EatDrinkSleepMallorca was recently invited to try a new eating-out spot in the Santa Catalina district of Mallorca’s capital, Palma. Or perhaps that should be the new eating-out Spot – since that is the name of the restaurant.

Spot is located in premises previously occupied by the business BConnected, which had a showroom for trendy furniture and interior accessories here. Now the spacious building is home to this informal restaurant serving freshly made Mediterranean cuisine with some international touches. It’s a place where you can come for a coffee in the morning, a drink at any time of day, lunch, or dinner.

Spot is part of the restaurant group En Compañía de Lobos (Spanish for ‘in the company of wolves’) which also has seven restaurants in Barcelona and two in Madrid. This is their first in Mallorca. It’s not a chain: the restaurants are individually named and different from each other in both setting, style, and cuisine; the menus are all devised by the group’s executive chef Marcelino Jiménez.

We went for lunch. Spot is easy to find as it’s on one side of the Sant Magí church. Street parking is usually possible in the area (but buy a parking ticket from a meter if you’re there during the payment period).

The Place

A black-iron wood-burning oven and a pile of logs beneath it were the first thing we noticed: they’re in a small foyer to the right of the restaurant entrance.  With the doors open, as they were, we could see the chefs working in the kitchen beyond the foyer. Wood smoke is one of my favourite aromas, so Spot almost had me before I’d even gone in!

Spot’s wood-fired oven

Entrance area perfect for coffee or drinks

Local flavour in the stylish decor at Spot

There had to be a wolf somewhere. We were in the company of this gorgeous one…

Entering Spot, you’re in an area of tables where you can sit and just have a drink. The open front (when the weather is fine) gives the feel of being outdoors. Beyond this is the eating area and a large bar and counter (with high chairs for those who like to see a bit of prep-action while they’re eating or drinking).

Tables are a mix of round and rectangular and are well spaced, thanks to the size of the premises. We chose a rectangular table at the rear of the restaurant – where the large windows offer views of a small verdant courtyard with a couple of citrus trees (no al fresco eating though).

Mallorca is reflected in the Mediterranean décor, which includes fabrics, tiles, and ceramics from the island – although the interior design team was the Barcelona-based Tarruella Trenchs Studio. The result is informal, contemporary, and comfortable.

The Food

The menu (also available in English, if you don’t speak Spanish) is split into the following sections: To share; pastas; greens, soups, & salads; pizza (from that wood-fired oven), and del mund (from the world). The menu is marked with different-coloured spots to indicate dishes that contain meat, fish, or neither. Vegetarians have a choice of four sharing dishes, two pastas, six from the greens, soups, & salads, and three pizzas.

Alex, the manager, recommended that we try the sharing dish tortita with tuna sashimi, avocado and chipotle mayonnaise (three pieces for 9€). This is the only dish that appears on all the group’s restaurant menus and we felt we had to try it.

Tortita with tuna sashimi, avocado and chipotle mayo

Beet tartar with avocado and pink grapefruit – healthy and delicious

Activated charcoal gives this black pizza its colour – a revelation

Crispy duck – deliciously crisply and served with a bamboo steamer of pancakes.

Definitely worth the calories: Spot’s banoffee pie

We also shared some other dishes, including something I hadn’t seen before on the island: black pizza made in the wood-fired oven (14€, but large enough to share if you’re having something else too). The base was made from the trendy gastro-ingredient activated charcoal (food grade, of course), and topped with fresh fig, the French cheese Morbier, local black sausage, and rocket. OK, it may look as though the wood-fired oven got a little overheated, but it doesn’t taste burnt!

The bread was another noteworthy item here: made with olive oil, it had a good crunchy crust (baked in the wood-fired oven). If you want to dip it in olive oil, be sure to ask for the oil, as no condiments were on the tables during our visit. If they sold the loaves to take home, I’d have bought one.

The Wines

The list includes Mallorcan wines, as well as labels from the Peninsula, some of which are available by the glass. Prices seemed reasonable, for example, a bottle of the Mallorcan Obac from Bodega Binigrau, was listed as 24€. The Boss opted for an alcohol-free beer (he was driving) and I had a glass of Bodegas Angel’s Atac (white), at a fair price of 3,50€.

Would We Return?

Yes, most definitely. We enjoyed the tasty food, which seemed to be made from good-quality ingredients, and the ambience of the place. My only small criticism was that the music (clearly from a decent sound system through ceiling-mounted Bose speakers around the place) was a little too loud for easy conversation. Great choice of  tunes though!

Spot has the vibe of a place to be enjoyed with a group of friends, sharing several dishes in that lovely convivial way that’s part of the lifestyle when eating out on the island of Mallorca.

©Jan Edwards 2017