes behind the counter… they know it all.

This is clearly not a concept they discovered when they arrived in Spain.

When they moved to the Costa Blanca, they decided to bring part of that know-how with them and open their own place in Ciudad Quesada.

Hola Patatas opened its doors on 27 June 2026 with a fairly simple idea: to recreate the spirit of a real Belgian friterie here, but under the Spanish sun.

And they took the concept quite far, since their professional Florigo frying setup made the trip all the way from Belgium to Quesada.

About 1,800 kilometres.

Even the fryer became an expat. 😂

And in the end, their slogan sums it all up rather well:

Belgian Fries & Spanish Vibes

Belgian fries, their years of experience in Belgium… and now life under the Costa Blanca sun.

Right… so what about the fries?

Because I can tell you their story, but at some point we have to answer THE question.

Are they good?

YES.

And I’m not just saying that because it’s a Belgian friterie and I’m Belgian.

I’ve tasted them.

They’re excellent.

Nicely golden, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and generous, just the way we like them.

And when you’ve been living abroad for a few years, it’s amazing how certain tastes can stir something in you.

You take a bite and your brain immediately goes:

Ahhhh… there it is. That’s what I wanted.

There you go.

My little Belgian side was happy. 😂

And above all, it’s not just a chip shop

I think this is really important to point out.

Because before I went, when people said “Belgian friterie”, I obviously pictured fries, snacks, sauces, a few burgers…

And that’s it.

But no.

The menu is much bigger than that.

And that’s exactly one of the things I loved about Hola Patatas: you get the spirit of the friterie, but also that of a little Belgian brasserie.

So of course, when you’ve been living in Spain for four years and you see names on a menu that you’ve known all your life…

it does something to you. 😂

Carbonnade, vol-au-vent, meatballs in tomato sauce…

Yes, you can find that kind of home-style Belgian food here.

Vol-au-vent, the creamy chicken puff pastry.

Carbonnade, the Belgian beef-and-beer stew.

Boulettes, meatballs in tomato sauce.

And other Belgian specialities, depending on the menu and the specials.

And personally, I love the idea.

Because people sometimes forget that Belgian food isn’t just:

FRIES – BEER – WAFFLES. 😂

Well…

Let’s not lie either.

Those three do take up quite a lot of space.

But fortunately, we eat other things too.

And the funny thing is, these are dishes you don’t even really notice when you still live in Belgium.

A vol-au-vent?

Normal.

Carbonnade?

Normal.

Meatballs in tomato sauce?

Normal.

Then you move 1,800 kilometres away and, four years later, you see them on a menu in Ciudad Quesada…

And suddenly:

Ohhhh, they’ve got carbonnade! 😂

Sometimes you just have to leave to rediscover things you used to find completely ordinary.

And that’s also what I love about Hola Patatas.

I can pop in for my Friday fries, but I can also sit down and enjoy proper dishes from home.

And if you don’t fancy traditional Belgian food?

No problem.

Because the menu is really varied.

There are fries, chip-shop snacks, burgers and various options to build your meal.

There’s real choice.

Lots of choice.

And everything we tried was excellent.

That’s what I liked.

You don’t just go because it’s fun to find a Belgian friterie in Quesada.

You can go back simply because you ate well.

And with a family, having choice helps.

Because we all know the conversation:

“What do you want?”
“Dunno.”
“A burger?”
“No.”
“Fries?”
“Yes… but…”
“But WHAT???”

😂

There you go.

Parents will understand.

And the sauces, obviously…

We can’t talk about a Belgian friterie without talking about the sauces.

That would be almost criminal.

You’ll find the sauces we love with our fries and snacks, with all the great chip-shop classics.

And that’s where everyone has their habits.

Mayonnaise, andalouse, samurai…

I’m not going to ask you which one is best.

I’d like Casa Costa to stay a calm and peaceful place.

I really don’t want to start a war between Belgians in the comments over a sauce. 😂

And in the morning? A change of scene

Another thing I like about their concept: Hola Patatas doesn’t start its day at fry o’clock.

From Tuesday to Saturday, they open in the morning.

And then it’s more breakfast and brunch mode.

Depending on the current menu, you’ll find pastries, tostadas, eggs, omelettes, pancakes, bowls, waffles, coffees and various drinks.

