IBIZZA PIZZERIA, Calvià Beach
Can you imagine a Hollywood movie star topping up his tan on the beach in Magaluf? Well, in the mid-1950s, holidaying ‘High Noon’ star Gary Cooper and a female companion asked a taxi driver to take them to Mallorca’s most tranquil beach. Hard to believe it was Magaluf.
That day, a local couple – who had built a summer home by Magaluf’s beautiful sands – gave the movie star a glass of water, and their young son Eugenio had his photo taken with him.
Today, Eugenio’s son Javier runs the popular Ibizza Pizzeria cocktail bar and restaurant in what was once his late grandparents’ much-loved summer home. Step inside the small house and you’ll see old black-and-white photos on the wall, including the one with Gary Cooper and Eugenio, showing a Magaluf few people would remember.
Magaluf is changing again, shaking off its wilder reputation and morphing into the more family-friendly resort of Calvià Beach, with a growing choice of shiny, new eateries. But if you prefer a more intimate family-run place with some history and an attractive garden setting, check out Ibizza Pizzeria – facing the sea at the quieter end of the beach.
You sit shaded from the sun by palm and pine trees. My usual enthusiasm for eating lunch had been dimmed by the baking-hot day – until I discovered the blissful benefits of the shady garden and cooling sea breezes.
This is a popular place for cocktails – most of which cost under 10€ – and the upper terrace is open in the evenings for great views. I had a refreshing alcohol-free mojito at 8,50€, but there’s a choice of wines, beers, and soft drinks too.
We ate and enjoyed the Thai vegetable rolls (4 for 12,50 €) with a sweet chili sauce, and crunchy prawns (5 for 12,50 €) from the eleven starters. The menu offers three salads, five meat dishes, 13 different pizzas (12,50€-16,50€), and seven pasta dishes. There’s a kids’ menu of four typical child-friendly dishes (8,50 €) and four desserts.
This season, Javier has added paellas (all at 19,50 €) to the eatery’s offering and if you’re alone in wanting paella, it’s available here for one. The seafood paella tempted me, but I’d recommend the original offering of pizzas – the people behind us were raving about theirs. We ended lunch with a decent coffee served with a small biscuit. Service was efficient and friendly.
Before you return to the heat of the beach, enjoy a few more moments in this little haven of history and check out the photos of Gary Cooper and Magaluf as it once was.
Photos: Jan Edwards
Prices correct at time of writing.