RAMEN OTAKU

Address:  Carrer de la Volta de La Merce, 2, 07002, Palma
Telephone:  00 34 871 02 25 18

I went here with 3 girlfriends for an evening supper on a Monday night.

It was recommended by a Japanese friend who now lives in Mallorca as being very authentic.  Although the chef is German he apparently trained in Japan.

The smallish restaurant has simple sleek lines with long tables and bench seating.  The kitchen is open for diners to view and there is a slight, but not unpleasant, aroma of cooking.

We were welcomed in a friendly and professional manner and drinks were quickly brought before our waitress patiently talked us through the menu in English.  As well as water, we ordered a couple of Sapporo beers and a glass of saki rice wine, all of which were more than acceptable.

One of our party was vegetarian so when we decided to share a couple of starters we chose vegetarian options.  One was Edamame al Vapor which was a generous size and the beans were perfectly cooked with a very pleasant flavour. The other was Gyozas de Tofu con Verduras which were delicious little dumpling parcels.  The two starters were more than enough for four of us.

For mains we chose individual Ramen noodle dishes - two chose the chicken, one chose the chicken and pork and the vegetarian chose the vegan option.  The broth which the noodles and meat/vegetables were contained in was slightly spicy but not overdone.  There was the right amount of noodles, but for meat-eaters there was not a huge amount of meat.  Each dish was a generous size and each was deemed to be very tasty - and filling.

By the end of the mains none of us had room for a dessert but each of us had a small coffee, each well executed.

The cost per head, with tip, worked out at €20 per head which we thought was a very fair price for what we had.

If you like to try something different this might be an interesting place to try when you have tired of all the mediterranean options available in Palma.