EATING OUT

By Lorraine Ure and the team

GRILL Just by the Airport. Tel: 971 367903.

€€

By Lorraine

You don’t have to be going to the airport to visit this great restaurant, serving Menorca for more than 30 years, but it has so often been a “life saver” when flights are delayed or fall right into the lunch or dinner period! It has great outdoor seating, and apart from the occasional plane engine revving up, you’d never think you were near a busy airport. Seeing a few flight crew in their uniforms is, of course, a bit of a give-away! But we also like it in the winter when we sit inside, which still has the feeling of an old Menorcan farmhouse with a lovely smell of woodsmoke. The Grill is known especially for its amazing array of meat and poultry, all on display in a chiller cabinet, but the fish is great too. “Calcots” with Romesco Sauce are a highlight when in season, but they grill plenty of other vegetables too. The owner, the amiable Luis, almost always puts in an appearance, and checks on the service. He knows exactly who is having what! A great year-round choice. Great steaks and suckling pig (a big helping!). A meal with two or three courses averages at 25 €. A good wine list too, especially amongst the reds, which of course can add substantially to your bill!

S’ANCORA DES CASTELL, Carrer Ruiz y Pablo 95.

Tel: 655 337735 By Lorraine

Very good to see this old restaurant location back in action again, under new direction. It’s on the toplevel overlooking Cales Fonts, almost behind Sa Punta. Over the years it’s had several names such as Sa Foganya and more recently “S’Ham”.

I always judge the quality of the restaurant by their Pan con Tomate, and, wow, do they vary! It can be a pretty vile orange spread from a jar, or a concoction of the finest fresh grated tomatoes, the best olive oil, the crunchiest salt and the freshest ground pepper, with many versions in between! The bread is important too, and we believe that Pan Cristal offers the best base, being so light and crispy. At S’Ancora we enjoyed one of the best, presented partly as a DIY version, so one can season as one chooses. It was delicious at 5 €. Unusually, a Cheese Plate is on offer as a starter at 18 €. I’d personally like to see more Menorcan cheeses on menus in restaurants, as an alternative to sweet courses as well. We need to showcase our native offerings!

Other starters include the ubiquitous Croquetas at 3 € each, which were superb, plus shrimps, scallops, squid, octopus and cuttlefish with Sobrasada. The top price starter at € 21 is Red Tuna, Mango and

Avocado Tartare, a delicious combination. Moving on, there are five rice dishes to share between 18 € and 28 € (lobster). And four other lobster dishes (prices depending on the market. The House Speciality is a Meat or Fish Skewer at 28.50 € which certainly sounds intriguing.

Do try this new establishment! It’s a bit “out of the way” being “above the action of the “Fonts” but a great alternative when it gets too busy down below!

Restaurante La Guapa Fornells Carrer Major, 29, 07748. Tel: 971 158497 or 664 877082

by Ann Jones

Fornells is rightly famous for its wonderful fish restaurants located alongside the newly refurbished harbour. However, tucked away behind the front line is somewhere well worth a visit. La Guapa is a family run restaurant in Calle Major. The interior is small, but welcoming, and there are tables outside. The service is very friendly and efficient.

On arrival you are given complimentary sobrasada with honey while you select from their menu which offers high quality meat and fish dishes. The Argentinian Beef is an excellent cut of meat, cooked to your request ‘a la brasa’ (21€ /30 € ) Unusually, La Guapa has a selection of fish, meat and vegetarian paellas and fidueas for one person. The vegetable paella (24 € ) and the seafood fiduea (30 € ) were both delicious. Many of the salads and vegetables are from the family’s own allotment so are particularly fresh. Homemade desserts, especially the cheesecake and tiramisu come highly recommended. The wine list offers a choice of international and Menorcan wines. La Guapa is well worth a try.

Pintarroja Carrer Moll d’en Pons 10, 07720 Es Canstell. Tel: 608 762427

By Larissa le Sage de Fontenay

Set on the quieter arm of the harbour just around the corner from Cales Fonts, tucked beneath the Barceló Hamilton Hotel and next door to the ever-present Ana Luisa, is the stylish new pop-up restaurant Pintarroja, all the way from Barcelona. With its rebellious bright red painted doors, chilled ambient music and a relaxed chic decor, Pintarroja is a buzzy place, serving an array of locally sourced food.

Chef, Eugeni de Diego, has kept things simple with a fresh and succinct menu that is deliciously and religiously prepared. The local seafood is the central theme and rather than being hidden or stripped of its natural flavour, it has been enhanced with creative twists and subtle combinations such as grilled mussels with sobrasada, individually dressed and elegantly served.

