Eating in Menorca: the back story

About Eating in Menorca: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Menorca Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Menorca eats from its own fields and sea. Fornells is famous for caldereta de langosta, the lobster stew; Mahón-Menorca cheese carries a protected designation of origin; and gin has been distilled on Maó harbour since 1945. In the last few years, young chefs have opened kitchens in town houses, farm estates and hotels across the island.

What to eat

Caldereta de langosta is the lobster stew of Fornells. Mahón-Menorca cheese is protected by its own designation of origin, overseen by the Consell Regulador in Maó. Xoriguer has made gin in copper stills over a wood fire in Maó since 1945 (xoriguer.es).

Ciutadella

Smoix occupies an 18th-century Menorcan estate beside Sant Ignasi. Aquiara, at Morvedra Nou on the road to Macarella, is José María Borrás’s restaurant. At Cala’n Bosch, Godai blends Japanese and Menorcan cooking, and MICAT is Luis Valls’s market kitchen. On the port, Café Balear is on the Passeig del Moll.

Many kitchens close in winter or on set days: check before you drive across the island.

Maó and the harbour

El Rais looks over the Club Marítimo on the Moll de Llevant; El Romero, on Plaça de la Conquesta, cooks with produce from the market and the fishing boats; Candela faces the Mercat des Peix; and La Cocina de Cristine is in the Cristine Bedfor hotel. In Sant Lluís, Sa Pedrera d’es Pujol and Pan y Vino are country restaurants a few minutes from Maó.

In the country

Torralbenc’s restaurant is among its vineyards; Santa Mariana grows much of its own produce; Ca na Pilar is in a historic house in Es Migjorn Gran; and Es Cranc in Fornells is the classic address for lobster stew.

Booking

Book ahead in July and August, and check opening days in spring and autumn: several restaurants close in winter.

Our advice: lobster stew is a long lunch, not a quick one. Go to Fornells hungry.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Eating in Menorca: the back story before you go.