The Best Places to Eat Out in Mallorca

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If you’re looking to dive right into some authentic Mallorquín cuisine, it’s hard to beat the atmosphere at the endearingly traditional Celler sa Premsa. Straight away, you’re likely to clock the huge oak barrels, which betray this space’s past life as a wine cellar. A good place to start is with frito mallorquín, a hodgepodge of meat, liver, onions, pepper, potato and garlic that is a lot better than it sounds. There’s also a great regional vegan dish served here called tumbet, which is not unlike ratatouille.

In a style common to the historic centre of Palma, Mallorca’s capital city, El Pilón is a tapas bar with a vaulted ceiling, creating an intimate ambience and making it a great choice for a meal, day or night. The pick of the pintxos (bitesize tapas pinned on a slice of crusty bread) are cod with cream cheese and the vegetarian artichoke hearts with portobello mushrooms. The pulpo mallorquín, a whole grilled octopus atop a bed of roast potatoes, is the house specialty.

Es Cruce’s setting on a roundabout of the main west-east motorway of Mallorca sounds anything but appetising. However, one of the island’s most enduringly popular restaurants is the place for a very unique and rustic Mallorquín dining experience – one which will likely test the resolve of most meat eaters. Take the whole grilled rabbit (conejo a la brasa), for example, or the snails (caracoles), which leave little room for the imagination as to their past form. All of this is sold at prices far below what you’ll pay on the coasts of Mallorca.

When it comes to having a romantic dinner, nothing beats a little candlelight, ancient brick walls and fine food and wine. Quina Creu is an endearing space – large enough to have a good atmosphere, yet small enough to feel cosy. An array of pintxos is displayed along the bar, but there are some excellent mains here too: the curry imperial is a stew of clams, mussels, prawns and fish served over rice. In the right season – late spring to early autumn – the tuna tartare is also a favourite.

With large, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the yacht-filled Puerto de Palma, there’s plenty of correlation between the sea and this restaurant. Expect decorations in the blues and whites of the Mediterranean sea and sky, and naked lightbulbs hanging from lengths of old boat rope. The menu is well balanced between surf and turf, such as the lomo de atún (a grilled tuna steak and tomato confit) and the sirloin steak with sautéed foie.

If you’d like to try a restaurant away from the main tourist spots, head for Quince, a cheerful little place with a lovely balcony overlooking the peaceful marina of Porto Cristo. As with most restaurants near the coast of this Mediterranean island, seafood is the star of the show. At Quince, the chipirones (baby squid) are a solid starter. The mejillones (mussels) are the chef’s special, served with a pancetta, cream, garlic and white wine sauce. The beetroot and goat’s cheese salad is one of the better vegetarian options.

Popularity saw the original Tast restaurant turn into a Palma franchise, but many people will claim that the original, Tast Unión on Carrer de la Unió, is still the best. Rustic wooden furnishings and a high ceiling with exposed ventilation pipes create an aesthetic that feels both trendy and homey. If you’re looking to eat light, try a pintxo or two, such as the camembert frito, a fried mini cheese with a cherry salsa. For a bigger meal, combine a few classic tapas, including chorizo and patatas bravas.

This is an updated rewrite of an article originally by Melissa RJ Mills.

Looking for somewhere to stay? Read our guide to the best hotels for every traveller and the best luxury hotels in Mallorca, then book your stay now via Culture Trip. Plan your itinerary around Palma’s top sights and attractions, then enjoy the outdoors on one of the island’s hiking trails.