Local Flavor: where to eat and drink in Palma de Mallorca

07.06.2024 - 08:41 / lonelyplanet.com

I’ve watched Palma’s culinary star shoot high in recent years. Mallorca’s capital is quickly becoming one of the hottest cities in the Med for food. Raiding sea, mountains, meadows, farms and orchards, chefs are elevating stunningly fresh island produce to the extraordinary in dishes full of flair and creativity. 

Over the past 20 years, Palma has become a love affair on the plate. And eating here is incredibly chilled. You don’t have to book months in advance to score top tables, times are relaxed (Mallorcans typically dine late) and you’re often welcome to just rock up. Part of the beauty of Palma is wandering through its honey-stone streets, starting the day with coffee and pastries on a sunlit plaça, easing gently into a starlit evening with tapas and vermouth in a backstreet vermutería or kicking back with an aperitivo in an inner courtyard bar. No hassle. No rush. No pretense.

Theatrically positioned by the sea, Palma has always looked out across the water to the world beyond. And the world now comes to Palma’s kitchens. Astoundingly fresh sushi, ceviche with pisco sours, Brazilian barbecue, classic French – you’ll find the lot alongside Michelin-starred restaurants where chefs like Marc Fosh and Adrián Quetglas pride themselves on simplicity in dishes that big up Balearic flavors as clean and bright as the light that beats down on these streets.

Most Palma locals save their appetite for lunch and I’ll often take their lead, just grabbing a coffee and pastry. But my, my, what pastries! The Mallorcans excel on this front and pinning down the city’s best ensaïmada (a feather-light, beautifully flaky, snail-shaped pastry lightly dusted with icing sugar) can turn into a quest. I suggest keeping it traditional and heading to the likes of family-run, old-school Ca'n Joan de S'Aigo, which has been baking since 1700, or the Forn del Santo Cristo, where sublime ensaïmades come with silky fillings from marzipan to honey, white chocolate and dulce de leche.  

For something more substantial, nose around the produce-laden stalls at the Mercat de Santa Catalina before nipping into Mama Carmen’s for brunch. A bubble of artsy, back-in-time warmth, this cafe does smoothies, specialty coffees (try the pumpkin-spiced latte), granola bowls sprinkled with seasonal fruits, cacao nibs and edible flowers, impressive vegan eggs and artisan-baked bread with toppings like avocado, rocket and feta—all served with love on pretty vintage crockery.

 If I’m more in a NYC mood, I’ll make for Rosevelvet Bakery near La Rambla instead. They do fabulous coffee, moreish pistachio pastries and brunch specials like pulled pork brioche with pickled onion and coriander and wicked huevos rancheros (Mexican-style eggs).

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