Restaurants in Spain
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A
Mercat de l'Olivar
This central market is especially good for fish and meat. At lunchtime Monday to Saturday, head here for several lively tapas bars serving fresh food to market workers and shoppers.
reviewed
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Latitud N
The rambling old building in which the poet Miquel Costa i Llobera was born, and which later housed the town's first cinema, is now the setting for atmospheric dinners amid a panoply of antiques. The menu consists of a very small selection of dishes, but each – such as the Chateaubriand – is perfectly prepared.
reviewed
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C
La Bóveda
You have to love this place, one of the few to transmit an essential Spanish boisterousness in this heavily touristed district. You'll find Andalucian wall tiles, high ceilings from which hang slow-turning fans, Spanish jamón, and people crammed in to munch on generous tapas and larger raciones.
reviewed
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D
La Bodeguilla
This gourmet restaurant does creative interpretations of dishes from across Spain; try the cochinillo (suckling pig) from Segovia or the lechazo (young lamb, baked Córdoba-style in rosemary). Also on offer is an enticing range of tapas – the marinated cubes of salmon with dill chutney caught our eye.
reviewed
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E
Hórreo Veinti3
One of numerous good options along this pedestrian street, this trendy place is especially good if you're hungry in the early evening or late afternoon. Dishes range from risotto and grilled fish to duck breast with apple and shallots.
reviewed
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Forn des Teatre
This pastry shop does featherweight ensaïmades (a light, spiral pastry emblematic of the island) and is a historic landmark. Larger ones are prepared to order, but smaller, takeaway ones start from €1.30. Also on offer is a mean almond cake.
reviewed
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Fàbrica 23
For good market-based Med cooking, this gourmand fave (long since moved from Carrer de Sa Fàbrica) is hard to beat. The menu changes regularly and generally there is only a handful of dishes each day, covering meat, fish and vegetarian tastes. There's a menú del día for €21 and it is usually a good idea to book ahead.
reviewed
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H
Es Mollet
With its covered veranda just over the road from a little bay (Cala Portitxolet), this is a classic seafood joint, where your main course, the freshest catch of the day, is sold by weight (€45 to €60 per kg). There's a price to pay, but the produce here is selected direct from local fishers and grilled to utter perfection.
reviewed
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I
Diecisiete Grados
A pleasingly modern restaurant with a few pavement tables and lots of original tapas and small dishes, but it also does a mean chuletón (huge steak). Our favourite dish is risotto with sobrassada, wild mushrooms and butifarrón. The list has some good wines, unfortunately at exorbitant prices.
reviewed
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Casa Jacinto
A classic since the 1980s, this huge and no-nonsense eatery far from the centre of town attracts Mallorquins from far and wide for copious servings of mainland Spanish and local food, especially grilled meats, including game cuts such as venison and wild boar.
reviewed
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Casa Fernando
No sea views here, but countless photos of local and more distant celebs grin at you from the walls of this ordinary-looking restaurant. Basic linen graces the timber tables in this fishy, ill-lit den, providing a style counterpoint to Ca'n Jordi but virtually the same recipe – well-prepared catch of the day, sold by weight.
reviewed
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J
Ca'n Eduardo
What better place to sample fish than here, right above the fish market? With its bright, contemporary decor and picture windows overlooking the fishing port, Ca'n Eduardo has been in business since the 1940s and has a loyal clientele. Black-vested waiters serve up grilled fish and seafood and some fantastic rice dishes (minimum of two) – the arroz bogavante (lobster rice) is a favourite.
reviewed
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Caballito de Mar
One of Palma's seafood beacons, the 'Little Seahorse' presents its fruits of the sea in a contemporary key. There are monkfish medallions, sobrassada (spicy Mallorcan sausage) and butifarrón (blood sausage) wrapped in cabbage leaves in a nut sauce, for example. Or you could go for something more traditional, such as the fresh fish of the day, rice dishes or red shrimp from Sóller. Grab a seat on the sunny terrace.
