Mallorca isn’t just picture-perfect beaches and hidden coves. It’s also a hot bowl of Mallorcan soup in winter, the crunch of a freshly baked ensaimada at any time of day, and that tumbet that’s served as a side dish but could easily be the main course.
If you’ve come to Palma de Mallorca with a desire to eat well, its cuisine is hearty and full of flavors that make you understand why Mallorcans are so proud of their cooking.
The bus station is the entry point for many tourists arriving from the airport or other parts of the island, and right there, a two-minute walk away, you’ll find the Lock Here Now automatic luggage storage facility. Leave your backpack or suitcase and start your gastronomic tour of Palma unencumbered. Because to eat well in Mallorca, you have to get around, visit markets, and lose yourself in alleys that smell of sobrasada.
3 Essentials of Mallorcan Cuisine
Before you start visiting restaurants and markets, you should know that you can’t leave Palma without trying traditional Mallorcan food.
1. The Unmissable Mallorcan Soup
Mallorcan soup isn’t really a soup, or at least not what you’d expect when you hear “soup.” It’s a thick, hearty stew made with seasonal vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, peas), thin slices of country bread that soak up all the broth, and a garlic and tomato sauce that gives it its distinctive flavor. Some people make it with meat broth and others with vegetable broth. It is the quintessential winter dish on the island, although you will find it all year round in traditional cellers. It is served hot, in a clay pot, and is so filling that you hardly need to eat anything else.
2. Sea and Land: Tumbet
Tumbet is one of those dishes that seems simple but, if done right, leaves you wanting more. It’s the perfect side dish, a kind of Mallorcan ratatouille: layers of eggplant, potato, and red pepper, all fried separately and then topped with homemade tomato sauce. Each vegetable retains its texture and flavor, and when you try it all together, it’s spectacular. Traditionally, it is served as a side dish with meat or fish, but there are places where they serve it as a main course with a fried egg on top or with cod. It’s vegetarian, it’s a traditional Mallorcan dish, and it’s delicious.
3. The quintessential dessert: Ensaimada
The ensaimada is Mallorca’s traditional sweet treat. A spiral of flaky pastry, sprinkled with powdered sugar, you can find it in every bakery on the island (although not all ensaimadas are the same). There are two main types: the plain ensaimada (made with lard, which is the traditional version) and the filled ensaimada (the most typical fillings are angel hair or cream). The plain version is lighter and is always the one Mallorcans choose. The angel hair version is sweet and syrupy, perfect if you want something more substantial.
Where can you buy the best one?
Look for artisan bakeries rather than chains or supermarkets. A good ensaimada should be fluffy, light, and have well-defined layers. And if you buy it to take away, it will be wrapped in a characteristic octagonal box that is now part of the experience and identifies visitors to the island at airports. Some bakeries will even ship it to your home if you are traveling from outside the island. Before buying, ask just in case.
Gastronomic Routes: enjoy the best traditional food in Palma
Now that you know what to eat, it’s time to find out where to go to avoid chain restaurants and tourist bars. Palma has some obvious areas to head to if you’re looking for traditional Mallorcan food. And the best thing is that they’re all within walking distance of the center of Palma, where you’ll have left your luggage at the Lock Here Now lockers.
Option 1: Discover the markets for tapas and fresh produce
The Mercat de l’Olivar is Palma’s most important food market. Stalls selling fresh fish straight from the Mediterranean, Mallorcan cured meats (sobrasada, camaiot, botifarró), cheeses from the island, olives, vegetables… It’s the perfect place to understand where everything you’re served on your plate comes from. But the best thing about the Olivar is that there are several bars inside the market itself where you can sit down and enjoy some tapas: grilled prawns, octopus, anchovies, or simply a good pa amb oli (bread with tomato, olive oil, and whatever you want to put on top: sobrasada, cheese, ham…). It’s authentic, it’s cheap, and it’s full of locals.
Option 2: Traditional wine cellars in Palma's old town
Cellers are typical Mallorcan restaurants that were originally wine cellars or basements where wine was stored. They have high ceilings with wooden beams, barrels as decoration, large dark wooden tables, and a menu full of traditional dishes: Mallorcan soup, frit mallorquí (a scrambled egg dish with offal and potatoes), pork loin with cabbage, lamb, snails…
In Palma’s old town, there are several historic cellers where waiters have been serving the same dishes for decades. They are unpretentious places with generous portions and fair prices. Some have more than a hundred years of history. Ask the waiter for advice and let yourself be guided.
Option 3: Fish and seafood specialties
If you love fish and seafood, you have to visit Sa Llonja, Palma’s fishing district. It’s home to some of the best fish restaurants in the city: squid, cuttlefish, monkfish, grilled fish of the day, seafood rice dishes, lobster stew…
It’s a more touristy area than the cellers or the market, but if you choose wisely, the quality is spectacular. Look for places where you see Mallorcans eating, ask for the catch of the day, and don’t get confused by extensive menus. The best ones usually have three or four options and that’s it. Here, the product speaks for itself.
Enjoy your day in Palma without any worries
Palma is best enjoyed without the weight of your luggage. The Lock Here Now automatic luggage storage facility is located near the bus station and is open 24/7. Book online in five minutes, receive your unique code by email and WhatsApp, and store your luggage safely while you enjoy good food, stroll through the old town, and savor the taste of Mallorca with every bite.
Don’t leave the island without trying the best traditional food Palma has to offer.
