Restaurante SaMo by Sascha, Sant Llorenç

The German chef/patron, Sascha, closed his Artà restaurant L’Atrio in November 2021. The following summer, he opened Restaurante SaMo in Sant Llorenç near Manacor, serving ‘soul food’.

The restaurant takes its name from Sascha and his goldsmith/jeweller wife Mona. A showcase in the restaurant displays some of the stylish, contemporary pieces, she makes in her Artà workshop.

The restaurant is on Sant Llorenç’s pedestrianized, main street, in a former century-old bakery. Sascha did all the renovation work himself, retaining some of the building’s vernacular features. In the semi-open kitchen at the rear, you can see the bakery’s original oven door and controls – although the huge oven itself is no longer in use.

Rte SaMo has comfortable seating (sofas and armchairs) as well as some of the original furniture from his former Faro restaurant in Artà. Tea lights on the tables add to the ambience.

Our welcoming and charming ‘mallorquina’ server, Jero, showed us to our table for two by the window, where we sat on comfortable armchairs. As in increasing numbers of restaurants here, bread, aioli, and olives didn’t come automatically.

The menu starts with a selection of small plates and tapas, including ‘Grandmother’s goulash soup’, dates wrapped in bacon, Iberian ham from Salamanca, and gratinated goat’s cheese salad. We chose panko-coated prawns (4) with a chili dip (9€), which were very tasty, and six home-made croquettes (three each of cod and spinach) accompanied by a small salad (8€). The latter had a crisp crumb with a lovely soft interior. To be frank, we could have shared either of those dishes as both were substantial starters.

Main course dishes include salads, Asian-style wok dishes (with a choice of rice or noodles), fresh fish, pizzas, and a few meat dishes. At Faro in Artà, Sascha offered different cuts of beef from a few countries, and steaks were always popular there. At SaMo, the steak is Black Angus rump in portions of 280g (go hungry!) (26€). It comes with a choice of two accompaniments from a short list.

I had salmon wok with noodles (16€) and my companion the grilled octopus with vegetables (19,50€), which he said was very tasty. My wok dish could have been spicier for my taste, but I enjoyed what I ate until I was full. Jero told me that they don’t like diners to leave still feeling hungry. German-owned-and-frequented restaurants tend to offer generous portions.

Too full for most of the dessert options, we each had one ball of ice cream (for a photo), which arrived decorated with fruit (3,50€).

Our bill for a three-course dinner for two came to a reasonable 69,10€ and included a half-litre bottle of Font Major sparkling water, and a ‘vermut’ (3,50€) and a glass of house red (3,50€) for my companion.

Vegetarians eating here will find a suitable pizza, a veggie wok, and a salad.

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices correct at time of writing.