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Try Canarian Cuisine in Mallorca
During our only holiday in Tenerife (to date), I discovered the Canarian island’s distinctive cuisine. Papas arrugadas – which means ‘wrinkly potatoes’ – became almost an obsession. They’re a must-try if you visit the Canaries – or the restaurant La Vieja de Jonay Hernández in Palma, Mallorca’s capital.
In the Canaries, this emblematic dish is usually made from the variety of small potatoes known as ‘papa bonita’. Cooked with a large amount of salt or, as was traditional, in sea water, they end up with a salty and wrinkly skin and are delicious with a Canarian mojo sauce.
Jonay – who hails from Tenerife – opened his Palma restaurant in May 2018 to offer the traditional dishes of the Canaries, but with contemporary touches and creative presentation. It’s a very popular eatery in a square (Plaça de Raimundo Clar) that has since become one of the trendy places for eating out in Palma, with a variety of eateries and bars.
The Place


The place is colourful, with an eyecatching street-art mural of an octopus on one wall.Behind the bar is the kitchen. The food is served on vibrant, quirky tableware. It all adds up to a fun place to eat. If you want to eat outdoors, there are a few tables at the front, but I prefer the ambience indoors.
The Food
The à la carte menu offers hot and cold savoury dishes perfect for sharing, and desserts (including a mini one if you feel guilty about eating puds or you’ve eaten too much for a full dessert).
From Tuesday to Friday, La Vieja’s additional midday menu costs 24,50€. You can see the week’s menu on La Vieja’s Instagram page.
On our last visit, we feasted on Canarian wrinkly potatoes, asparagus ‘chips’ (a little salty for my taste), fried fish with green mojo aioli, and Ibérico pork cooked in the Kamado grill with smoked Hollandaise sauce, sweet red mojo, and sweet potato purée. The potatoes and pork were my favourites, but they were all good.

Asparagus ‘chips’ 
Papas arrugadas 
Fried fish pieces 

Ibérico pork cooked in the Kamado 
Eat Tenerife! La Vieja de Jonay Hernández is a good choice for coeliacs and those avoiding gluten for other reasons, with plenty of options (including gluten-free bread). Dishes without gluten are marked as such on the menu.
If you’ve room for a full-size dessert, Eat Tenerife! is my recommendation. Presented in the shape of the island, it’s made from milk chocolate, Venezuelan ocumare chocolate, and gofio cookie, and ‘seated’ in a ‘sea’ of coconut milk coloured blue by butterfly pea flower.
Cocktail fans should check out the list: as well as the classic and virgin cocktails, several signature versons are worth a try.
Book in advance at La Vieja de Jonay Hernández to be sure of a table. And transport yourself for an hour or two to the Canaries, or at least their cuisine.
Good to Know
La Vieja is recommended in 2025 editions of both the Guía Michelin and the Guía Repsol.
Jan Edwards@2024 Updated April 2025
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Feast on Fish in Cala Rajada
It’s known as lightning fish, dolphinfish, mahi mahi, and the local name, llampuga. Call it what you will, this seasonal, migratory fish is so named locally because its arrival in the seas around Mallorca coincides with the end-of-summer thunderstorms. Llamp is the Catalan word for lightning.
This white fish is delicious grilled or fried simply in olive oil with garlic and red peppers, but creative home cooks and professional chefs can find plenty of ways to use llampuga.
Autumn being the season of several food fairs in Mallorca, it’s no surprise that the llampuga has its own celebration. Every October, the fishing port of Cala Rajada hosts a weekend-long event, including a tapas competition, a giant paella, live music, and Sunday’s Mostra de la Llampuga. For a typical programme of this weekend, see the official poster for the 2024 event.
2024’s Mostra de la Llampuga is the 21st of its kind, and attending this event is a great way to discover the versatility of this fish and have some fun in this part of northeast of Mallorca.
The main event is on Sunday, when there’ll be more than 20 stalls offering their own versions of llampuga dishes. Each stall will have 80 kilos of the fish to use – all of it caught by fishermen from Cala Rajada. Now that’s what I call a feast!

