So far I have mostly written about restaurants in Palma and South West of Mallorca. This summer, I have set myself a challenge to venture further afield and feature some exciting places from all over the island, which might be appealing to both those of us who live here full time and our seasonal visitors.
I found the first such place in Santanyi, a charming little Mallorcan “pueblo” in the South East of the island. The town itself has just over 12,000 inhabitants, but swells with visitors this time of the year. Yet, it does not feel too touristy… It is home to one of the famous Tony Mora cowboy boots stores and several other cute little independent shops, including a beautiful perfumery.
But, back to food! I came to Santanyi for a late Friday lunch with my friend Steffi. We headed to Sa Botiga, located right in the centre of town; leaning against the local church. This rather large place consists of several distinct areas, including the main restaurant space, a patio, a terrace beside the church, and even a beautiful multilingual library upstairs. It is in that library that Steffi often worked on her “Faces of Mallorca” book some years ago. (Look up this book if you haven’t heard of it already! You will love it!)
We settled in the cute patio, full of curious memorabilia and baskets of fresh lemons, and started our meal with some crusty home-made bread accompanied with a couple of interesting spreads. There was a small pot of obligatory alioli, but here it was made with tiny shreds of carrot and orange peel. It tasted sweet and fresh, like no alioli I have ever tried before. The other spread was made with quark cheese, seasoned with herbs and citrus peel. Another novelty I have not seen anywhere else on the island.
For starters, we had baked mozzarella enrobed in angel hair pasta. Crispy texture of pasta gave another dimension to this simple creamy cheese. It was further enriched by a couple of sauces: a slightly spicy mango chutney and some sort of plum sauce which was out of this world! I tried to get the chef to reveal his recipe for this plum deliciousness, but was told only that it was cooked with “several spices and a bit of magic”. Call me mad, but I would go back to Santanyi just to have that sauce again!
The other one of our two starters consisted of cooked lentils salad with raisins, walnuts, red peppers, dressed in a delicious creamy sauce. Steffi ordered just half a portion, but even that looked big enough for two.
I’ve been craving pork this month, so I ordered pork medallions for my main dish. They were perfectly roasted - crisp on the outside and light pink on the inside - and tasted delicious. The side dish of crushed baby potatoes and seven types of roast vegetables (yes, I counted!) was super filling, yet it felt light enough for a warm day.
Sa Botiga is run by a German couple and German influence can be detected in some choices on the menu. However, their chef is Indian, so there are also several Indian classics on there. Steffi chose Cauliflower and potatoes seasoned with coriander, cumin and tomato. Another delicious dish that I would happily order for myself as well!
We ended our meal with a couple good strong coffees and shared a German style home-made apple cake. Finally, to send us on our way, the waiter brought out home-made liquor made with lemon and herbs. It tasted something like a cross between a limoncello and hierbas de Mallorca. Delicious and dangerous!
On my way back to Palma I thought to myself how only several hours have passed since we left the city, but it seemed like forever. I felt recharged and refreshed, as if I went for a trip abroad. I will definitely be swapping my usual routes for excursions like these a bit more often.
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