Majorca has raised its gourmet game to delicious new heights. Top restaurants have sprung up, Michelin-starred chefs have arrived, and the finest traditional dishes have been given a modern twist. Guy Fiorita tucks into the island’s feast of delights
When I lived in Majorca in the mid-1990s I would never have considered going on a gastro tour around the island. Back then there were barely enough really good restaurants to sustain an afternoon stroll, much less a three-day gastro frenzy. But over the past 10 years Majorca has undergone a major transformation, especially in two areas, both of which are imperative to a successful gourmet jaunt. First the hotels, which once only followed the ‘bigger the better’ philosophy of the 1970s and crowded themselves along the coast, have downsized, upmarketed and moved inland. These new venues, along with an influx of residents from other parts of the EU, have brought with them a host of new restaurants that are more sophisticated than before.
One of the best examples of this new breed of luxury hotel/restaurants is Son Brull near the northern town of Pollensa. Son Brull is set in an 18th-century monastery and owned and operated by the Suau family, ex-owners of the five-star Cala Sant Vicenç Hotel and pioneers of luxury hotels in Majorca.
Upon entering I was struck by the interior design. There are many similar properties on the island and most of those that have been converted into hotels follow one basic rule: fix it up and fill it with antiques. Not Son Brull. The Suaus wanted something different. Instead of heavy rustic furniture they appointed young Majorcan interior designer Ignasi Fortesa to bring a modern touch to the old walls. The result is a space that respects the past but lives in the present.
This duality is also present in the hotel’s 365 restaurant where chef Joan Marc Garcías uses traditional Majorcan recipes as a base for modern dishes. This is true of a dish called Pajel which is Joan’s interpretation of suquet, a traditional fish stew that he serves dry, as well as the Iberian pork tenderloin and pumpkin, served with the very un-Majorcan flavourings of coconut and ginger.
According to Miquel Suau, the restaurant has been short-listed to receive a Michelin star next year. This was something I hadn’t previously heard of but it turns out that the venerable gourmet guide, apart from the one, two or three-star ratings, is now making a list of the restaurants it feels are ready to make the leap to the one-star category. Son Brull’s restaurant 365 was included this year and from my experience it has a good chance of making the final cut.
After leaving Son Brull I met Marc Fosh, the Michelin-starred chef of Read’s Hotel, at his new venue in the city of Palma, Fosh Food, to share lunch and talk island fare. So how does he see the state of cuisine in Majorca? “Just step outside if you want to understand the change in the island’s gastronomic scene in the last few years,” he said. “It wasn’t too long ago that you were hard-pressed to find anything but restaurants serving either local food, hamburgers, Italian or Chinese. Now, just in this street, there is a sushi bar next door, a Thai fusion place across the road and an Indian restaurant on the corner. And there’s not only more variety but better quality as well.”
Fosh Food itself is a new concept in Majorca. The layout – bar-style seating in front of an open kitchen with the chefs preparing the meal in plain view – is reminiscent of Joël Robuchon’s L’Atelier, although here the food is a bit more basic and a whole lot less expensive. While chatting we had a three-course meal consisting of pasta putanesca followed by chicken spiced with lemongrass and lime leaves, and a fruit salad flavoured with hibiscus and passion fruit and a natural yoghurt sorbet, for just €15.
That night at Read’s Hotel and Spa we booked the best table in the house. For a little over a year now Marc has been offering up to six guests a night, the chance to dine at the Chef’s Table set up in kitchen, right in the heart of the action.
For us the excitement began at 9pm with abottle of Jaume Codorniu Cava and continued through a 10-course surprise menu especially designed for the Chef’s Table. Each dish was accompanied by perfectly matched wine chosen by sommelier Sebastian Bustamante. The food was outstanding, each dish a culinary work of art. I particularly enjoyed the subtle mingling of flavours of the salt cod with aloe vera jelly and a warm fresh pea and lemongrass soup. And the final note, a chocolate and olive oil truffle sprinkled with a bit of flor de sal and accompanied by a spicy raspberry red pepper jelly offered a unique juxtaposition of sweet, spicy and savoury.
But apart from the food, it is the atmosphere and the experience you pay for at the Chef’s Table. When the action heats up it is fascinating to watch the almost military-like discipline and complete coordination of a team of top-notch chefs at work. With the waiting staff running in and out barking orders and each station at full tilt, steaming, boiling, grilling or plating the dishes, the excitement is contagious. And when things do calm down for a moment or two, Marc or one of the team is always on hand to explain what is happening and answer any questions. I even got the chance to help prepare one of my own dishes, slicing and cleaning a langoustine under the head chef’s watchful eye.
At one point I watched Marc and one of the dessert chefs huddled around a dish, examining it like scientists looking through a microscope. After at least three minutes of careful study they both tasted it, paused again and then there was a quick slap on the shoulder and a smile on the dessert chef’s face. Apparently the young chef’s new creation met with the boss’s approval. It’s an incredible experience to see, first hand, the concentration and care that goes into each dish.
