In an attempt to find some good and reasonably priced lunchtime options in Palma, my research led me to La bodeguita del centro, a cute looking café tucked away behind La Rambla. On the day that I came, I realised that this place is so popular that it requires a reservation, even at lunchtime. There was a queue and I was asked to wait about 15 minutes. I was even more intrigued now, and decided to see why this unassuming little café was so popular.
While waiting, I got chatting with Alberto, a Mallorcan, recently retired man, who ate here often. I invited him to share the table, as we both came solo, and I was so glad when he accepted. A lot of inspiration for my columns comes from people I strike random conversations with and Alberto proved to be a fountain of local knowledge, telling me where to eat what on what day. Priceless!
We started with Arroz Marinera. For some reason I expected a dry dish, but this was something like a seafood soup with lots of rice. It was absolutely delicious and I would definitely have it again. According to Alberto, La bodeguita del centro has the same menu Monday-Wednesday, and then another one for Thursday and Friday.
For the main I went with Entrecot steak with black pepper sauce. I asked for this to be served on the side, as I don’t always like it, so just in case… This was served with hand cut French fries. The steak was larger than I expected, perfectly done, tender and juicy. It was in fact better than at some known steak houses around town. I was not too keen on the sauce, but that was probably just down to my personal preference rather than anything being wrong with it.
Alberto, meanwhile, opted for Dorada a la plancha and proclaimed that it was absolutely delicious – as always. I tried his pepper, olives and capers sauce that accompanied the fish and thought that I must order this next time. And there definitely will be the next time!
For dessert we both went with Tart tatin with vanilla ice cream which came with super crispy crust and soft, cinnamon flavoured apple chunks. I could happily come here just for this!
I think that many of us have this preconception that Mallorcans are closed people who do not welcome foreigners. For me, Alberto was yet another example of this not quite being the case.
I approached him with respect and curiosity for his culture and cuisine and he responded warmly, telling me about his childhood in El Molinar, sharing his top secret beaches and restaurants without hesitation. We even ended up talking about politics. I guess what you give is what you get - with Mallorcans, as with anything else in life.
Location
La Bodeguita del Centro
C. del Carme, 16A, Palma
971 49 52 59
The bill
Menú del dia at 19.90 euros
Opening hours
Mon-Fri 9am-4pm
This week I also loved
… Christmas domes at Origin Palmanova! This has been “the talk of the town” for several weeks now and I was super excited to see what the fuss was about. So, I gathered a group of my closest friends who have not gone away, and we went there earlier this week. The set-up is truly magical! It is not like anything I have seen in Mallorca so far. The igloos can be heated so they are perfectly comfortable even with the lower temperatures of December. The food was a typical British Christmas fare, with a few innovative twists thrown in for a good measure. There was a choice of three starters and three mains (meat, fish and vegan), I went with Pumpkin soup and Beef Wellington and loved both of my choices! For deserts there was a selection of minies, all very tasty and fun! The domes are up only till the 23rd of December, and I urge you to go and have some unique festive time there!
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