Jan Edwards©2024
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Summer Vibes Continue at Sea Club
Where did the summer go? It’s hard to believe that September is already here, and the meteorological autumn has begun. I refuse to say goodbye to summer until the astronomical autumn begins on the 23rd of this month. I say this even though a heavy storm is raging over a large part of Mallorca this afternoon, making everything look – and sound – positively autumnal.
With a few weeks of astronomical summer left, there’s still time to enjoy seaside eating in Mallorca. One place we’ll be returning to before it closes for the season is Cap Rocat’s Sea Club.
Cap Rocat is a unique 5-star hotel converted from a fortified citadel. The visionary architect Antonio Obrador won an award for its renovation. The estate is in a protected natural area, making the hotel a getaway-from-it-all place favoured by wealthy guests for weddings and honeymoons.
I’d love to tell you what it’s like to stay in this hotel or to eat in its fine-dining restaurant, La Fortaleza, but both are beyond my budget. We found Cap Rocat’s Sea Club restaurant to be more affordable, with prices similar to some restaurants that don’t have the ‘wow’ factor of this one.
Sea Club’s Location
On arrival at the gated Cap Rocat estate, you’re directed to the parking area, just steps away from the hotel entrance. From there, a steep ‘path’ leads down to Sea Club, which sits on the coast at the edge of Caló de la Reina. However, don’t let that put you off a visit: Cap Rocat has a fleet of buggies to whisk diners to and from the restaurant. The Boss’s eyes lit up when he realised he didn’t have to walk down.






There are several al fresco dining areas – some with director’s chairs, others with wicker seats, and several types of shade. An attractive, small dining room means it’s also good for the cooler months. Wherever you sit outside, the views across the Bay of Palma are glorious, and the ambience is relaxed.
Food & Drink at Sea Club
The á la carte menu is the same for lunch and dinner, offering starters, salads and vegetables from their organic garden, savoury Mallorcan cocas, rice and pastas, grilled meats, and fish and shellfish from the fish market.






We started with chipirones (fried baby squids) with three flavours of aioli (23€) and salmon tartar with avocado and a curry-and-lime flavoured yogurt dressing (27€). Both were delicious and either could easily be shared between two people.
A foodie friend had recommended Sea Club’s rice dishes. Of the three of these, we chose the one with Mallorcan red prawns, red mullet, and courgettes. The rice dishes are for a minimum of two people and range in price from 27€ to 32€ per person.
I really enjoyed the appealing mille-feuille with fruits and mascarpone (12€), which was one of my favourite desserts of this summer. The Boss devoured his deconstructed cheesecake (10€).
We paid 7€ for a large bottle of sparkling water; 8€ for a glass of Mallorcan rosado, and Americano coffees cost 3,50€ each. Once bills are paid, the server summons a buggy to take guests back up to the hotel level, a short walk from the large car park.
Good to Know
Children over 12 years of age are allowed.
A reservation is essential; it took me several attempts to make a successful booking. Hey, it’s a popular place.
Sea Club is open every day for lunch and dinner.
Jan Edwards©2024
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Learn to Make a Paella in Mallorca
Mallorca has its own traditional rice dishes, but paella – which originated in Valencia – is the dish many people seek out when they come to the island. You can find some well-made paellas in restaurants in Mallorca, but learning how to make it yourself is a useful skill to take back home to impress family and friends.
Paella Workshop & Lunch in the Countryside
The beautiful 5-star boutique hotel Finca Ca’n Beneït, nestling in the foothills of the Serra de Tramuntana in the hamlet of Binibona, is offering a paella workshop and lunch every Tuesday – for hotel guests and also members of the public. The cost is 60€ a head (not including drinks).
Chef Raúl Linares leads the workshop, sharing tips and tricks for making the dish. As a big fan of paella and someone who cooks it at home from time to time, I was keen to raise my paella-cooking game – and the workshop was the perfect excuse to return to Ca’n Beneït.

Baskets ready in the tafona 

I wish my kale at home looked like this! 
Peppers We met up with Raúl and sommelier Amy Dunn (who served the drinks for lunch and also acted as translator) at one o’clock in the estate’s tafona. This is where the finca’s olives are pressed into the hotel’s luscious extra virgin oil.
Another couple who were on holiday in Mallorca from Seattle, USA, also took part. They were great fun and fortunate to be staying in the hotel for a week, having arrived only the evening before.
We were each loaned an apron and hat to wear (it’s still hot here) and a basket and knife for the first part of the experience: harvesting items to make our own salad to accompany the paella. Raúl and Amy gave us a tour of the hotel’s several raised vegetable beds and impressive orchard. We were allowed to pick whatever we wanted and The Boss and I chose several varieties of tomato, some herb and curly kale leaves for our own salad.
Having been impressed by the plantains and avocados also growing in the citrus orchard, it was time to head to the raised, covered terrace of the Mirabona Restaurant, where two tables had been set for us. Roasted almonds, local cheeses, and olives were on the table for nibbling while the workshop took place. Amy served us a refreshing gazpacho that Raúl had made that morning.

