Mirabona, Binabona (Selva)
The appetite-reducing effect of Mallorca’s sizzling summer temperatures is over, making September perfect for resuming alfresco lunches out. With great timing, Mirabona restaurant at Finca Can Beneït has just launched its new weekday lunch menu and it’s worth the drive to hideaway Binibona (near Selva) to try it.
The location is gorgeous and a table on the elevated and partly shaded terrace offers views across the island, including a distant sea view of the Bay of Alcúdia, and the finca’s productive surrounding land and vegetable plots. If you’re in need of some tranquillity, Mirabona delivers that too.
The award-winning chef Raúl Linares Pinzón – still only in his twenties – previously worked as a chef de partie at Mallorca’s two-Michelin-starred Voro, before joining Finca Can Beneït to head up Mirabona’s kitchen. The young chef has a ready supply of the finca’s vegetables, fruit, and herbs to inspire his cuisine.
The new weekday lunch menu changes every Monday. You get Mirabona’s own bread (made with mother dough), extra virgin olive oil from the estate (pressed in the tafona you pass on entering the hotel), three courses (with choices), a bottle of water, a glass of wine, and coffee. For the quality of the whole experience, I think the 35€ a head we paid was excellent value.
We had a choice of two starters, three mains, and two desserts. The starters were a cherry tomato salad with burrata cheese, fennel, rocket, and almond pesto – which my companion declared delicious. Having enjoyed croquettes here before, I chose the selection of four: ham, chicken, cauliflower, and red prawn from Sóller.
The main course is a ‘llauna’ dish: rice cooked traditionally on a tin baking tray. The menu offers three choices, of which one is shared at the table. The maître, Lucas Balbuena, brought the steaming tray to a side table from which he served the rice onto plates. We chose the duck breast rice with ‘arroz brut’ spices; the rice and the sliced duck were perfectly cooked, and the quantity was just right.
Desserts were a lightly sautéed fruit salad (with a hint of Amazonia rum) with yogurt ice cream, or a banana ‘blondie’ with peanut toffee and almond ice cream.
A glass of wine (red, white, or rosé) is included in the price, and sommelier Amy Dunn gave us an explanation of the Mallorcan red she suggested to accompany the duck. As in our past experiences here, Amy’s recommendation was spot on.
Eating alfresco here is a joy but, if the weather should be against lunch or dinner outside, the dining room is a cosy place to enjoy the Mirabona eating-out experience.
Photos: Jan Edwards
Prices correct at time of writing.