reviewed
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Bruselas
Once a Belgian-owned piano bar (hence the name), this is all about red meat for aesthetes, with pleasantly contemporary decor in the stone-vaulted basement and Argentine steaks – such as solomillo con foie (sirloin with foie gras) – dominating the menu. There are also gourmet hamburgers and it all goes down particularly well with a throaty Mallorcan red, such as Son Bordils Negre.
reviewed
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Bon Lloc
This 100% vegetarian place is light, open and airy with a casual but classy atmosphere. All produce is organic and you're in assured hands here – this was Palma's first vegetarian restaurant and there are no agonising decisions, just a satisfying, take-it-or-leave-it four-course menú. It’s hugely popular, so do ring to reserve.
reviewed
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Béns d’Avall
Benet Vicens is one of the island's foremost chefs and his home kitchen is one of the epicentres of nueva cocina balear – nouvelle cuisine Balearic-style. Avoid complex decisions and opt for the tasting menu. The wine list is superlative, the service attentive if slightly fawning and the sunset to die for.
To get here from Sóller, head 5km along the road to Deià. At about Km57, a sign points you 2km down a winding road to the restaurant, with its hopelessly romantic terrace overlooking the sea and surrounded by greenery.
reviewed
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N
Bar España
Happening upon this place in the evening when everything else in the vicinity is closed is like discovering some hidden secret. Hugely popular and deservedly so, this place has stone walls and an agreeable hum of conversation accompanies the fine pintxos (Basque tapas), which are lined up along the bar or chalked up on a board.
reviewed
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O
Bergara Bar
The neighbourhood of Gros is a growing powerhouse in the battle of the pintxos and many locals now prefer to take their nibbles here and leave the old town to the tourists. The Bergara Bar, which sits on the edge of a busy square, is one of the most highly regarded pintxo bars in Gros and has a mouth-watering array of delights piled onto the bar counter as well as others chalked up onto the board. There are several other really good bars in the vicinity.
reviewed
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P
Café Azul Bar
This eccentric place with eye-catching decor has been energised by its Italian owners who prepare the best breakfasts in town. Don’t miss the large muesli, fruit salad and yoghurt. There’s good coffee, milkshakes, juices, bocadillos (filled rolls), crêpes and healthy cakes. In summer, it sometimes opens into the early evening and serves light meals with a Thai or Italian twist.
reviewed
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Q
Mercado del Arenal
reviewed
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Mercado de la Encarnación
The Mercado de la Encarnación is one of central Seville’s two food markets. The Encarnación, which mainly sells fruit, vegies and fish, has recently been relocated into new digs under the giant mushroom pillars of the Metropol Parasol.
reviewed
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Restaurante Torre de Sande
Dine in the pretty courtyard on dishes like salmorejo de cerezas del Jerte con queso de cabra (cherry-based cold soup with goat's cheese) at this elegant gourmet restaurant in the heart of the Ciudad Monumental. More modestly, stop for a drink and a tapa at the interconnecting tapería (tapas bar), which has appealing streetside tables.
reviewed
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El Barrigón de Xelini
You never quite know what to expect here, but tapas, more than 50 kinds drawn from all over Spain, are at the core. It has a penchant for mains of lamb too. On summer weekends, there's live jazz.
reviewed
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T
Ca's Carreter
In an atmospheric former cart workshop, Ca’s Carreter is a welcoming spot that serves unpretentious Mallorcan cooking, including fresh local fish and other mainly regional ingredients. The lamb casserole with honey, salmon with Sóller oranges, and zucchini stuffed with fish and spinach particularly caught our eye. It's a short pleasant walk northwest of the centre.
reviewed
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Ses Forquilles
At ‘The Forks’ (look for the four forks announcing its presence on the door) is run by a friendly young team. With its warm ox blood-coloured walls, it offers an ever-changing, seasonally dependent range of fishy and meat mains, plus creative tapas and montaditos (mini open sandwiches).
reviewed