As a final treat we ended the evening sharing a glass of wine and a lot of kitchen talk with Marc and his second in command, Adrian. They both looked haggard but happy. Post-stress syndrome surely but also a definite sign of an extremely difficult job done well.
For lunch the next afternoon my wife and I took a drive down memory lane to one of our favourite seaside haunts, Es Vaixell, a very unassuming café/bar just blocks from our old home in El Molinar. The décor is nothing to write home about but the views are wonderful and we came for the Pa amb oli, which literally means bread and oil. Actually it is more than that. It starts with a piece of toasted Majorcan brown bread. This is rubbed first with garlic and then tomato, and finally olive oil is dribbled over it. That’s the base to which is added either a slice of sharp Mahón cheese, Serrano ham or both.
Pa amb oli is to the island what fish and chips is to Torquay or burgers are to Cleveland. They’re everywhere and everyone claims to have the best. Since it really doesn’t take a lot of skill to put it together, the key to the perfect Pa amb oli is in the ingredients, especially the ham and olive oil. Before ordering make sure it is made with Iberian black leg ham and extra virgin olive oil. Not much else can go wrong.
That evening, after a walk among the fishing boats, we made our way to the mountain town of Puigpunyent, home of Gran Hotel Son Net. I have been a regular at Son Net almost from the moment it opened and in that time I have seen a lot of changes take place, but on this visit I found my old friend more changed than ever. New rooms have been added including four luxurious suites in a private garden setting with a swimming pool.
It was Oleum restaurant that really caught my attention. The dining room has been completely revamped. It is still set in the impressive former olive pressing room (with a magnificent period press as its centrepiece) but that is about all that is the same. International interior designer Suzanne Loggere was brought in to give the space a new look and feel, which she has achieved marvellously. It is elegant and modern, while respecting and highlighting the room’s amazing attributes. Drapes hang from natural stone walls and chandeliers illuminate perfectly.
Beauty doesn’t only go skin deep here either. The menu, and indeed the whole philosophy has changed as well. Chef Christian Rullan has simplified the cuisine. Following the less-is-more concept, Rullan has designed a menu of dishes based on traditional Majorcan recipes but served with a subtle, modern twist. I particularly enjoyed my Mandarin-marinated lamb in rosemary sauce while my wife opted for Cod with ali oli.
I ended the meal with a heavenly Piña Colada soufflé, a house specialty, cooked to fluffy perfection, while my wife opted for a classic chocolate and apricot Sacher Cake. I gathered from her lack of conversation that it was to her approval.
After dinner, we had our coffee and petit fours in front of a roaring fire in the bar area where we chatted late into the night. It was the ideal end to a wonderfully nostalgic gourmet break on an island that has certainly climbed a long way up the culinary ladder. I’m starting to regret ever leaving.
DAY ONE
Palma Son Sant Joan airport to Son Brull
Distance: 40 kilometres
Hotel facts: 23 rooms and suites
Rates: From €254
SON BRULL HOTEL & SPA
Carretera Palma-Pollensa
07460 Pollensa, Majorca
+34 971 535 353
info@sonbrull.com
www.sonbrull.com
DAY TWO
Son Brull to Read’s Hotel
Distance: 25 kilometres
Hotel facts: 23 rooms and suites
Rates: From €250
READ’S HOTEL & SPA
Carretera Vieja Santa María, Alaro s/n
07320 Santa María, Majorca
+34 971 140 261
readshotel@readshotel.com
www.readshotel.com
DAY THREE
Read’s to Gran Hotel Son Net
Distance: 35 kilometres
Hotel facts: 31 rooms and suites
Rates: From €395
GRAN HOTEL SON NET
Calle Castillo de Son Net s/n
07194 Puigpunyent, Majorca
+34 971 147 000
info@sonnet.es
www.sonnet.es
ROAD TRIP
For my gourmet Majorcan jaunt I chose the new BMW 330d Convertible, the first to feature a fully retractable hardtop roof. The hope was to enjoy a three-day, top-down drive around the island. But, the weather, normally sunny and warm, turned out just the opposite. So with the top up I was able to put it to the test on the slick, wet roads of the island. I can report that the 3-litre diesel engine offered plenty of power, especially when I caught behind a slow-moving lorries with little room to pass on a winding mountain road. Happily the 231 horsepower and nippy acceleration, 0 to 62mph (100 km/h) in 7.1 seconds, made it a breeze.
Along with providing owners with a firstrate list of luxury hotels and gourmet restaurants in locations across the world, BMW has recently launched a series of drives called BMW Fine Driving which includes itineraries in Majorca, Sardinia and Portugal’s Algarve. For more information on any of these drives, visit
www.bmw-experience.com/finedriving.
