Botànic Restaurant, Palma

The 30-plant challenge has been gaining momentum since Professor Tim Spector of Kings College London cited research on his nutrition website, Zoe, finding that eating 30 different plant foods a week benefits the gut microbiome. Mallorcan chef Andrés Benitez was ahead of his time, four years ago, when he launched his plant-based menu at Botànic, the restaurant at Palma’s 5-star Can Bordoy Grand House & Garden.

The key to eating more plant-based foods is finding appealing dishes, and those are exactly what Andrés and his team offer at this restaurant highlighting ‘plant-forward’ cuisine. It’s not all vegetarian, but plant foods are the stars of this culinary show and when fish or meat are in dishes, it’s high-quality and organic. 0km produce dominates.

We went for lunch, taking advantage of a warm and sunny October day to sit in the peaceful garden behind the hotel. It’s hard to believe you’re in the centre of bustling Palma when you sit under the leafy canopy of the trees listening to birds and the water playing in the fountain. No wonder Condé Nast Traveler described Botànic as ‘One of the 40 most beautiful restaurants in the world.’

As well as the à la carte menu, there are three tasting menus, described as ‘Routes’ – each named after a wind (Greco, Mistral, and Xaloc). These menus are for a minimum of two people and for the complete table.

We tried a variety of dishes, starting with moreish, sumac-topped pita bread with three dips: raita made with Mallorcan yogurt, chutney of Porreres apricots, and spicy tomato. (3,50€ per person, but included in the ‘Routes’ menus.)

I don’t have the word count to describe every dish we tried, but would highlight the aubergine glazed with almond cream, mutabal, chickpea crumble, and pickled lemon; the Vietnamese pizza (extraordinary, you should try it), and the free-range chicken grilled and served with a peanut sauce and zingy Thai salad. But I loved every single dish we ate, and this lunch was one of my gastronomic highlights of this year.

I’ve known and admired Andrés Benitez’s cuisine since before he came to Botànic, so I was delighted when he came out to mix the Caesar dressing at our table for one of the dishes we ate.

We paid 60€ each for the Greco tasting menu; 10€ per glass of good ‘rosado’, and 3,50€ for a bottle of water. We were invited to coffees. Salva, who’s in charge of service at lunchtime, is a friendly asset to the team.

Out of interest, I jotted every different plant-based item we ate in my notebook, stopping when we reached the recommended 30 (herbs and spices count). Tim Spector would be impressed. And so was I.

Photos: Jan Edwards/Botanic

Prices were correct at time of writing