Although Mallorca has a coastline of around 550 kilometres, there are not as many restaurants dedicated mainly to seafood as you’d think. Seafood is, of course, found on many eatery menus but if you’re looking for a renowned restaurant where the culinary focus is on fish and shellfish, I’d recommend Ca n’Eduardo in Palma.

This restaurant is one of the oldest in Palma, having been in business for 80 years; it’s recognised in Palma’s Emblematic Establishments Catalogue. Since 2008, Ca n’Eduardo has been owned by Johnny Moloney – a Dubliner who bought the place with two business partners. Johnny’s chef experience included working in his native Ireland and the States, and he was head chef at his Palma restaurant until 2018. Today he manages the restaurant, which has a team of Spanish chefs.

The Place

Ca n’Eduardo couldn’t be much closer to the sea: it’s right above Palma’s fish auction hall. Its upper-floor location means the views are superb: from the smart dining room – with its contemporary artworks – you can admire the cathedral La Seu, and the fishing boats in the harbour below. Further into the dining room, you can see the chefs at work in the open kitchen. 

In fine weather, the rear terrace has views including the mountains, the circular Castell Bellver, the monument on top of Na Burguesa, and the Es Baluard rampart. If you’re curious about the five, huge, black cubes suspended from the terrace of Es Baluard, it’s the sculpture ‘Bou’ (which means ‘bull’) by Santiago Calatrava.

The Food

One of the four specialities at Ca n’Eduardo is sea bass baked in a salt crust (29€ each for a minimum of two people). This is a surprisingly simple dish to make at home but removing it from its baked salt ‘carapace’ and filleting it to serve can be a messy (and slow) job if you’re not a pro. If you’ve never tried this dish, it’s delicious and surprisingly not salty.  

Another speciality is grilled lobster with fried egg and chips (33€) – a treat of a dish you’ll find in a few restaurants in Mallorca. 

There are eight varieties of paella and other rice dishes on Ca n’Eduardo’s menu, although all are for a minimum of two people, from 20€ a person.

We Ate

To begin our lunch, we shared crispy shrimps (a portion of six) with a honey and mustard sauce, fried calamari, and crystal bread. Our main course dishes were sea bass and supreme of hake – both of which came with half a baked potato and a side salad. 

Two desserts are noteworthy here: dark chocolate coulant and apple tart with vanilla ice cream – each of these two takes 20 minutes to cook, allowing you more time to enjoy the view. 

Good to Know

Ca n’Eduardo is open from 13:00h until 22:00h so if you’re having a shopping or sightseeing day in Palma, you don’t have to stress about eating lunch before the restaurant closes.

Outside Palma, just a couple of places where I’ve also eaten delicious fish: Ses Coves (Campanet) and at Sa Punta (Sa Coma) – the restaurant owned by tennis supremo Rafa Nadal’s uncle.

Jan Edwards ©2024