Palma

Check out the usual web sites such as www.booking.com and www.venere.com the Hotel Born, C/Sant Jaume 3, www.hotelborn.com, is a wonderful old mansion less than a minute from the heart of Palma. Some rooms are around a beautiful central courtyard where you can have your breakfast, an excellent buffet breakfast is included in the room rate. Splash out and go for a mini suite it is worth it and the staff are very friendly.

An alternative is an apartment and there are many available for short stays so definitely worth checking out. For our most recent visit we rented an apartment in the Se Gerreria area, this was the area of merchants and craftsmen and it retains much of the original character with narrow winding streets and small squares. It is minutes from the main shopping streets and the Plaza Mayor but has it’s own unique feel. It had gone through a period of considerable decline but in recent years has seen many improvements and investment in the area. There are great restaurants and bars in the area and I would certainly stay in the area on any future visits.

There is no shortage of places to eat, some can be difficult to find as they are hidden in the maze of streets in the centre but this all adds to the enjoyment. In the Llonja area most places are for sitting down rather than eating tapas at the bar. This area now seems quite pricey and service levels can vary, the areas of the old part further away from the centre seem to offer better quality and services particularly around the Se Gerreria quarter.

La Llonja

Café La Llonja, C/Llonja del Mar, is a lovely old fashioned café and bar with a good selection of tapas and wines. Always has friendly service and lots of tables outside.

Bar Dia, C/Apuntadors 18, is one of the few old fashioned bars left in the area and serves traditional dishes in racione portion size so bigger than tapas but ideal for sharing.

Forn de Sant Joan, C/Sant Joan 4, is an excellent restaurant, we took advantage of the menu del dia at lunchtime and were very impressed with the quality of the food and service.

There are a number of recently opened places around Placa de la Drassana which is at the end of C/Apuntadors so worth checking out.

La Boveda, C/Boteria 3, there is usually a queue outside the door before it opens which says it all. If this one is full try their other one Taberna La Boveda, Paseo Sagrera just round the corner. They serve traditional style dishes in racione size portions served at tables.

La Cueva, C/Apuntadors 5, is another very busy tapas bar, again mainly served at tables and racione size portion for sharing.

Plaza Rei Joan Carles

Bar Bosch, Plaza Rei Joan Carles, is a Palma fixture, a great old fashioned café, excellent to sit outside and watch the world go by at any time of the day. The tapas on offer are not as good as in the past and service not as friendly.

Tast, C/Union 2, has an excellent choice of tapas and meals with some really great different style choices. Has been there for a long time and still doing good dishes, they have another couple of branches in town.

Tirso, C/Union 10 is a recent addition and offers a different take on tapas dishes, most work but not all and prices are high but still worth a visit.

Vermuteria La Rosa, C/de la Rosa 5, just behind C/Union was a great find. Another new addition to the dining scene this modern bar does great tapas and drinks at reasonable prices and with great service.

Taberna La 5a Puneta, C/Caputxines 3, off C/Union, has good pinxtos, tapas on sticks, and is popular with locals because the quality and choice is excellent.

La Tabera del Caracol , San Alonso 2, in the old part of Palma behind the cathedral, this is a lovely old fashioned restaurant with raciones, top quality and excellent atmosphere, worth seeking out.

Capuccino is a group of modern trendy cafes doing food as well, one in Palau March by the Cathedral with a great terrace, one near C/San Miguel and another at Paseo Maritimo

Plaza Major

Bar Espana, C/Can Escursac 12, near the Plaza Major at top of steps from C/Union is a great local bar with fabulous tapas, the hot pinxtos which are cooked to order are only available between 9 pm and 10.30 pm, but at other times the selection of cold ones on the bar is good. Still a favourite after many years, friendly service, good food and drink and always very busy.

La Vinya de Santa Clara,C/Santa Clara 8 was a find on a previous visit and great to return. The owner Esteban has an excellent selection of wines and will happily assist you with a choice to suit, he also serves meat and cheese platters. He is great company and it is a lovely place for some wine or a beer and chat.

Ca Na Chinchilla, Rambla Del Ducs 7, just below the Plaza Mayor was a great find on a previous visit, a good wine selection, friendly staff and food looks very good.

Se Gerreria

La Juanita, La Sala dels Flassaders 4, is one of the best places I have eaten in in a long time. The owner & chef Albert buys all the produce in the market daily and offers a short menu of brilliant cooking, wonderful fresh produce, unusual combinations. On a previous visit we ate lunch there on two consecutive days, this time we booked dinner an incredible 5 course set meal for 23 Euros. Book by phone as it is now even more popular since an article in The Guardian. Opening times can vary depending on the time of year.

Quina Creu, Carrer de Corderia 2,  offers a good lunchtime menu as well as a full a la carte menu and the bar has excellent hot tapas to order and pinchos on the bar, this is the cool and trendy side of the area and deservedly very popular. Service can be slow and slightly offhand but still a place to try.

Socors 23, C/Socors 23, offers an good value set lunch in modern surroundings and is obviously a firm favourite with people working in the area.

Mercat D’Olivar is just the sort of market you want on your doorstep, it has traditional stalls for shopping, a good wine shop, and stalls to eat at but has not become a place that only visitors can afford. There is a great seafood stall where you can sample the various types of oyster with a glass of chilled white and also a more modern bar with prawn and salmon nibbles to accompany a glass of pink cava. Cervecaria Anfos on the first floor offers various simply grilled fish dishes or buy your own and ask them to grill it for you for a small charge.

