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 ..read more

Chef/patron Roland Schulte The popular east coast of Porto Cristo is home to tennis supremo, Rafael Nadal. His impressive-looking house has a view across the water to the resort and to his catamaran, which – apart from the excursion boats – is the largest vessel moored there. There’s more to see and enjoy in Porto Cristo – especially if you’re interested in caves (or a dinosaur theme park!) – but if you’re looking for dinner out that’s a little more refined than the seasonal, seafront eateries (some of which, such as the well-managed Quince, are worth a visit), I’d suggest Restaurant Roland. N ..read more

Statistics for this blog show that my post, ‘My Top 3 Restaurants in Manacor’, has had a lot of readers lately. Not a day passes when it hasn’t had multiple views. This means I need to update it, as I have two restaurants to add to my list of favourite eateries in Manacor – the capital of Mallorca’s Llevant region. One addition is El Guiri, in the centre of Manacor. It’s a small place with no outdoor dining area, but we really like it for its cosy ambience and delicious Italian cuisine made from good-quality ingredients. Guiri is the Spanish word for ‘foreigner’, so you won’t be surprised to ..read more

The spoon logo on the door into Cantina Panzà. All photos Jan Edwards© Mallorca’s capital, Palma, has a cosmopolitan restaurant scene, and you can find different cuisines from around the world. But if you want to eat real Spanish food in an atmospheric setting, I can recommend Cantina Panzà. You’ll find this cosy place on the Paseo de la Rambla – best known for its many flower stalls. Two excellent chefs are business partners in Cantina Panzà: Madrid-born Fernando Pérez Arellano – whose fine-dining restaurant Zaranda is also in Palma and has held a Michelin star for many years – and his friend ..read more

Your charming hosts, Walter (left) and William (R), at Los Dos Caballeros Winery One of the highlights of our 2023 summer in Mallorca was attending an intimate outdoor cinema event at Los Dos Caballeros Winery between Inca and Llubí. Such was the success of the evening, Los Dos Caballeros Winery has organised a series of movie nights this summer. Cinema Paradiso – a private cinema company in Mallorca – will be screening some popular movies amid the vineyards of this relatively young winery, which produced its first wine in 2021. Walter Kraushaar and William Stanley, who own Los Dos Caballeros ..read more

The garden at Curolla Hotel/Plat a Plat Last year we discovered Plat a Plat, a vegan restaurant in Maria de la Salut. This small town in the Mallorcan countryside wasn’t a place where we expected to find such an eatery. We’re not vegans (although we often eat vegetarian) but wanted to try Plat a Plat because I’m sometimes asked for restaurant recommendations for vegans. We hot-footed over one evening last autumn and had a delicious and creative dinner. Alas, our plans to eat there again with friends the following week were thwarted: the seasonal Plat a Plat was about to close for the winter. W ..read more

If you’ve ever wondered about the golden crossed-keys pins that some hotel concierges in Mallorca (and around the world) wear on their jacket lapels, read on to find out more about this elite sector of the luxury hospitality business. These concierges are members of the global professional association known as Les Clefs d’Or or, in Spanish, Las Llaves de Oro. Around 4,000 members of this association work in over 80 countries and 530 destinations all around the globe. Las Llaves de Oro – the Background The association of Les Clefs d’Or was officially founded in Paris in 1952 as a not-for-profit ..read more

The growth in the Mallorcan wine sector has been significant over the 20 years we’ve lived on the island. And that growth hasn’t been only in the number of wineries but also in the quality and uniqueness of the wines produced. Today, Mallorca has around 100 bodegas, with the oldest (Bodega Ribas) dating from 1711. Exciting new wineries have opened in recent years – some of them owned by foreign residents of Mallorca – and the viticulture/viniculture scene on the island still has the potential for further development. How to find out about Mallorca’s bodegas and wine The new hardback book, Mal ..read more

If your choice of a hotel is determined by the number of official stars it has, you’ll have plenty of places to choose from in Mallorca: the island now has some 65-and-counting 5-star hotels. If that sounds bewildering, you may wish to check out the Michelin Guide’s new distinction for outstanding hotels: the Michelin Key. It’s the hotel equivalent of the Michelin Star for restaurants and was launched on April 29, 2024. What is the Michelin Key? Michelin explains that the Michelin Key is awarded to hotels that are ‘not simply a room for the night, but offer an outstanding stay’. The Michelin K ..read more

Welcome to the Hotel Valldemossa – The Natural Sanctuary For our first wedding anniversary after moving to Mallorca in 2004 – and several subsequent anniversaries – we spent a night away at the romantic Hotel Valldemossa. The hotel – originally two 19th-century stone houses – has gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains and countryside as well as La Cartuja, the Royal Charterhouse. The Polish composer Chopin famously spent a mid-19th century winter in the former monastery with his lover, the writer George Sand (real name Aurore Dupin, Baroness Dudevant). After a few years of discoverin ..read more