Patiki Beach, Port de Sóller
With the forecast of the current Indian summer in Mallorca continuing for a while longer, it’s time to seize the final opportunities to eat out in a beach restaurant – before the shutters go down for this season.
Head for d’en Repic beach in Sóller and you’ll find a beach restaurant that’s a cut above the average … so much so that it was one of the establishments featured – and raved about – in the Mallorca episode of the British TV show ‘Remarkable Places to Eat’.
Patiki Beach is a Mediterranean restaurant bringing produce from the farm to the table – with beautiful views across the water to the other side of Port de Sóller.
The place has a laidback vibe but there’s nothing laidback about the kitchen activity. The chefs are kept busy in the open kitchen producing plate after plate of delicious food – some of which is cooked in the Josper oven.
The menu offers sharing plates and if you go with more than one other person, I recommend choosing a few dishes for a variety of taste experiences.
The cuisine is largely plant-based and full of flavour. Friends visiting from the UK joined us for lunch and it took some time for us to decide what to choose from the tempting menu.
Our lunch began with moreish toasted sourdough bread, garlic oil, and thyme. Between the four of us, we had ‘Big Burrata’, with melon, mustard seed pickles, and basil pesto; charcoal-roasted courgette, feta cheese, kale, and crunchy lentils with tahini sauce; charcoal-roasted sweet potato, fruit chutney, with pomegranate and dukkah, and we couldn’t eat in Sóller without ordering a portion (200g) of the local prawns stir-fried with chimichurri and coriander aioli. Plenty of lip-licking – and in the case of the prawns, finger-licking – featured.
This may not be the place for you if you like a choice of meat dishes, although there is a ‘lomo alto’ steak on the menu. Perhaps the best option, given the seaside location, is the catch of the day baked in the Josper, with a salad of fresh fennel, carrot, and celery with orange vinaigrette. I’m salivating just thinking about it.
As well as wines, you can choose from a short menu of original-sounding cocktails – including non-alcoholic. Being the driver isn’t a hardship when you can sip on a drink called Baby Basil or Patiki on the Beach.
Patiki Beach is slated to close for the 2023 season on Sunday, October 29th, so there may still be an opportunity to reserve a table before then. Open daily from 12 noon until midnight.
Photos: Jan Edwards
Prices correct at time of writing.