If you’ve eaten in London at the Spanish restaurants Fino and Barrafina, I think you’ll enjoy El Camino in Palma. The owner of this smart tapas restaurant in Mallorca’s capital is Eddie Hart, one of the brothers behind those successful London restaurants.

Eddie spent many childhood and teenage summer holidays at his family’s second home here on the island. Who can blame him for moving from London to the slower-paced life of beautiful Mallorca? It seemed a brave move for an Englishman to open a tapas restaurant in Palma but Eddie’s stylish eatery has become one of the must-go places in a city that’s not short of good restaurants. We’ve eaten here countless times and I really don’t know why I haven’t blogged about it before (although El Camino has been my Restaurant of the Week on Mallorca Sunshine Radio).

El Camino is a few steps away from the Passeig des Born, where you’ll find stores like Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Louis Vuitton. Take the pedestrianised lane Carrer de Can Brando to find El Camino. Depending on the time of day, people may be waiting outside for vacant seats at the marble-topped oak counter. It’s worth the wait.

The Place

El Camino’s visual appeal is obvious. The attractive, elegant décor is the work of interior designer Elsa Olivera of Elsa O Studio. The warm lighting and use of mirrors make clever use of the narrow space. I like the thoughtful touch of adding hooks under the counter so you can hang a bag or your jacket while you’re seated.

This is mainly a sit-at-the-counter tapas restaurant, where you’re on a comfortable high chair with a ‘ringside’ seat of the culinary action. El Camino is gastronomic theatre: the players are those cooking, plating, and serving behind the counter, while we are the audience watching what looks like a choreographed performance of the friendly El Camino team members as they go about their work, and enjoying the delicious results. An encore is often necessary as the menu has so many tempting choices!

The Food & Wine

The menu is printed on paper placemats on the countertop and a separate list shows the day’s specials. The Mediterranean cuisine is made from carefully sourced produce. This is a place to share dishes – the more the merrier (go hungry). On our last visit, we ate pimientos de Padrón, salt cod fritters (yum!), ceviche, queen scallops – probably my favourite dish there – and succulent, meaty lamb chops from Burgos.

After The Boss and I had eaten all that food, dessert didn’t seem possible. But we did manage to share the small dish of hazelnut and chocolate spheres as an accompaniment to coffee, which was perfect to end lunch at El Camino.

Wines are Spanish and some special ones from Mallorca. There’s one for all tastes and budgets here, including Vega Sicilia at the top end of the price range. Only the top-end wines are not available by the glass. I enjoyed the freshness of the Friki Verdejo and Mallorcan winery Oliver Moragues’s delicious red, El Galgo.

Good to Know

El Camino is open daily (except Sundays and Mondays), 13:00h-16:00h & 18:00h-22:45h

Are you on Instagram? So are El Camino and eatdrinksleepmallorca.

You can now book for El Camino up to three months in advance here.

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Jan Edwards ©2024