You will find all your favourites on the menu - Mahon cheese, anchovies, tuna tartare with avocado, which has been wonderfully refined; marinated codfish that just melts in your mouth and fried potato with eggs and shrimp which seems to be one of the most popular dishes! Grilled prawns, razor shell clams, scallops and crayfish are prepared with care and the sirloin steak with foie gras is a great addition for those preferring an alternative to fish. One of my favourites on the menu is the simplicity of the chocolate truffles for dessert, which offer you a little something sweet to completeyour meal without having to plough into a heavy ending.

The service is friendly and charming and you can feel all the staff want all their customers to have a fantastic experience. Rumours have it that more Pintarroja will be popping up on other islands, I just hope it pops up again next year, after its closure in September. Pintarroja perfectly fits the place, pace and promenade of the island.

The experience is not cheap but sensibly priced for the quality of the food and the views. This is my second visit to this niche restaurant and it certainly won’t be my last.

Clementina Gastro Bar Carrer de Sant Lluis 20.

Tel: 871 03 98 38

By Lucy Gemmell

The owner and chef of this deliciously inspired restaurant in the heart of Sant Luis is British Chef, Mike Kernall. Mike has a wealth of experience having worked for some of the top restaurants and caterers in the UK. Mike has travelled and worked In LA, Australia and spent some time in India on a culinary pilgrimage learning the true authentic art of spice!

Mike was classically trained under the French Michelin star Chef, Anton Mosimann - all this explains his imagination in his creative fusion menus. Mike has embraced the whole charm of Menorca and his energy and passion for food is obvious - the menu is an eclectic selection of European meets Asian - his menus are overflowing with ideas and cleverly constructed seasonal flavours - every mouthful is a party in your mouth and full of fun and flavour!

Clementina has such charm and sitting in the summer outside in the cobbled street is all part of the journey - the menus regularly change and Clementina is well known for its Asian Thursday, Fish and Chip Friday and my favourite fun dish, Lobster, egg and chips! The sharing plates are his go-to favourite and items like Crispy Duck Hoisin Pancakes and seared tuna Niçoise are mouth wateringly simple and good!!! Clementina is also exceptionally good value and the portions are not for the faint hearted

Mike wears his delicious personality on a plate and this is a definite place to visit! Definitely worth booking as the space is limited but rest assured if you go more than once you will have lots of new taste sensations on each occasion!

Bambú Menorca Passeig Maritim 38, Binibeca Vell. Tel: 971 358 969

By Lucy Gemmell

In my opinion probably the ultimate ‘destination restaurant.’ Bambu sits on the south coast of Menorca near Binibeca enjoying spectacular sea views and incredible sunsets. Ben Grieg, the owner of Bambu, had a vision to bring a touch of Asia to the island whilst also complementing the local produce and sustainability. This year he has brought in a new chef to support his ever- growing team - Alejandro Corral has come from the mainland and his arrival has brought fresh new ideas and presentation for the summer 2023 Menu.

Bambu has the luxury of indoor and outdoor dining in two incredible spaces as well as the Zen Garden area which is separate to the restaurant. In the Zen you are able to have cocktails and simple bar snacks - this definitely has a vibe more akin to Ibiza! Chilled music and fabulous sunset and delicious hand-held snacks!

The menu in the restaurant currently has a clever selection of tasting plates which I think they do so well - the Salmon takati was outstanding - the Galician style octopus was incredible (even my husband ate this and he won’t normally eat anything unless it’s surrounded by a bun and covered in red liquid (ketchup!). Their signature Bao buns are delicious and very cool branded with the Bambu stamp!There is so much to choose from the selection of starters it’s hard to manage the main courses as well. However,the Thai Green Curry is authentic with the perfect amount of heat and the sea bass is absolutely outstanding. For dessert you must try the cheesecake which is one of the best on the island or the chef’s new take on a warm ensaimada. You have to take your hat off to an ambitious Brit following his dream to set up a large restaurant in this small island but the bravery has paid off and this is one of the busiest restaurants on the island. The ambience and vibe is super cool and the talented team, headed up by brilliant Giacomo Persina and talented Dean Lafosse is a testimony to the success of this great place and the initial vision.

Restaurante Es Port Passeig Maritim Poeta

Gumersind Riera 5, Fornells. Tel: 971 37 64 03

By Debbie Bayley

This is a great fresh fish restaurant situated right on the bay of Fornells. We had fried lobster and Richard the owner (he’s Menorcan but we all call him Richard!) is a great host. His specialities include Lobster stew (Caldera de langosta) and seafood paella - delicious. He also has home made ice creams. You will need to book as he is always full.

