Visitors and locals keen to throw their taste buds a curve ball in the Balearics can rejoice as the islands' fine-dining scene is arguably one of its most flourishing highlights. In fact, no less than nine Balearic eateries were rewarded with a prestigious Michelin star this year. Here's what island and charter specialists SNS Yacht Charter say about Voro (Mallorca) and Es Tragón (Ibiza), the newest restaurants to have been awarded the tyre company's illustrious gastronomic gong.
Es Tragón, Sant Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza
Es Tragón's charming, leafy-green terrace and mesmerizing sea views quietly impress while chef Álvaro Sanz Clavijo's a la carte and tasting menus will give foodies-in-the-know something to shout about. Clavijo's love and appreciation for haute-cuisine have taken him from cooking up a storm in some of the world's most esteemed restaurants (like New York's L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Italy's Don Alfonso 1890) to bustling Ibiza, where he wows diners with his moreish interpretations of Med cuisine. His skilfully composed menus feature dishes which shine through Clavijo's personal touches and reworked traditional recipes which boast a story behind each creation. The appetisers, themed 'Bares por España, are particularly impressive and include chilled Andalucian soup, 'pan tumaca' and 'bocata de calamares'. We also love Es Tragón's friendly waitstaff: guys and girls who are clearly as passionate about their job as we are about the restaurant's dreamy terrace and to-die-for dishes.
VORO, Capdepera, Mallorca
Award-winning chef Álvaro Salazar, whose culinary visions are the result of his experience behind the stoves of many famous restaurants, is sure to surprise dinerswith his 11 and 15-course tasting extravaganzas, Voro and Devoro. Expect a veritable feast for the senses, both by means of Salazar's tasting menus and the restaurants' various artworks. Voro's talented sommelier will impress wine lovers with pairings that enhance each and every mouthful while waiters and waitresses transfix with the fluid way they bring out impeccably timed, beautifully presented courses: each a truly imaginative reinterpretation of time-honoured dishes, not to mention the perfect combination of texture and taste. Our highlights? There are too many to mention but we can promise you that the French toast dessert is -hands down- the best version of the dish you will ever taste. The seven restaurants that have kept their starred lustre from 2019 are the jewel of the St. Regis Mardavall, Es Fum; Adrián Quetglas, an intimate, bistro-style restaurant; Zaranda, Mallorca's only 2-starred restaurant; the friendly, family-run Es Racó d'es Teix; Maca de Castro, a gastronomic restaurant in every sense; Andreu Genestra, an eatery that prides itself on dishes with Mallorcan flair and Marc Fosh, Palma's well-known laidback gem.
