La Braseria, Pollença

La Braseria may not have the allure of a seafront eatery in Port de Pollença or a restaurant in the narrow streets of the charming Pollença town, but it does have a Josper charcoal oven. And if you enjoy the flavour of food cooked over fire, La Braseria is worth a visit for young Bolivian chef Ruben Uzquiano’s expert cooking.

This restaurant in the north of Mallorca couldn’t be easier to find – it’s at the Ca’n Berenguer roundabout just outside Pollença town, at the junction with the Ma10 to Lluc. It’s between the traditional mallorquín textiles business Teixits Vicens and Paco Mobles furniture store and, at first glance, looks like an ordinary roadside eatery with an attractive covered front terrace.

Although the terrace looked appealing, on a hot and humid day we were seduced by the prospect of air conditioning and ate in the smart contemporary-style dining room.

The menu offers tapas, salads, and meats and fish cooked on the grill. The meat choices include T-bone and Tomahawk steaks (for two hungry people). La Braseria sources as much of its produce locally as it can and this includes the 0km lamb, from the Cooperativa de Pollença. Lamb even has its own section on the menu. Vegetarian dishes are restricted to four tapas, one salad, and a falafel burger with cheese and confit tomato sauce.

We started by sharing generous portions of patatas bravas and grilled chicken wings with smoky tatemada (charred salsa) sauce. I particularly enjoyed the chicken wings.

We both had sea bass, which arrived whole on a wooden platter with a lettuce garnish, baked aubergine, and home-cut fries. The fish was perfectly cooked, and my only tiny service gripe was having to suggest that a spare plate would be useful for discarding the inedible parts of the fish.

Having eaten well, we weren’t going to have dessert. Until our server, Alejandra, told us that all the desserts are made in-house … and the Josper-baked cheesecake is particularly good. It was like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey, so we shared a cheesecake. Had I known how deliciously creamy and rich it was going to be, I’d have had a portion to myself.

When on holiday, you don’t want to be clock-watching, so it’s good that La Braseria’s kitchen is open from 12:30 until ten at night so you can discover the allure of this place at your leisure.

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices correct at time of writing.