Bar Restaurant Es Canutells Tel: 971 18 89 34

By Debbie Bayley

SItting above the bay and pretty beach, the restaurant has a lovely terrace overlooking the sea. Great paellas, sole, mussels and clamsplusa speciality for some pigs trotters! Again, you will need to reserve. Closed on Wednesdays.

BAR ESPAÑA 2023 Calle Victori 48, 07720 Es Castell. Tel: 971 36 32 99

By Christine Brooker

We were delighted that the Bar España in Es Castell has reopened. Originally founded in 1948 by Lorenzo Porcell from Mallorca and Magdalena Melía from Alaior, it was always the place to go to for a good, reasonably priced menu of the day, or if you wished a very good a la carte menu. I remember it when it had the local cinema next door with an entrance from the restaurant. Lorenzo (an excellent chef who had worked in France) and Magdalena, ran it for years. She died some years ago and Lorenzo continued with help from his son Balthazar and Salva (Salvador Lopez) who had worked there since a young boy. Eventually Lorenzo retired but he was still a fixture as he came every day for lunch until he died in his nineties.

Balza married and his wife Brigida Gomila helped behind the bar. Eventually he became ill with a long debilitating disease which eventually caused his death. Salva carried on virtually running the restaurant with Brigida. The restaurant was then rented out but didn´t seem to be quite the same. Now José Saavedra from La Murada Bar in Mahón and Fernando Pons also from Mahón and an excellent chef (for many years he worked with his brother Mario in Ca´n Nito in the port of Mahón) have taken over. They intend to reinstate some of Lorenzo´s classic dishes, the Giant prawns a la Americana, and the Soufflé Alaska.

The weekly menu of the day is now 17.50 € which consists of three courses, with wine, water and bread. The Sunday one includes the same but costs 19.50 €. Four of us went on a Sunday when the selection of starters was Mixed Paella, Melon with Ham, Moules Mariniére, or Stuffed eggs. The main courses were a choice of Baked Gilt Head Bream, Secreto Iberico, Grilled entrecote, or Grilled Swordfish. My companions all enjoyed the mussels which they said were local and I had the appetizing stuffed eggs that were garnished with salad. For the main course two had the Secreto Iberico, which is a very tasty pork cut, it was served in a sauce with vegetables, one had the Gilt Head Bream which she said was good, it was a whole fish. I had the entrecote steak which came rare to order and it was also a reasonable size, All the mains were served with homemade fried potatoes. There was a selection of desserts, the men had whisky tart, extra whisky was poured on, and we had cream caramels (they gave us two each with cream). We decided against the house wine and had a Viña Pomal 2016 Reserva. We also had water and coffees, and one huge Baileys which our friends put in their coffees (ask for a ‘Carajillo’ con Baileys). Afterwards they invited us to a glass of cava each. Although we went early and there was a queue at 14:30, we were not rushed. Salva has retired but some of the waiters are from the original restaurant and the new ones were very helpful. We saw lots of people we knew. Like the old Bar España there was a mixture of locals, Brits and holiday makers. Our bill came to 106 €. We shall certainly return.

La Florinata Moll de Llevant 222, Port of Mahon. Tel: 620 620 829 By Liz

Parr

Located next to the old Pierros (now Metropolitana) in the Port of Mahon, we visited this new restaurant with friends and we were delighted by the quality and flavour of the pasta dishes (they don’t do pizzas). We were welcomed by the lovely Marco Lascala who showed us the many different handmade pastas on offer. Be sure to ask him to explain the dishes on the menu as they are named after the pastas and you don’t want to miss out (you can choose different pasta options if you prefer). He will bring you a complimentary amuse-bouche while you chat. After delicious starters of Burrata and Bruschetta, I chose the aubergine pasta, while John had the gnocchi with bolognese. One friend had bucatini with pesto, cherry tomatoes and swordfish while another chose the seafood risotto with blue rice. His partner chose the same seafood dish but with pasta and it was the best she has tasted since Villa Madrid. We shared some lovely homemade desserts: one pear and chocolate tart and one semi freddo with almonds. We chose the Torralbenc rose as recommended by our Master & Commander expert last month and it was delicious. The pasta dishes are mostly between €12 and € 20 euros and excellent value for money.

We welcome reviews from readers and please don’t forget to include some photos.

By Michael Stevenson