Mallorca Food Guide

A Palma institution open since 1958 — a cavernous old tavern with walls lined by enormous antique wine barrels and faded bullfight posters. The kitchen does generous, home-style Mallorcan classics: frito mallorquín (an offal-and-potato fry-up), the soupy arròs brut, tumbet, and roast meats. Touristy in summer but a genuine slice of old Palma.

A small, family-run celler in the atmospheric La Llonja quarter, open since the 1950s and serving honest home cooking in a snug, traditional room. The menu runs to pa amb oli with island sausage, frit mallorquí, tumbet, and grilled meats — the food Mallorcans actually eat at home, in the heart of the old town.

A long-running, much-loved tapas bar in central Palma, busy with locals at the counter and on the small terrace. A wide spread of classic Spanish and Mallorcan tapas — croquetas, patatas bravas, pimientos, montaditos — at fair prices, in a lively, unpretentious setting away from the most touristy strips.

A Palma seafood institution of around 80 years, set on the seafront by the old fishing port with views across to La Seu Cathedral and the bay. Fresh fish and shellfish come up from the auction below, and the kitchen is known for paellas — especially the lobster paella — and rice dishes. A classic spot for a special seafood lunch.

A seafront restaurant on the Port de Sóller promenade specializing in paellas — seafood, mixed, black (arròs negre), and lobster — made with local catch including the prized gamba de Sóller (Sóller red prawn). A relaxed harbour setting at the end of the vintage tram line, ideal after the Sóller train.

A large, long-established restaurant in the Génova district in the hills above Palma, a local favourite for grills and Mallorcan fare. Generous platters of grilled meat and fish, paellas, and pa amb oli in a roomy, no-frills setting popular with Palma families, with bay views from the hillside.

A rustic white farmhouse perched high on the Puig d'Alaró, famous across the island for its slow-roasted lamb shoulder, cooked for hours in a huge wood-fired oven until it falls off the bone. The setting is plain wooden tables in a simple mountain room, reached by a rough single-track road or a scenic hike past the Castell d'Alaró.

A Michelin-starred (and green-star) restaurant perched on the cliffs between Sóller and Deià, run by the Pérez-Ramos family since 1971, with sweeping views over the Tramuntana coast. The cooking is refined, seasonal Mediterranean — produce from its own Sóller orchard and Fornalutx olive trees — with signatures like Sóller prawn carpaccio and local lamb.

A restaurant in an old olive-mill setting in Valldemossa, the Tramuntana village where Chopin and George Sand wintered. Refined Mallorcan and Mediterranean cooking with mountain views, a pleasant stop after visiting the Royal Charterhouse, with local lamb and seasonal produce on the menu.

Palma's most historic café, dating to the early 1700s, an atmospheric old-town room of tiled walls and marble tables. The classic order is a sugar-dusted ensaïmada with a cup of thick hot chocolate, or the house almond ice cream. A genuine slice of old Mallorca and a local breakfast-and-merienda institution.

A bakery-café reviving historic Mallorcan recipes gathered from homes and monasteries — a kind of living museum of island baking. Sugar-topped ensaïmadas by the slice in flavours like classic, cream, chocolate, and the old-style plaited potato version, alongside cocarrois, cocas, and traditional sweets.

Palma's main covered food market, a lively hall of fresh produce, fish, meat, cheese, and cured-meat stalls — the place to taste sobrassada, Mallorcan and Mahón cheeses, and fresh seafood cooked at the market bars. Several stalls serve tapas and just-bought fish to eat on the spot, a local everyday institution.

A long-running pastry shop and café in Valldemossa famous for coca de patata — a light, fluffy potato sweet bun that's a village specialty — best eaten warm with a cup of hot chocolate. A classic stop while wandering Valldemossa's cobbled, flower-lined lanes after the Royal Charterhouse.