HOSTAL RESTAURANTE CAPRI Located around 100 metres from the seafront in the little tourist village of Es Pujols, this restaurant/hostal is one of the island’s oldest (since 1963) and has always been owned by the same family. If you are looking for 100% fresh fish, seafood, and rice dishes in a non-hectic, calming place with white tablecloths and pressed napkins, a relaxed atmosphere, and trained cooks who know what they are doing, well, you have come to the right place. Capri

RESTAURANTE ELKANO One Michelin Star Getaria is the picture-postcard Basque Country fishing village that produced designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, Plácido Domingo’s mother, and Juan Sebastián Elcano, the first mariner to circumnavigate the globe. Getaria is a fishing port. You can wander down the old streets to the harbour. Walking past various shops selling their wares. There are a couple of lovely beaches in and around the town. Set on a crossroads above the harbour of G

O SOLAR DOS LEITOES This is a hidden restaurant on the outskirts of Monsanto. It serves delicious traditional Portuguese cuisine and some of the best grilled fish in Lisbon. It has been a family business for three generations and is in a remote, run-down residential area in Buraca. It is not easy to find, and it is definitely off the tourist track. Even taxis with satnav still seem to have a problem finding it! Do not let this put you off. You will be dropped off at the bott

BAR PACO BUENO This is a very traditional, social club-style, old-school-style Pintxo bar. Many local families mix with tourists, from the young to the very old. The bar is big on boxing, rugby, and Basque rowing, and the surrounding walls are covered with old memorabilia. It is run by owner Paco Bueno (who was a boxer in his younger days ) and his sons. It's lively, entertaining and has a friendly atmosphere. The specialities are deep-fried seafood, such as calamares, but t

RESTAURANTE CASA TORIBIO PERMANENTLY CLOSED 2024 (The restaurant is now a new establishment) This is a very traditional restaurant in the heart of Madrid. In 1980, they opened as a pub called New Street, whose interior was based on a London street. After several years of making their name with Gin-Tonic with lemon peel, champagne cocktails, and Irish coffee, they began acquiring exclusive Rabo de Toro de Lidia (bull meat) from the nearby Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas (the

VENTA SANT JORDI After a fantastic bike ride in and around the mountains near Alcoy , Howard Goldsmith of Alicante Sunshine Villas ends with a revisit for Sunday l unch at Venta Sant Jordi, 4 km short of Alcoy. Venta Sant Jordi (St George) is our favourite; we haven’t been there for a while. So, we looked forward to Sunday and were not disappointed. The location is stunning. For motorbike lovers, it is on a wide corner, where you can watch the bikers take the corner with th

MESÓN TXISTU A Little off the beaten track, this is a very traditional Basque restaurant. With an old-school setting. Once settled in, we had Jamón Iberico de Bellota Almejas marinera (fisherman’s clams) Gambas con huevos revueltos (prawns with scrambled eggs) Calamare fritas (fried squid) You can also try, Tortilla de bacalao (cod omelette) Rape a la plancha (grilled monkfish) Solomillo (sirloin steak) Chuleta de ternera a la parrilla (grilled veal chop) Pierna de cordero (l

SA CAPELLA UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2024 Like quite a few venues in San Antonio, Sa Capella has been taken over by Grupo Mambo. It is still a fantastic venue, but now trendy Boho rather than Monks in Robes style. The menu has changed and is much more expensive, including the wine list, so if you want to go, check the menu before you go. The food is much more international now than Ibicencan. For example, Australian wagyu costs €41 for 100g, and the cheapest bottle of wine is €70—Vega

ES REBOST DE CAN PRATS This is our second look at traditional Ibicencan cuisine in Sant Antoni de Portmany (San Antonio). Located in a house built in the early years of the 20th century, it was one of the first shops in Sant Antoni. It sold food like chickens, eggs, cheeses, pebrassos, rabbits, vegetables, potatoes, and other products necessary for everyday life. When they opened in 1994, in the home of the current owners’ grandparents, who had been in the family for more th

RESTAURANTE O LUSITANO This is our second visit to this restaurant in Matosinhos, just north of Porto. All the seafood is cooked on the outside grills. It is near the sea and the fish market, so all the fish should be fresh. Restaurant after fish restaurant greets you on this street with the beaches a stone’s throw away, but this is our place to go. You can eat at the outdoor tables (which now have glass borders since covid; in the past, they were just in the street) or insid