LA BODEGUILLA - SUPPER

Address: Carrer de Sant Jaume, 3, 07012 Palma, Illes Balears
Phone:  00 34971 71 82 74

This restaurant is featured in many of the guides to eating out in Palma and has been for at least 12 years as we recently spotted it in an old guide that we had from 2003!  So it was there that my husband and I headed on a Monday evening in October.

It looks inviting from the outside, with modern decor and sympathetic lighting, and as we stepped in we were asked if we had a reservation.  When we said we did not, we were told rather abruptly that we could choose from 2 tables.  Having duly chosen the one we preferred the waitress then left us without saying another word before returning with a wine list and menus.  Unfortunately, there was no attempt to engage with us and we almost felt that we should apologise for troubling her - and we are not overly sensitive types!   She and the rest of the serving staff were Philippinos so we wondered if perhaps there was a cultural divide that we did not comprehend.

Fortunately, this waitress stopped attending to us and we were then served our drinks and food by 2 other waitresses who, fortunately, had not been to the same charm school as the one we initially encountered.

My husband had a very drinkable glass of verdejo and I had a Botanic G&T with Fevertree tonic which was excellent.  The sparkling water was Pelligrino.

We chose from the tapas menu.  The patatas bravas were served with a slightly picante creamy dip and were tasty.  The octopus in a potato foam was excellent and the smoked cod on roasted aubergine was good.  The poached egg with foie gras and truffle sauce was extremely tasty and there were copious amounts of the sauce which we soaked up with ciabatta bread rolls.  We also had toasted brown bread fingers rubbed with oil and tomato which were also tasty.  I finished with a well made coffee cortado.

We enjoyed our tapas meal but it was not as good as others that we have tried in nearby restaurants and, whilst it was not overly priced at €69, it was more expensive than other tapas restaurants nearby too.  Combined with a less than convivial welcome on arrival this will not be top of our list of restaurants to revisit.

One positive thing we discovered (via one of the very engaging waitresses), though, is that La Bodeguilla has an extensive wine list and it is possible to buy the wines to take away at a reasonable price.  They had some bottles of Nou Nat (a Mallorcan white wine), which is difficult to find, so we left with a couple of bottles of that for €15 per bottle.   As we live not far from here when we are in Mallorca we shall possibly use it as an off-licence from time to time.

CANELA BISTRO - LUNCH

ADDRESS:  Calle Sant Jaume 13, 07012 Palma de Mallorca
TEL:  + 34 971 71 03 14

I had lunch here with my husband on a Saturday in late October and it was fine enough weather to sit on the terrace which is across the street opposite Canela Bistro outside a church.  This is very pleasant as the passing walkers and traffic do not intrude on your dining experience and it is fun to people watch and observe the horse drawn carriages passing by.

The waiter told us that the lunch menu was different to the evening menu, but as we had not dined previously in the evening we had no expectations of what might be on offer.

My husband had a glass of a white rioja which he thoroughly enjoyed but, sadly, that was the last glass of the last bottle so he followed this with a couple of glasses of verdejo which was very drinkable but not as good as the white rioja - perhaps that's why the last bottle had been drunk dry!  As it was lunch time I was happy with a glass of sparkling mineral water - Fonter which is not over-gassy.

The menu offered snacks as well as more substantial dishes and we chose 2 of the more substantial dishes - a porcini risotto with hake for my husband and linguine with prawns in a tomato, garlic and chilli sauce.  They looked extremely appetising upon their arrival with a little touch of rosemary to garnish the risotto and a sprinkle of saffron for the linguine.

Linguine with prawns in a tomato, garlic & chilli sauce

Porcini risotto with hake

We both had to try one another's as they looked so delicious.  The risotto was full of herb and porcini flavour and the hake served on top was succulent and cooked to perfection.  The linguine had several large shelled prawns which were everything a fresh prawn should be, the linguine was also cooked to perfection and the sauce was a rich delight of tomato, garlic and chilli flavours.

Although I could have stopped at the main course I was intrigued to try a dessert and was torn between the two on offer - passion fruit sorbet with chocolate mousse on top or banofee pie.  I plumped for the latter which was served in a glass tumbler.  The base was a dark slightly salty crunchy crumbed biscuit and was topped with delicate chunks of banana, a delicious vanilla ice cream and a topping of coconut infused cream.  It was not as rich as it sounds and the portion size was just right.  I finished with a perfectly made cortado.

Banoffee Pie

As a food experience this was faultless.  However, the service was a little slow as the restaurant was full of diners - not surprising given the delights on offer.  The waiter did apologise for the slow service and explained why.  We were not in a hurry and were quite happy with the pace of serving but this may not suit everyone.  I think the food is definitely worth waiting a little longer for and the waiting staff were pleasant and friendly.

We shall be back soon to try what's on offer for dinner.

The cost was a very reasonable €51.

TOQUE DE QUEDA - SUPPER

ADDRESS:  Calle Can Cavalleria 15b, 07012 Palma de Mallorca, Majorca, Spain
TEL:  +34 971 21 38 10
IMPORTANT NOTE:  DOES NOT TAKE CREDIT CARDS/CASH ONLY

I ended up here with my husband  around 9.30 pm on a coolish evening because the first restaurant we tried in Carrer Sant Jaume was full and the owner recommended another nearby , but en route we saw a friend dining in Toque de Queda who waved us in.  Such is the plethora of restaurants to be found around Carrer Sant Jaume!

The decor is reminiscent of a tiled kitchen from many decades ago, including the original oven, and would not compete well in an interior decor contest.  However, in spite of the apparent lack of effort on decor the ambience is excellent with many of the tables used for sharing with fellow diners.  We chose a bar shelf for 2 with high stools as our table.

The menu is a series of tapas or tablas style dishes with some small bites for one and others substantial boards for sharing.

We tried the oven roasted potatoes with a delicious savoury mayonnaise on the side - so good that my husband ordered seconds;  indiviudal scallops in breadcrumbs served in scallop shells with a thick lime sauce accompaniment - tasty but needed the lime sauce to make them special; carpaccio of courgette with parmesan - fresh and delicious;  caprese salad with fig marmalade - beyond the usual recipe with the clever addition of the fig marmalade; fingers of toasted bread with oil and tomato - light and very moreish.  A small bottle of the most exquisite balsamic vinegar was provided on the side to add as and when desired.

My husband had a couple of glasses of Albarino wine and I had a G-vine G&T (sadly I cannot drink wine due to the presence of sulphites).  The wine was deemed very good and the G&T was made even more interesting with the addition of cardamom seeds and herbs.

Fortunately we noticed on the bottom of the menu that credit cards were not accepted but at €59 for the lot it was not necessary to visit the cash point round the corner where we would have been directed had we been without the necessary cash to settle the bill.

The staff were charming and service at just the right level - neither rushed nor tardy.

We will be back!