ROQUETA

With Pia Van Eck

When John and I took over Roqueta we inherited the first ever issue from May 1973. I showed it to a few of the magazine contributors and they recognised Pia Van Eck on thefront cover. I went to meet her at her house in the centre of Mahon to find out more. Pia told me to take the private vacuum lift to the 2nd floor but it looked a bit too intimidating! I took the stairs and Pia welcomed me into her beautiful home in Calle Angel and was very happy to answer all my questions.

When we first got together, I wanted to make sure that our children were going to get on before committing to a relationship. My mother had just died, and she had always wanted me to go to Goa. She was a real hippy, believing in gurus, and she used to go every winter and spend time at an ashram. Therefore, we decided to go and spend 3 months in Goa to see how we all got on. We all had a wonderful time!

How do you enjoy your current life in Menorca, do you still travel?

John is very creative and musical, and he used to travel to Thailand a lot. Now we are very keen on Morocco and rent a house every winter on the coast. We were just about to go when lock down began for COVID. I did my best to recreate the house in Morocco on our top terrace in Mahon, decorating it with, throws, cushions and awnings and the lamps and objects we have collected on our travels. I love cooking and so I prepared Moroccan dishes for a week such as tagines, cous cous, and Shakshika

We lived in a house in Son Vilar for many years but now we live here, which was my mother’s house. We love being located in the centre of town, being able to go out for coffees and drinks with our friends who regularly knock at the door. We have been in the house for 12 years and John spent the first year renovating it to make it our own. John loves his garden which is a beautiful enclosed large patio at the back of the house, full of his wonderful plants, and with a big table for entertaining.

When John first came here it was difficult to get a work permit. He had a farmhouse in Pou Nou and started the well-known t-shirt business from his home but then split up with his partner. He then had a ceramic shop on the main road to Ciutadella but, when they extended the Poligon Industrial area, the shop had to close and so he was forced to retire. He now spends his time at the Aeroclub playing snooker and at home writing songs. He has a music recording room in the house where there are posters of his days performing with his sister and their group at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Between us we now have a granddaughter and grandson, 2 great granddaughters and a great grandson. My daughter Estefi works at the Consell in tourism and my son-in-law Jordi is in charge of Los Naranjas hotel in S’Algar.

At the end of the interview Pia poured me a large glass of wine and showed me around the beautiful house. This gave me enough courage to try the vacuum lift on the way down. Watch out, Pia warned, first it will jump up a little bit, before you start to go down! I was transported safely back down to the ground floor.

CASA FERMIN Punta Prima. Tel: 971 159264.

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By Lorraine

Founded in 1952, so amongst the venerable historic establishments (see July Roqueta), yet now one of the innovative! The “strip” in Punta Prima offers something for everyone these days, and in early July all the restaurants were full at lunchtime. So booking, as always, is advisable, especially in high season.

A lovely selection of starters, such as “Little balls of Russian salad with a mixed nuts topping” (12.50 € ), unusual salads, for example “Fresh watermelon and feta cheese with Greek yoghurt, almonds and lettuce” (12.95 € ). They offer five different pastas, four vegetarian choices, nine different homemade pizzas plus 10 meat and fish main dishes ranging from 16 € to 29.50 € for a grilled fish platter.

If that’s not enough, then they also are offering some great freshly made sushi dishes (27 varieties) and seven Wok stir fries, with rice or noodles. I could happily eat there for a week without repetition! Plenty of terrace seating and a smart inside dining and bar area.

TAMARINDOS ES GRAU Tel: 971 359420.

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By Lorraine

Part of the Bonita Menorca SL, Tamarindos is unusual as it has tables on a platform right over the sea, bang in the middle of the charming village of Es Grau. They are open for business from 12:00 until 22:30 (closed Mondays). Lots of sharing dishes and different rice offerings. We had some delicious Mussels cooked in a Thai broth to share, with a crunchy Green Papaya Salad. This was followed by “the catch of the day”, a big sea bream, beautifully presented on a platter ready to dissect! Because of the “fish of the day”- the price depends on the weight and can add quite a lot (€100) to an otherwise reasonable bill. But it’s such a pleasure to enjoy it for a special treat!