Restaurants in Balearic Islands
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Es Bigotes
Offering bullit de peix (whatever fish was caught that morning simmered with herbs, mixed vegetables and potatoes in a huge vat), followed by arròs caldós (saffron rice cooked in the broth of the bullit de peix), this simple shack is known far and wide. Finish off with café de caleta (coffee prepared with lemon zest, cinnamon and flamed brandy). No phone, no reservations; in July and August, you need to turn up in person at least the day before to book a spot. During other months, arrival by 1pm should get you a table. To arrive by car, take the last turning left before Cala Mastella.
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S’Ametller
The ‘Almond Tree’ offers local cooking based upon fresh market produce. The daily menú (for dessert, choose the house flaó, a mint-flavoured variant on cheesecake and a Balearic Islands speciality) is inventive and superb value. As an indication of its credentials, S’Ametller also offers cookery courses – including one that imparts the secrets of that flaó.
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Es Cranc
If you're happy to pay, head for this congenial spot on a street a couple of blocks inland. It has a simple dining room and a strong reputation. You can splash out on caldereta de llagosta (around €65) or even paella de llagosta (around €130 for two). Fresh delivery of lobster from a half-dozen local fishing vessels is guaranteed.
reviewed
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Restaurant N’Aguedet
Head up the graceful marble stairway to Restaurant N’Aguedet, an elegant den of island cooking that has the stamp of approval of Catalan megachef Ferran Adrià. Here you can dine on typical island meat dishes, such as the melt-in-your-mouth lechón (suckling pig) or conejo con cebolla y alcaparras (rabbit with onion and capers).
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Ca N’Antuna
This is a classic of Mallorcan cooking. It's locally famous for its oven-cooked lamb and other meats, but the calamari stuffed with meat is a great order. The hand juicer on the sill connecting the kitchen with the terrace is a nice touch – order up lots of local orange juice! The village and mountain views from the terrace are worth lingering over.
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Blue Bar
Blue Bar is a long-established Formentera favourite that offers good seafood, rice dishes and spadefuls of buen rollito (good vibes). At the south’s chill-out bar par excellence, everything is blue – seats, sunshades, tables, loos and walls. Why, they even mix a blue Curacao-based cocktail! Take the sandy track at Km8.
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Mesón El Gallo
The beautiful, 200-year-old rambling whitewashed house and pretty garden of Mesón El Gallo merit a visit for their own sake. Enjoy meat dishes, grilled just as you wish them, on the vine-clad terrace or in the rustic interior with its beams and terracotta floor. From Ferreries, head down the Santa Galdana turn-off for 1.5km.
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Es Plá
You can live without lobster but want melt-in-the-mouth seafood? Try this spot, with tables literally at the water's edge. The lenguado (sole) is prepared in a rich seafood sauce and vegetables. The menú del día (around €18) is good value for this town.
reviewed
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Luzius
The second-to-last of a string of beach-bar restaurants as you head west from the town centre, this is a relaxed and shady option for seafood and largely local cooking with an occasional light French touch, tapas and a range of refreshing fruit juices. There's a kids' menu too.
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El Ayoun
When clubbers are ready to take a breather, some like to chill and feed at El Ayoun, a relaxed Moroccan restaurant (with sushi bar). The Middle Eastern food is just the beginning (kitchen closes around midnight). The huge garden terrace is another attraction.
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La Torreta
Opt for al fresco dining on local fish and other Mediterranean dishes or head inside - groups should try for the big table set on a separate lower level and surrounded by the inside of the massive city walls. The seafood canelones de marisco are melt-in-the-mouth.
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La Paloma
La Paloma, located in Sant Llorenç 100m downhill from the church, is an ecofriendly option. It offers creative Mediterranean, especially Italian, cuisine (hams and salamis come fresh from Tuscany) and sources vegetables from its own kitchen garden.
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Es Molí de Sal
In a tastefully renovated mill, Es Molí de Sal boasts a lovely terrace and magnificent sea views. It serves some of Formentera’s finest seafood. Try one of the rice dishes or the house speciality, caldereta de llagosta (lobster stew).
reviewed
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Osteria Es Figueral
Pull up a little blue wood-and-wicker chair on the shady roadside terrace, listen to Paolo Conte sing and tuck into excellent pizzas or such Italian faves as saltimbocca a la romana (slices of pork oven-cooked with prosciutto and parmesan cheese).
reviewed
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Kumharas
You can eat, drink and soak up the final rays of the day at Kumharas. Sunday night is best, with live performances (especially fire dancers). Look for the Rodeo Vaca Loca sign on the main road and turn down Carrer de Lugo towards the sea.
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Pegasón Y el Pajarito Enmascarado
Just off the main road, this cosy cavernous spot offers a mix of pasta and other popular favourites and a selection of local specialties, such as tumbet (Mallorcan ratatouille) with roast pork.
reviewed
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Villa Mercedes
This traditional Ibizan bourgeois mansion stands out among the sometimes horrendous muddle of Sant Antoni. It looks over the marina and offers eclectic cooking, from wok-fried vegetables through rice and noodle dishes to the local catch of the day.
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Pequeña Isla
Pequeña Isla, the ‘Little Island’, has a shady roadside terrace and serves up hearty meat items, fresh grilled fish, paella and other rice dishes, as well as various island specialities, including simmered lamb and fried octopus.
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Bar Anita
A timeless tavern opposite the village church of Sant Carles de Peralta, this restaurant and bar has been attracting all sorts from around the island for decades. They come to enjoy pizza, pasta and a hearty meal – or simply to drink and chat.
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Can Forn
Family-run Can Forn specialises in island cuisine, offering dishes such as calamar a la bruta (‘dirty calamari’, with potato, Mallorcan sausage and squid ink). It’s at the northern limit of the main street.
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Bar Es Moll
Bar Es Moll, a basic place with plastic tables and chairs, serves tapas and portions of fresh sardines, mussels and prawns. Its charm is its position, above the jetty where local fishing boats dock.
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El Caminito
El Caminito brings a touch of the Pampa to the Med. This Argentine grill, one of the best restaurants on the island, serves juicy slabs of meat. It’s 1km outside Es Pujols on the road to La Savina.
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Comidas Bar San Juan
A family-run operation with two small dining rooms, this simple eatery offers outstanding value, with fish dishes for around €10 and many small mains for €6 or less. It doesn’t take reservations, so arrive early.
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Restaurante Es Cupiná
At the eastern extremity of the beach, Restaurante Es Cupiná is a big name on the island. In business for nearly 40 years, this breezy restaurant is noted for its freshly cooked fish of the day.
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Balafía
For a slap-up grill over a wood fire, stop by Balafía, set back from the C733 just beyond the junction with the road from Sant Llorenç and recognisable by its bright red and yellow sunset sign.
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