Palma is a paradise for foodies all year long
12 October, 2022The city of Palma is well known to British tourists, but maybe not in all the aspects that may interest them. It is important to highlight that Palma is emerging as a very attractive gastronomic tourism destination for foodie travellers, thanks to a very wide and diverse restaurant range which offers satisfaction for all palates, however delicate and demanding they may be.
The first good news is that the eighth edition of the Parabere Forum congress will be held in Palma on October 23rd and 24th, an annual event of great resonance which reunites opinion leaders in the field of gastronomy, food and nutrition. It aims to create a powerful global network to strengthen the influence of women in the food sector.
One month later, between November 23rd and 27th, the TaPalma tapas and cocktails fair will be held, reaching its 17th edition in 2022. For a few days, Palma will become the hub of Spanish gastronomy thanks to a route through the main establishments that offer these specialties in the Balearic capital. It is a fun proposal to which an increasing number of tourists are signing up.
And on the other hand, it should be remembered that in early September, the Van Van Market was held at the Parc de la Mar (in front of the Cathedral), a gastronomic experience with a concentration of food trucks, some of them arriving from Barcelona for the occasion. This is an annual event which has recovered strongly after the pandemic, highly successful in the participation of the local public and international visitors.
What’s more, every year in May the Mostra de Cuina de Mallorca is held in Palma, an event in which multiple restaurants from all over the island and in particular from the city participate, offering a quality menu for a few days at a fixed price and a gastronomic menu, at a free price and based on local products. This is a great opportunity to discover the potential of Mallorcan restaurants.
In the hotel industry of Palma, the distinguished restaurants with Michelin Stars shine out, such as Zaranda, in the Hotel Es Príncep with 2 Michelin Stars, Adrián Quetglas, on the Paseo de Mallorca or DINS de Santi Taura, at the Hotel el Llorenç Parc de la Mar. And also Marc Fosh. While Botànic is a ‘veggie friendly’ restaurant located in the garden of the Can Bordoy hotel, a five-star hotel.
Eat in the city centre or on the outskirts
All the aforementioned gastronomic temples are located in different places in the old town of Palma, which is a very pleasant area to explore on foot but there are more in other locations. On the outskirts, towards Calvià, in the area of Costa d'en Blanes, we find Es Fum, another of the most iconic restaurants in Mallorca, with a Michelin Star to boot.
But actually there are many, varied proposals which adapt to all budgets and moments of consumption. Sometimes, rather than signature cuisine, people look for an iconic place or to eat in a restaurant with excellent sea views. And all these possibilities abound in the Balearic capital.
The typical products of Palma are the sobrasadas [sausage] and the ensaimadas [pastry] which everyone knows. But delicious cheeses and cured meats are also produced there. And in the Mediterranean, wonderful fresh fish and shellfish are caught. There are local specialties, such as the 'trampó' salad, which is ideal to eat in summer, the vegetable dish 'tumbet', the fish 'a la Mallorquina', the rice in broth 'arrós brut', the 'frito mallorquín', which combines offal, peppers and potatoes, or the traditional soups: ‘sopes mallorquines’, with versions for all seasons of the year.
Naturally, in Palma, tradition is combined with modernity and cutting edge. And we can discover genuine flavours, even very interesting updated adaptations, alongside the most innovative, daring and intriguing proposals. It is about choosing the right place and time, because we already provide good weather, a great welcome and safety.