A sweet spot for our paella class and lunch 
Chop! Chop! 
A delicious gazpacho 
Sommelier Amy Dunn 
We had a chance to assist 
Our fellow participants from Seattle 
Sooo delicious! Chopping boards and knives told us there was work to do: Raúl needed volunteers to dice onions and red and green peppers, and to slice squid tubes. Then we prepared our salads from the harvested crops (after Raíl had taken them to be washed).
Veg prep done, it was time to start cooking the paella. I’m not going to give away Raúl’s tips here, but, suffice to say, the finished seafood paella was one of the tastiest I’ve eaten. We ended a leisurely and informative lunch with two types of melon, and coffee. During the lunch, Amy served us water and a rosado wine made from the Gorgollosa grape – a recovered Mallorcan variety – on a private finca in Alaró.
The good news is that we didn’t have to wash up after our lunch! The Boss and I found a quiet and shady corner to relax and enjoy the exceptional views for a while before we headed home again. The next time I make a paella at home, I’ll be modifying my technique after Raúl’s workshop. Thanks, Chef!
Good to Know
If you want to enjoy this Paella Workshop & Lunch on a Tuesday, you do need to book your place(s) through Finca Ca’n Beneït’s website or by telephoning the hotel.
Mirabona Restaurant’s opening hours in summer are Monday to Thursday 18:00h-22:00h; Friday to Sunday, 13:00h-22:00h.
Interestingly, the hotel’s Mirabona Restaurant doesn’t have paella on its seasonal à la carte menu!
Jan Edwards ©2024
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Take a Lesson in Mallorcan Cooking
If you were watching the TV series Marcus in the Med on Monday evening, you will have seen a young woman named Paula talking about, and sharing, a coca with the British chef. Coca is sometimes referred to as the Mallorcan equivalent of pizza. It’s a delicious snack for anytime and I love it topped with spinach or Swiss chard.
Paula Mas Boned has a cookery school called Soqueta Experiences in Sant Jordi (not far from Palma’s airport), and I first discovered her a couple of years ago during research for an article about cooking classes in Mallorca. Although I haven’t yet taken one of her classes – which are all dedicated to authentic mallorquín gastronomy – what I read during my research impressed me.
When the production company for Marcus in the Med asked me for a recommendation for someone local to feature in the filming, I suggested two women I thought would be perfect: Deborah Piña Zitrone and Paula Mas Boned – both of whom run cooking classes focusing on Mallorcan gastronomy.
In the end, the company went with Paula, who wore a Soqueta T-shirt during filming. Because the logo might not have been clear enough for viewers to read, I thought I’d mention Soqueta Experiences in this week’s blog post.
Soqueta offers several cooking experiences, including making Mallorcan almond ice cream the old-fashioned way –with a soft sponge cake known as a cuarto to go with it. There are seasonal classes celebrating particular foods that are eaten at times such as Easter and Christmas, and a class for traditional bakery and pastries. Paula also offers her services as a private chef if being on holiday means no cooking for you.
A Workshop in Palma
My other suggestion, chef Deborah Piña Zitrone, is well-respected for her extensive knowledge of, and passion for Mallorcan food culture. Her business, Deborah’s Culinary Island, offers a variety of cooking workshops in her premises, a former 18th-century bakery in the heart of Palma. The popular Thursday morning market tour and traditional cooking class are an ideal introduction to Mallorcan cuisine and food traditions. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience – which you can read about here.
Jan Edwards ©2024
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A Great Hotel for Families on Mallorca’s East Coast
The resort of Sa Coma is a half-hour drive from where we live in rural Mallorca, but we stayed for a night there recently because we’d received a gift voucher for a tasting menu lunch at the neighbouring Tomeu Caldentey Cuiner restaurant. Staying in the Protur Sa Coma Playa Hotel & Spa meant we could enjoy some wine with our lunch and make a mini-break of it.
We’ve stayed at this 4-star hotel a couple of times in previous years for one night. I used to work in the hotel industry (in PR) and this Sa Coma hotel ticks quite a few boxes for me. The 4-star hotel is clean, spacious, and well-appointed, with a variety of room types, including suites, swim-up twin rooms (with direct access to the hotel’s ‘river’ pool, double rooms with a semi-private pool, ‘select’ doubles and doubles. Our room was one of the latter, with a balcony overlooking the front of the hotel and Tomeu Caldentey’s restaurant. We didn’t hear a sound from any of the nearby rooms, ensuring we had a good night’s sleep. The hotel has recently been renovated too.

