De Tokio a Lima, Valldemossa

If you’re a fan of De Tokio a Lima restaurant at the Can Alomar hotel in Palma, a treat awaits you in the must-visit village of Valldemossa – where a second De Tokio a Lima opened at the end of February this year.

Although Valldemossa is less than 20 kilometres from Palma, it feels a world away from the bustle of Mallorca’s capital. And here, in the serene setting of the adults-only Hotel Valldemossa – now in the IT Mallorca portfolio of boutique hotels – the newest De Tokio a Lima offers the same menu (and prices) as the Palma restaurant, but with gorgeous mountain and village views.

For our lunch, we had the choice of the attractive dining room and two terraces – one of which faces La Cartuja, the charterhouse where Chopin famously spent a winter. Diners can use the hotel’s car park during their restaurant visit.

The food at De Tokio a Lima is a creative fusion of Japanese, Peruvian, and Mediterranean influences, masterfully prepared by chef Ricardo Rossi. Lunch and dinner are à la carte. For a special occasion, the tasting menu served with Veuve Clicquot champagne would be a treat (128 € per head).

We ate à la carte, starting with shrimp fritters with orange dressing, rocoto (a chilli pepper native to Peru), and lime (25 €) and Iberian pork sashimi with sweet and sour mango sauce and sesame (27 €). Two people could share either of these dishes as a satisfying starter.

Our main course dishes were perfectly grilled, plump scallops with seasonal vegetables and a sauce of aji amarillo (a hot chilli pepper, also from Peru) (30 €), and a creamy Mediterranean rice dish of red shrimp, cuttlefish, and vegetables, which my companion said was full of flavour and moreish (30 €).

The menu also includes sections for caviar, raw and marinated dishes such as ceviche and tartars, and veggie dishes – of which there are five appealing choices (18 € – 23 €).

We barely had space for dessert, but our server’s recommendation of De Tokio a Lima’s signature creamy Sóller lemon tart (15€) sounded too good to miss. We shared a portion of this delicious, individual tartlet topped with sorbet under torched meringue. It’s an indulgent treat for sweet-toothed diners.

I was pleased to find kombucha available here, which I drank with my lunch. My companion had a glass of ‘rosado’ from Pollença winery, Can Axartell (6,50 € a glass). The list offers champagnes and mainly Spanish and Mallorcan wines, with several available by the glass.

For those days when Palma is too busy or too hot, a trip to Valldemossa – and De Tokio a Lima – beckons.

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices correct at time of writing.