3. Cap Roig
Go for the view, stay for the food
This seasoned crowd-pleaser on Cala Sa Mesquida has been keeping the island’s ever-growing hardcore of ahderents happy since 1983. And the appeal is pretty obvious: the chic but unshowy crowd, sun-dappled coastal views and the seriously fresh, simple-in-a-good-way seafood at prices that could probably be more cynical for a restaurant with such a plum spot by the sea. Book ahead in peak season or forget it.
Carretera Sa Mesquida 13, Cala Sa Mesquida
restaurantcaproig.com
4. Sa Llagosta
The small, picturesque seaside village of Fornells on Menorca’s north coast is a destination in its own right, so if you’re going and you need a lunch spot, it has to be chef David de Coca’s unassuming but ace lobster bistro just by the water. The house special is, no surprise, the immensely good caldereta menorquina (lobster stew – considered the island’s best) but just about everything is bang-on here. Crazy popular, call ahead for dinner.
Carrer de Gabriel Gelabert 12, Fornells
5. Cova D'En Xoroi
If you’ve done your pre-holiday homework on Menorca, chances are you’ve seen an image of this chic, Insta-baiting bar-club hacked into some cliffs on the south coast at least once. And, no, it’s not a cheesy tourist trap but one of Menorca’s bona-fides that makes for possibly one of the most chill, pre-dinner sundowners on the island. Not cheap, as you’d expect, but, hey, you can’t not, right? Come pretty: the dress code is enforced.
Urbanización Cala en Porter, Carrer de sa Cova 2
covadenxoroi.com
6. Café Belear
Order the caldereta de langosta (Menorcan-style lobster stew)
Sure, Michelin can continue to do the rounds on Menorca’s ever-shifting, ever-starry dining scene, but this boss-level seafood specialist from the 1970s sticks to its guns with unerring commitment to quality that keeps the locals and the island’s returnees coming back again and again. Every kind of seafood imaginable is done fabulously well here including the speciality caldereta de langosta (Menorcan-style lobster stew). Book ahead of hustle for one of the no-reservations outdoor tables.
Passeig es Pla de Sant Joan 15, Es Pla de Sant Joan 15, Ciutadella
cafebalear.com
7. Binifadet
The peaceful winery is the perfect brunch spot
Menorcan Carlos Anglés’s beautiful, family-run winery in the quiet countryside just south of Mahón makes a more-than-worthy reason to take a time-out from the coast: the wine, clearly, is the draw but it’s well worth budgeting time for the restaurant, too, where a three-course weekend brunch menu of sophisticated daily specials and a glass of Menorca bubbly and coffee feels like winning every time at €25 a head.
Carretera Sant Lluís-Es Castell
binifadet.com
8. Rels
Pedigreed chef Joan Bagur returned to his Balearic rels (‘roots’) to create one of Ciutadella’s most imaginative restaurants where the traditions of the Menorcan kitchen are cleverly rewired into immaculate plates of holiday joy. Sure, it’s a bit fancy, but you can still expect enough heft from dishes like porcella de Menorca (suckling pig) or bacallà confitat (cod stew) to turn up hungry. And, hey, you’d pay loads more for this in Barcelona.
Carrer de Sant Isidre 33, Ciutadella
relsrestaurant.me
9. Passio Mediterrania
Local specialities made with love
A heart-on-sleeve passion project on Mahón marina with an outdoor terrace run by all-smiles chef Teresa Montesinos and creative cohort Gonzalo Martinez who do their own take on modern Menorcan cooking that rarely disappoints the island’s in-the-know eaters. The small menu changes monthly but combines tapas-style small plates with good-sized mains. The well-assembled wine list shows similar care.
Moll de Llevant, 298, Mahon
passiomed.com
10. Pins 46
Think pink at the chic Pins 46 dining room
Set on Plaça dels Pins in Ciutadella, this smart city-centre sister to beloved Menorca institution Café Belear carries all the same swagger as its portside sibling with a reliably fresh roll-call of seafood dishes that veers from fancy-but-not-fancy lobster with fried eggs on chips to a more debonair Menorcan monkfish carpaccio and everything in between. A list of sweet white wines by the glass deserves more attention than it gets.
Plaça dels Pins 46, Ciutadella
cafebalear.com
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