All posts tagged: europe

Escape the Crowds in a Rural Hotel Restaurant – Part One

August 19, 2025
by Jan Edwards
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Eat / Hotels

I’ve become such a country girl since we moved to rural Mallorca in 2004. Although I love the buzz of eating out in Palma and the pleasures of a seaside restaurant, sometimes I crave the tranquillity of eating in a rural restaurant. There’s something about hearing birdsong and cicadas along with the soft buzz of conversation and gentle sounds of cutlery meeting crockery that soothes my soul. Here are some of my recommended rural restaurants […]

Where to Eat in Felanitx: My Top 3 Places

August 7, 2025
by Jan Edwards
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Eat

When we moved to Mallorca in 2004, the previous owners of our finca left us a helpful list of their favourite eateries in the area. Most of these have since closed, but Estragon in Felanitx became one of our go-to places. Estragon After Anna and her chef husband sold Estragon, a German couple briefly took over the place. Since November 2023, Felix Passow and his wife Vivien, have owned it, after moving from Berlin to […]

What’s New at Rotana La Reserva in 2025?

June 24, 2025
by Jan Edwards
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Eat / Sleep

For a start, the change of name to Rotana La Reserva from La Reserva Rotana. It’s subtle but significant: the 5-star hotel with a nine-hole golf course and vineyards near Manacor has new owners (a family from Singapore). New management is also in place, led by experienced hotelier Giovanni Merello – whom I first met when he opened Palma’s 5-star Can Bordoy Grand House & Garden. He’s directed eight new openings and managed projects in […]

A Festive Feast or Getaway in Rural Mallorca

November 25, 2024
by Jan Edwards
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Sleep

I make no apologies for writing again about Finca Can Beneït, a rural hotel in Mallorca that captured our hearts on our first visit. Every time we’ve stayed overnight – and I think we’ve now stayed five times here – I fall a little more in love with the hotel, the staff, and Binibona itself. And what’s not to love about the hamlet of Binibona, where this enchanting hotel is located? Arriving here you feel […]

Feast on Fish in Cala Rajada

October 8, 2024
by Jan Edwards
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Eat

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 […]

Lunch in Palma: Basic Bar Restaurante

September 23, 2024
by Jan Edwards
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Eat

Basic Bar Restaurante in Palma is a hidden gem in Mallorca’s capital. You’re not likely to stumble across the place on a sightseeing wander because it’s in a side street off the busy Carrer Aragó. This isn’t an area usually frequented by visitors to the city, although the large El Corté Inglés department store is only a few minutes’ walk away. We’ve eaten many times at Basic since it opened in 2009, because the food […]

A Port de Pollença Favourite: Stay Restaurant

January 30, 2024
by Jan Edwards
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Eat

Looking for a restaurant in Mallorca that’s open all year – and is right by the Mediterranean? Stay Restaurant in Port de Pollença fits the bill. This restaurant has been a magnet for visitors and locals since 1972, although it looks different today thanks to a major renovation in 2006. Eighteen years on, it still looks contemporary. I couldn’t tell you how many times we’ve eaten at Stay over the past twenty years. We’ve been with […]

Where to Eat in Felanitx – Estragon La Plaça

January 22, 2024
by Jan Edwards
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General

When we first bought our rural Mallorca property in 2002, our finca’s previous owners helpfully left us a list of their favourite local eateries. Some of the restaurants on the list no longer exist but one we used to visit often is back in business – albeit with different owners, interior, and food concept. That restaurant is Estragon La Plaça in Felanitx. When we used to eat there, Anna and her husband, who was the […]