LA PALOMA - LUNCH

Address:     Calle Apuntadores, 16, Palma de Mallorca
Telephone:  00 34 971 71 17 45

I went here on a Tuesday in September for lunch with my husband and another couple, having booked the table a few days before.

The restaurant is set in a corner building of the La Lonja area of Palma just off the Passeig Born.  It has sandstone walls and a feature chandelier in the centre of the restaurant.  It was quite cool outside and it felt warm and welcoming inside.

We were welcomed to the restaurant by a very pleasant waiter who showed us to our table and quickly brought our menus and took our drinks order.  Two of us had sparkling mineral water throughout the meal, one had a small draught beer and the fourth had a couple of glasses of red Rioja house wine which were no more nor no less than you would expect from a house wine.

As it was rather a grey watery autumnal day we all decided to plunge straight in to the menu with the slow-cooked shoulder of lamb on a bed of puree potatoes, accompanied by a medley of finely chopped vegetables.  The lamb was superb and the potatoes were not so much of a puree but mashed and worked well with the lamb.  There was a small amount of gravy which was tasty but I would have liked to have had a bit more of it.  The vegetables were an interesting mixture of courgettes, carrots and peppers and there was more than enough to share between the four of us.

The helpings were extremely generous but we decided we had room for dessert.  Three chose the creme brûlée which was declared delicious and I chose the chocolate mousse with coconut cream.  The chocolate mousse was delicious, and not too sweet, but the consistency was more that of a fondant.  This, I felt did not detract from its enjoyment and the coconut cream was light with a hint of coconut and went very well with the chocolate.

By this stage we were all replete with no room for coffee and all declared that we had had an excellent lunch with friendly, timely and professional service.

The bill came to a very fair €127 for the four of us before the tip.  

We will certainly return to this restaurant.

QUADRAT RESTAURANT - DINNER

Address:            Plaça de Sant Francesc, 5, 07001 Palma, Illes Balears

Telephone:         00 34 971 49 50 00

I went here with my husband and another couple for dinner on a hot Wednesday night at the beginning of September.

Although I have been here a few times before the entrance to the Hotel San Francesc in which the restaurant is situated never ceases to delight.  A combination of old and new is tastefully achieved in the high ceilinged reception area and you then pass through a delightful open atrium courtyard with olive trees in it before arriving at the top of the stairs that lead down to the restaurant.  There is a lift if you don't want to walk down the stairs.

As it was such a warm evening we ate in the outside terrace which is once again tastefully presented with a good distance between the tables so that there is a degree of privacy for each dining table.  A living wall of plants is a particularly stunning feature of the terrace.

We were given a warm and professional welcome and shown to our reserved table.  Food and drinks menus awaited us and our drinks order was taken quickly and drinks delivered in a timely fashion.  I had a G&T (very drinkable) and the rest of the table had white and red wine - both excellent.

We were presented with an amuse bouche which was a frozen lime and saki mojito presented in a frozen half lime.  This was delightfully cooling on a warm evening as well as tasting excellent.  A generous basket of an assortment of delicious bread rolls was brought at this time too.

For starters we shared crystal bread, ham and cheese croquettes and small cod fritters.  The croquettes and cod fritters were faultless but the crystal bread could perhaps have been served warm, but it was otherwise very good.

For mains the women chose the sea bream which was served with a beautiful green pea sauce.  This looked extremely appetising - and was just the right amount on a warm evening.  It was perfectly cooked and the flavours combined well.  We both thoroughly enjoyed it.

The men chose fillet steak served with roasted new potatoes and they were declared superb - lovely fresh ingredients cooked to perfection and again most enjoyable.

By this time we were quite satisfied but 3 of us could not resist the chocolate dessert which was a selection of chocolate delicacies with a chocolate ice cream, so we shared 2 between 3 of us.  Whilst it was nicely presented I felt that each delicacy could have contained more chocolate - some were like small pieces of tiramisu and others were like chocolate sponge with tiny chopped nuts.  It was not unpleasant - we managed to devour both plates - but was just not quite what I had expected.

We asked if we could have coffee on the roof terrace which wewere told was fine, but we had to pay for dinner before going up to the roof as they are different franchises.  We didn't feel this was a problem and were surprised that our meal had worked out at €200 for the 4 of us which we felt was good value for money.

We took the lift to the roof terrace where we had beautiful views of the Palma skyline complete with several illuminated iconic buildings.  

The staff on the roof terrace were every bit as charming as those in the restaurant and our coffees and wine order was taken and delivered swiftly.  They were also up to the high quality of our experience in the restaurant.

I shall look forward to returning to Quadrat again soon.

TIERRA DE GRACIA - SUPPER

Address:        Carrer de la Missió, 15, 07003 Palma, Illes Balears

Telephone:    00 34 971 59 05 35

Having dined here twice before on a weekday evening, I went with my husband and another couple on a Saturday night in September.  Both previous times the restaurant had been more or less empty which we thought was a shame as the food had been excellent.

On this evening, though, they were turning people away as it was fully booked and I was glad that I had booked a couple of days before.


The ambience is comfy industrial and it is well air conditioned so very cool.  Had we wished they would have turned the temperature up a bit but we were comfortable with it.  This is just one of the ways that the owners/staff in this restaurant try to make your experience comfortable and enjoyable.

As on previous occasions we were given a warm and professional welcome by the head waiter and shown to our reserved table.  Our drinks order was taken and menus brought very quickly.  One of our party ordered a G&T - very drinkable - and one had a glass of verdejo white wine which was very good.  Two of us were on water - one was driving and I was running early the next morning.

For starters we shared 2 plates of carpaccio of octopus which was delicious.  It was gently dressed with a robust olive oil and oregano, seasoned to perfection and served with small batons of brown bread.

To follow, two had seafood linguine with olive oil and garlic sauce which was pronounced excellent, one had the homemade hamburger which was served on a bun with homemade oven chips on the side - again pronounced excellent - and I had the sea bass with small roasted potatoes and sweet potato chips.  This, too, was delicious.

Although we were pretty full by this stage we ordered a rosemary panna cotta with strawberry jus so that our friends could try it.  They loved it.

I had a cortado to finish (espresso with shot of steamed milk) which was just right.


The pace throughout the meal was spot on and staff were happy to chat and answer our questions at any time.  As we were leaving we asked what the area was upstairs and they explained it was a waiting area if someone wanted to wait for a table and have a drink and offered to show us it.  It is rather like a snug with comfy sofas and some pieces of furniture and I would be very happy to wait there for a table.

The bill for four of us came to €115 before the tip which we felt was excellent value for money.

We shall be back!