Bar Ten, Sineu

For a town that was once the capital of Mallorca (from the start of the 13th century until the mid-14th century), Sineu is a sleepy place when it’s not market day. On an autumn Monday evening, our footsteps echoed on the cobbled pavements as we walked through the quiet streets and lanes to our destination, Bar Ten.

Sineu’s only cocktail bar is in the small square that’s filled with fruit and vegetable market stalls every Wednesday morning. But this tiny, stylish bar (capacity less than twenty), is not just a place for a drink. Bar Ten is known for serving British food with a Mediterranean twist, using island produce.

Bar Ten is owned by Hannah, the chef, and Stefan, who is front of house and cocktail maker. Hannah’s parents own the nearby boutique hotel, Ten Mallorca, which accounts for the similarities in the interior design of the two businesses.

This month, Bar Ten is offering a Thai menu – something different while Hannah is on maternity leave. As it’s not often we find Thai flavours in restaurants in this area, we couldn’t resist a visit.

The menu offers five starters, priced between 5€ and 7,50€. All sounded tempting, but we finally chose confit duck tacos with an Asian-style salsa and chicken satay with peanut sauce. A flavoursome start to our dinner. Next, it’s a build-your-own-curry main course. No, you don’t have to squeeze into the kitchen to assemble your dish, but place your order with Annika from the hotel, who was working front of house that night. You choose from chicken, pork, or vegetables, and add yellow, red, or green curry sauce, and your choice of coconut rice or egg noodles. Eh, voilà. Annika warned us that the green curry sauce was very spicy, so I opted for the red, which was the perfect degree of spice for my taste. Whichever curry you choose costs 12€ and the rice or noodles are 4€.

Two home-made desserts are on the menu: warm, three-chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream (6€) and baked cheesecake with passionfruit (6€), so we had one of each. My cheesecake was silky smooth.

Bar Ten’s size makes this a friendly place, and we spent some time chatting with an American resident of Sineu at the next table, who’d come to try the Thai menu. Another satisfied diner.

To drink, there are thirteen listed cocktails, a good choice of spirits, house wines by the bottle or glass, and a few soft drinks. I was driving so tried and enjoyed the Fevertree ginger beer (3€). Wine by the glass is 5,50€.

Bar Ten is a great find in the very heart of Mallorca for a different dining experience. We’ll be back – and next time we’ll take the train to Sineu.

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices were correct at time of writing