A corner of the lounge 
Activities galore 
The hotel at night 
View of Tomeu Caldentey Cuiner restaurant from our balcony Our usual preference is for small hotels but for those who want a package holiday, Protur Sa Coma Playa Hotel & Spa has much in its favour – especially for families. We found the staff welcoming and helpful.
Swimming Pools

The chiildrn’s pool 
The huge main pool at night 
The adults-only pool viewed from our balcony The main swimming pool is enormous, with plenty of loungers and parasols around it. A separate, smaller one is available in a quieter location for adults only. Both have a pool bar. The hotel spa (which we didn’t use) also has an indoor pool. The children’s pool made me wish I was five again.
Entertainment
Children have a mini-disco in the early evening and plenty of other activities to keep them amused. Adults too have a programme of sports and leisure activities, including rifle shooting, football, archery, yoga, stretching, and more.
Evenings also offer entertainment. On the night we were there, two female gymnasts were performing on the small stage in the spacious bar. Several rows of mesmerised children sat cross-legged on the floor watching. Musical acts can also be expected. For many holidaymakers, an entertainment programme is essential. We preferred to sit on our balcony enjoying the evening air and a glass of wine bought from the bar; we’re all different.
Food
The restaurant is as large as you’d expect for a hotel of this size and, with a buffet-style breakfast, guests and the efficient staff members are constantly on the move around you. If that’s too much bustle for you in the morning, try one of the outdoor tables. The food choice is excellent and includes healthy and diet items, local and international breakfast items, and cooking stations where a chef will whip you up an omelette or fried egg to order.
Because we’d eaten lunch at Tomeu Caldentey Cuiner, we had only breakfast in the hotel so can’t comment on the lunch or dinner service.
Club Protur
The hotel is part of the Club Protur Sa Coma Resort, which includes the Biomar Spa, 17 tennis courts, storage and workshop for bikes, a driving range, and more. The Biomar Spa has a Petit Spa for its younger guests (aged 4 to 16).
Good to Know
The Protur Sa Coma Playa Hotel & Spa is not right on the beach, although with such excellent facilities available within the property, that’s not really a problem. It’s probably a ten-minute walk to the sandy beach and seafront promenade.
If you love nature and walking, across the road you’ll find Sa Punta de n’Amer – an area of special natural interest. Between the beaches of Cala Millor and Sa Coma, this promontory with its coastal fortress feels a world away from the busyness of these two popular holiday resorts.
Jan Edwards ©2024
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My 3 Top Italian Restaurants in Mallorca’s Llevant (Northeast)
Mallorca has plenty of Italian eateries for those who, like me, enjoy the flavours of Italy. Italian restaurants are also usually a good option for vegetarians, of whom there are a few among my family and friends, so it’s helpful to know some good places.
If you’re looking for a taste of la dolce vita in the northeast part of Mallorca – the area known as the Llevant – here are three I’d recommend.
El Guiri, in the heart of Manacor, is a cosy eatery in which to enjoy chef/owner Alexander Weinhold’s pastas and pizzas. It’s an affordable, family-friendly place, open only in the evenings, but has no outdoor tables. Booking is recommended. Closed Sundays.
The underground car park in Plaça d’en Jordi Caldentey is about five minutes’ walk away and doesn’t close.
Peperoncino in the middle of Son Servera offers authentic Italian cuisine and hospitality. As well as the two attractive indoor dining areas, you can enjoy ZZ Top-lookalike chef Giuseppe Carbonaro’s tasty cuisine on the roof terrace or at a table at the front of the restaurant. You must book in advance for Peperoncino as it’s very popular. We spent the best part of a summer, a few years ago, trying (and failing) to secure a table at short notice, but we soon learnt to plan ahead.
Open for lunch and dinner but closed on Tuesdays. Street parking is usually available nearby.
Es Vivers in Colònia de Sant Pere has an enviable location by the sea, with gorgeous views of the Bay of Alcúdia, the Serra de Tramuntana, and the sunset. For one of the seafront tables, you need to reserve ahead. I haven’t written about this place yet (another for the to-do list), but Es Vivers has an à la carte menu of antipasti, pasta, meats, fish, and desserts, and a blackboard listing additional dishes.
Here are pictures from our last visit for lunch, when it was so windy that a forkful of tomato sauce blew onto my top before it could reach my mouth!








Es Vivers is open for lunch and dinner from Thursdays to Mondays.
Mallorca in Fiction
If you’re a fan of romantic fiction, cats, and Mallorca, you may enjoy my novel Daughter of Deià (please forgive the shameless plug). Yesterday I spotted this review on Amazon, which made my day.
In case this contemporary women’s fiction is of interest to you, it’s available through Amazon – and is also on sale in the boutique at Belmond La Residencia hotel in Deià.
5.0 out of 5 stars A real page turner!
We are currently on holiday in Port Soller in Mallorca and I had bought this book to read on this holiday purely because it is set in Mallorca. Amazing story telling weaved into the places, food, history and culture of the island, I have just not been able to put it down. Obviously it is well written and the story stands well by itself, but if you have been to Mallorca, or intend to make a visit, do grab a copy of this book. You won’t be disappointed!! I am still enjoying the after glow and revisiting parts of the book to enjoy them afresh.
Marcus in the Med: Mallorca
Just a reminder, if you’re reading this post on the day it was published, that part two of this 10-part series about Mallorca is on TV’s Food Network UK channel this evening at 9pm, UK time.
Jan Edwards©2024

























