Foody City Breaks in Palma
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The Balearic capital of Palma is a one-stop-shop for foodie tourists seeking the best of Mediterranean gastronomy year-round.
From Michelin starred restaurants and a new sustainable dining concept to sandwich crawls and tapas festivals, Palma’s food scene has something to offer all travellers this autumn.
MICHELIN STARRED RESTAURANTS AND HIGH-END DINING CONCEPTS
In recent years, Palma has consolidated itself as a world class food destination, with six restaurants in the city from Michelin chefs. A high end dining highlight is Marc Fosh, which offers tasting menus centred around the best local Balearic produce, with dishes includinglocal goats cheese mousse with blackberry merengue and apricot-rosemary sorbet. Adrián Quetglas draws upon his Argentinian and Mallorcan heritage to offer experiential tasting menus of five or eight courses, with standout dishes including gazpacho with prawn carpaccio, pickled watermelon, and basil and almond ice cream.
New dining concept La Farm invites guests to partake in a dining experience which aims for a zero-kilometre distance from source to plate. Set amongst olive, almond and orange trees just 15-minutes’ drive from Palma city centre, offerings include grilled fillet of seabass with truffled parmentier and tuna tartar with gazpacho and grapes. Visitors to Palma should also try to catch one of Hidden Kitchen’s monthly events, an innovative concept from Chefs(in) during which chefs prepare an exclusive surprise menu for a small number of diners in a secret location.
COOKERY WORKSHOPS
Palma offers a variety of culinary experiences and workshops for tourists to try their hand at cooking local dishes themselves. Housed in an impressive medieval building, Deborah’s Culinary Island at Forn de sa Lotgeta offers a Market Tour and Traditional Cooking Workshop perfect for those looking to immerse themselves in Mallorca’s foodie culture. The four-hour hands-on class, which starts at 135 euros per person, begins with a wander through the Mercado del Olivar, the largest food market in the city. Participants will delve into the market’s vibrant atmosphere to source ingredients needed for the cookery class. Afterwards, they will prepare an authentic seasonal menu made up of a snack, starter, main and dessert, accompanied by organic local wine. The guided class draws upon traditional cooking and food preservation methods to honour Palma’s historic culture.
FOOD TOURS AND CRAWLS
Food tours are another great way to experience Palma’s culinary delights in depth.Tours By Locals offers a unique guided tour to discover the city’s abundance of traditional pastries. Visitors joining local history enthusiast Albert on the half-day tour will hop from vintage bakery to confectionery shop to try Mallorca’s renowned ensaimadas amongst other sweet treats, learning about the roots of typical desserts as they go. For those who prefer something savoury, autumn sees the return of the self-guided Llonquet Route. This popular sandwich, made from an authentic Mallorcan bread, will be on offer with a drink for a reduced price every Wednesday from 16th October 16th until 11th December at a list of over 30 bakeries in Palma, allowing hungry tourists to go on their very own sandwich crawl around the city. Alternatively, there is the option of a more traditional tapas crawl through the Sa Gerreria district. Visitors can begin in the lively La Rosa Vermuteria, and work their way around restaurants and bars such as Quina Creu and Molta Barra, trying everything from calamari to beef tenderloin.
TAPALMA FOOD FESTIVAL
A key highlight of Palma’s food calendar is the TaPalma food festival in November: the city’s annual tapas and cocktail festival seeking to showcase the best local gastronomy. The event consists of both a city-wide tapas cookery competition and specially created tapas menus being served at special prices at 50 different bars and restaurants. Hungry tourists can take part by following designated tasty tapas routes through the city, seeing the areas of central Palma, Playa de Palma, Santa Catalina and the waterfront promenade along the way.
