Last Saturday a friend and I headed to the “open doors” event at Museo Sa Bassa Blanca in Alcudia. As we planned to spend the day and were unfamiliar with the area, I sought a restaurant recommendation. My colleague at the Bulletin, Laura Stadler, came to the rescue by recommending NISÌ by Giuseppe. Several others recommended the same spot, so after spending several hours at the fantastic gardens of Sa Bassa Blanca, and doing a bit of shopping, we headed to the restaurant.
We were warmly greeted by a friendly waiter and promptly seated in a nice spot on the enclosed terrace, even though we arrived without a reservation. The place seemed cosy, which is often not the case with fine dining establishments We particularly admired the ceramics; each plate and cup was different and looked like a piece of art in its own right. Later, we learned that all of them were handmade and brought over to Mallorca from Tunisia.
We started the evening with a couple of glasses of cava served in very cool metal “glasses” and a variety of breads and bread sticks served with a home-made black olive tapenade and aioli, which was delicious and very moreish. We drank some water “that has never seen the light” - Magma de Cabreiroá Original Aluminio – bottled in stylish black aluminium bottles. This was a novelty I promised myself to read up on a bit more.
My friend opted for Tataki de Saku de Salmón Ahumado con Muselina de Patata, Verduritas Crujientes y Caviar de Wasabi (smoked salmon tataki with wasabi), while I chose Solomillo de Ternera Gallega con Patata Gratin Dauphinois y sus Verduritas (Galician beef sirloin steak). The theatrical presentation of the salmon, with smoke coming out from underneath a glass bell, was quite fun to watch. My steak was nicely medium done; it had a rich salty, smokey and slightly livery taste and lovely soft texture.
The accompanying steamed vegetables retained some nice crunch and went really well with the meat. So did the gratinated potato, even though I would have loved to have a slightly bigger square of it. Then again, I am a huge potato lover and for me there can never be too much of it. My friend’s salmon smelt divine and tasted scrumptious. Wasabi in the form of “fake caviar” added an interesting touch to the dish for me, while my friend commented that its taste could have been a little stronger for her liking.
Overall, both of us really enjoyed our meals and the atmosphere as the place started to fill up after 8pm or so. We chatted for a while with Giuseppe's son Edoardo, exchanging tips on where to eat and drink in the Alcudia area versus the south of the island. Edoardo shared how he occasionally drives to Palma just to have some of “the best ice cream on the island” and then drives straight back to the other side again. Now, that’s a special kind of dedication – both to gelato and his Italian roots. We ended a night by drinking a chupito or two of a deliciously creamy home-made limoncello with a touch of mint.
Location
NISÌ by Giuseppe
Calle dels Pins 7
Port d'Alcúdia
Tel: 971 310 280
Instagram: @nisibygiuseppe
The bill
Main meals from 30 euros
Opening hours
Monday & Tuesday 12pm to 11pm
Wednesday to Saturday 9am to 6pm
Sunday closed
The verdict
The food was very good, especially the steak, and the service was warm and welcoming. I would happily come back to try pizza or pasta at the second one of Giuseppe’s restaurants, just across the road from NISÌ.
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