So yes…

Technically, you could have breakfast at Hola Patatas in the morning and come back for fries later.

I’m not saying you should.

I’m just letting you know all the options. 😂

And of course… the waffles

Belgium.

Fries.

At some point, the waffles had to show up in the story.

So there are sweet treats and waffles too.

And that’s usually the moment when the sentence:

“I’m just going to have fries”

starts going completely off the rails.

“Right… we’ll just look at the desserts.”

Yes.

JUST look.

Of course. 😂

A little piece of Belgium, but very much in Spain

There’s a Belgian nod on the drinks side too, notably with Belgian beers, alongside coffees, soft drinks and other options.

And in the end, it’s this mix that I love.

Hola Patatas doesn’t try to artificially recreate Belgium in Ciudad Quesada.

We’re very much in Spain.

The weather’s lovely.

There are terraces.

There are palm trees.

It’s just that, in the middle of all that, you can eat a proper Belgian fry and find a few dishes from home.

And that suits me just fine.

Flemish, Walloon, Brussels… over a pack of fries, we all understand each other

I’m telling this story from my own experience, of course.

I come from Flanders and grew up with the Friday friteskot.

But fries are Belgian.

Full stop.

Whether you’re from Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels…

Whether you say frituur, fritkot, friteskot or friterie…

put a pack of good fries in the middle of the table and, strangely enough, everyone understands each other. 😂🇧🇪🍟

And I find it even nicer to find that here, on the Costa Blanca.

Especially since Ciudad Quesada is exactly the kind of place where all nationalities mix.

Spanish, Belgian, Dutch, British, French…

You can hear several languages just walking from one terrace to the next.

And Hola Patatas also lets people who aren’t Belgian discover a little piece of our food and our culture.

My verdict?

I love it.

And not just because it reminds me of Belgium.

I didn’t move to Spain to try to recreate Belgium under the palm trees.

Quite the opposite.

I love discovering little Spanish restaurants.

The markets.

Tapas.

Chiringuitos.

Those little places where you walk in not really knowing what you’re going to order and end up eating really well.

That’s also why I love living here.

But that doesn’t stop a little taste of home now and then…

from feeling good.

And above all, at Hola Patatas, the food is good.

The fries are excellent.

Everything we tried was excellent.

The menu is really varied.

You can eat in or take away.

You can go for your Friday fries, for a snack, for a Belgian dish, for breakfast or just for a drink.

So no, I wouldn’t only recommend this place to homesick Belgians.

If you don’t know Belgian food, that’s exactly why you should go and discover it.

And if you’re Belgian…

Well.

I think you’ve already worked out why you’re going. 😂

The little thing that always makes me smile

There’s one thing that always makes me laugh.

Driving home with my fries in the car.

For a few minutes, I get exactly that Friday-night feeling from Belgium.

The parcel.

The smell.

The little fry you sneak before you get home…

And then I look outside.

There are palm trees.

Well.

In the end, I think I’ve found a compromise that suits me rather nicely. 😂🌴

Hola Patatas: practical information

Opening hours, the menu and specials can of course change. So do check Hola Patatas’ latest information before you go.

Hola Patatas · Calle Mallorca, Ciudad Quesada View the map

Final word ❤️

And in the end, this is exactly the kind of place I want to share with you on Casa Costa.

Not just the dreamy beaches.

Not just the pretty villages.

Not just the big tourist attractions.

But also the little places, the people who live here, who start businesses, who arrive with their own story and create something on the Costa Blanca.

Rosa and Carmelo worked together for years in chip shops in Belgium.

Today, they’ve taken that experience and know-how and created Hola Patatas in Ciudad Quesada.

A little piece of Belgium under the Spanish sun.

And naturally, their story speaks to me.

Because when you move abroad, you don’t start completely from scratch.

You build a new life, but you always bring a few pieces of the old one with you.

Me, apparently, among the things I brought…

was Friday chip-shop night. 😂

Four years after arriving on the Costa Blanca, my Belgian body clock still works perfectly.

Friday.

End of the day.

And that little voice coming back:

“Right…

shall we go and get fries?”

Now I know where to go.

Hola Patatas in Ciudad Quesada. 🇧🇪🍟🇪🇸

Tested.
Approved.

And above all…

see you Friday. ❤️