Ca La Seu,Carrer de Corderia 17, was originally a basket making shop which was in business for almost 500 years. The bar has kept the original feel, the owner Carolina is lovely and the pinchos both hot and cold are innovative. A real favourite with locals and visitors.

On a Tuesday night the area hosts the Ruta Martian where a number of bars offer a small beer or wine and a pincho (tapa on a cocktail stick) for 2.50 Euros. The bars get packed and there is a great atmosphere, it is not a late night as the bars shut at 11.30 to allow the residents a good night’s sleep some other ones to try are below.

Molta Barra, Carrer del Pes de la Farina, a buzzy bar with a youngish crowd, busy every night.

Bar Flexas, Carrer Llotjeta, not on the Ruta but the original bar in the area before it became popular and definitely worth a visit.

Ambigu, Carrer Carnisseria, sits in a small square just beside the rear of Santa Eulalia church and is a lovely bar with excellent tapas, the tortilla is yummy. Really friendly staff and an interesting menu. Lovely outdoor seating, understandably very popular.

Avenidas (Avingudas in Mallorquin (Catalan))

This ringroad round the old centre contains the main large department stores but also some worth while eating places.

Casa Gallega, Avenida Comte de Sallent 19, a new find this was a highlight of our most recent visit. A very popular Galician restaurant and tapas bar, we were impressed with the quality and service. Every drink comes with a free tapas, unusual in Palma, the pinxtos (tapas on skewers) are incredible value however best to get them hot as they come out of the kitchen. The set daily menu is amazing value but you need to book to get a seat in the main restaurant.

Mercado Gastronimico de Sant Juan, C/L’Emperadriu Eugenia 6 is a new venture in Palma and is about ten minutes walk north from Plaza Espana. The building has been very well converted but the choice of food outlets was average for this type of place, worth a visit. The pedestrian street C/ De Blanquema has a variety of popular bars and restaurants and feels very much like a real local part of Palma, well worth exploring.

Santa Catalina

This is the area west of Passeig Mallorca and behind the Paseo Maritimo and is well worth a visit, it was a working class area but has become a fashionable area and has some excellent restaurants and tapas bars mainly round C/Fabrica.

Mercat de Santa Catalina, Placa Navigacio, is a great place to visit, an old school market but with some excellent places to eat, Arume is a Sushi bar with a twist of some of the dishes, great food, great value and popular so go early or be prepared to wait. Also try Bar Joan Frau a family run gem with excellent food, check out the good wine shops, fish & seafood specialists and other eating places that make this a must but not on a Monday when most stalls shut.

Diecisiete Grados C/Fabrica 12, you should book to make sure of being able to eat here the food is tapas and raciones and is top class, try the “broken egg” dishes and the brochette of duck. They have an excellent set lunch menu.

Café Zanzibar, Placa Navegacio, is two streets down from C/Fabrica, they have a good value set lunch although the service can be a bit patchy, the quality and choice makes up for it.

Es Mercat, C/Pursiaba 14, we tried on our most recent visit and the menu del dia at lunchtime was excellent, lovely service and good food.

Beach Area

Palma has a lovely beach area at Portixol and El Molinar, take the bus 15 from Placa Reina and it takes about twenty minutes, there are loads of great eating places.

There is a variety of places to eat and drink and these seem to change every visit so just wander around and have a drink and check out the food on offer or better still try our recommendation below.

Restaurant Club Maritimo Molinar, has been a regular stopping place for a refreshment while walking along the seafront, this visit however we hoped to go for lunch having heard good things, totally booked out so a must next time.

Drink

Wine was very much part of Majorcan culture from the 14^th century but had declined until fairly recently and is now producing a variety of good wines at very reasonable prices. It would therefore seem a shame not to try some of the local wines both red and white during your visit. There are many local grape varieties and these are often blended with more familiar grape types.

A local liqueur to look out for is called Palo de Mallorca, it derives from the bark of the quina plant, originally from South America. It is an aromatic, dark and dense drink with aromas of caramel and also of wood.

Also look out for Horchata, almond milk a very popular refreshment here and in other places in Spain particularly Valencia.

Palma is a beautiful city to wander around, the cathedral is magnificent and part of the delight of the city is the wonderful old buildings you come across in your wanderings.

The Convent of Sant Francesc, in the Se Gerreria area is a lovely place to visit, the cloisters are an a beautiful quiet oasis.

Fundacio Pilar i Joan Miro is not the easiest place to get to but the building with the Miro artworks and the original studio is well worth the effort of finding, the buses 3 and 46 get you there.

Take the famous wooden train to Soller which is a fabulous journey, wander round the square have a drink and tapas in one of the lovely cafes, try Café Soller part café part gallery then take the tram down to Port Soller. You can return on the bus to Palma from Port Soller in only twenty minutes

Alternatively you can get the bus from Palma along the coast to Deia which is stunningly beautiful, Las Palmeras on the main road does reasonable tapas, then catch the bus to Soller.

A word of warning getting on the buses, particularly trying to get back from Deia or Soller, can be difficult because of the number of people, get there early