Fernando Perez Arellano & Javier Gardonio in front of Cantina Panza. | m.a. cañellas

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It is not easy to stand out in the world of gastronomy by presenting new offers that manage to surprise demanding palates. And even less so to do it in a friendly, relaxed environment that invites diners to share the gastronomic experience in a pleasant setting and with no more formalities than necessary.

This is the challenge posed by Cantina Panza, the restaurant managed by Fernando Arellano and Javier Gardonio. A challenge they face with the aim of surprising their customers, but not so much for their originality as for their ability to transfer classic recipes prepared over a slow heat to the plate.

For Perez Arellano this is an exciting adventure. “Javier is an excellent cook, who started working with me. In 2006 he joined the Zaranda team at Son Claret, first as a kitchen assistant, and then at Baiben in Puerto Portals, taking on more responsibility and commitment. Some time later he suggested to me the need to carry out his own personal project, and now, the chance and the desire to carry out this common project has led us to meet in the Cantina Panza, a restaurant located in an unbeatable spot in the centre of Palma. And besides the fact that we understand each other perfectly professionally, we are united by a very strong personal friendship.”

The Hotel Sant Jaume is a 5 star hotel located in the centre of Palma that needs a first class gastronomic service. But that is not the reason that Fernando and Javier gave up the idea of a restaurant with popular cuisine for one more focused on the daily urban cuisine, which needs to be comforting for the client. “Our dining room is not a canteen with tables in rows. We are looking for comfort, a quiet and cosy space where international clients can have a pleasant time. An environment of pleasure and conversation for people who travel, and also for residents who like traditional, mainly Spanish cuisine, to find a gastronomy with a cosmopolitan touch, typical of cities like Paris and London. It’s the kind of restaurant that has now come to be called neo-urban”.

This is what Cantina Panza calls ‘memory cuisine’. Fernando and Javier are bringing their own creativity and way of doing things. “Both Javier and I are interested in things that are well done. We follow the Zaranda school but with a touch of originality. We combine our travelling spirit with traditional cuisine, what we have called ‘haute cuisine from the pot’, trying to ensure that each new dish that reaches the table is the result of many hours of preparation work”.

To enjoy this gastronomic experience, the readers of the Majorca Daily Bulletin only have to access, through the advertisement of the tasting menu promotion and the QR code included in it, to the online booking platform, selecting first the date of the reservation, the number of guests and the desired time of service, the system then provides a reservation ticket that guarantees, among other things, the compliance with all the security measures in force at all times.