Palma Pintxos, Mallorca

Pintxos at Tast Union

We checked out a few restaurant options for the Saturday night of our trip to Palma, but with none of them appealing, we decided to do some bar hopping instead.

The first place that we visited was Tast Union. Grabbing some seats at the counter we were a little unsure of the etiquette, but the form seemed to be that you helped yourself to plates from the pintxos counter (that either came in single or double servings). We also ordered a couple of dishes from the tapas menu.

Prawn, whitebait and salmon

The pintxos at Tast Union were really, really, good. Not only did every plate look amazingly appealing but there were also so many tasty combinations of flavour in every single bite. I particularly remember the courgette, jamon and garlic mayo pintxos (photo below) and an anchovy and jamon number with basil oil.

Chorizo in cider and cured sheep's cheese

Slightly less successful than the pintxos, for me, were the tapas that we also ordered. The chorizo in cider wasn't a patch on the version from L'Oculto. I'm usually a big fan of manchego style cheeses, but here it was easy to be eclipsed by the pintxos.

Courgette, ham and garlic mayonaise

Realising that we were somewhere very good we had a couple of extra pintxos rather than moving in case we ended up somewhere disappointing.

Tast Union
Calle Unio, 2, 

07001 Palma, 

Illes Balears,

Spain

When we did finally tear ourselves away we crossed the road and headed up a small side street and straight into La 5a Puñeta, which was equally great but in a completely different way. Where Tast Union on the main drag was polished, this place felt a lot more like an authentic local bar that hadn't changed a bit in the last ten years,

The small restaurant was filled with families and young locals looking to get their pintxos hit. Plates of food were brought out from the kitchen and placed on the bar. The crowds then descended to help themselves and if you didn't get in quick you were likely to miss out!

I remember trying the tortilla from the photo above which was really salty, but it worked very well.

Payment seemed to almost be on a honesty system where you went up to the counter on your way out of the bar and showed them the number of cocktail sticks that you had and told them how many glasses of wine that you'd drunk. Proving that honesty system do work when I realised I couldn't have paid enough, in my faltering Spanish I asked them if they'd charged us for the carrot cake (which they hadn't).

Carrot cake

I was pretty surprised both places charged the same for their pintxos at 1.75 EUR a pop. They are absolutely both worth a try. Tast Union won on presentation and just edged the flavour combinations for me. La 5a Puñeta wins on atmosphere and the fun factor.

La 5a Puñeta
Carrer de les Caputxines, 3
07003 Palma
Illes Balears
Spain

Palma eats: three places to try

Ca'n Joan De S'aigo

Here are three places we discovered on our weekend in Mallorca that are worthy of a mention.

The first is Ca'n Joan De S'aigo. We stumbled on this café on our first afternoon in Mallorca as we were waiting to meet up with the host of our Air BnB apartment and returned three times during our stay.

Open since 1700 this place has gone through the phase of looking faded and has come out as a classic with tiled floors, marble tables and some interesting pots and mirrors dotted around the place.

Ensaimada

On our second visit we all tried the ensaimada, a traditional Mallorcan pastry made with an enriched dough. The pastry has a layered quality like filo but was much softer and less brittle. I've seen some recipes say that ensaimada are made with pork lard, but I never would have guessed based on the taste.

On our third and final visit I had a cup of the strawberry ice cream. Incredible value at just over 2 EUR this was the taste of summer with a beautiful strawberry flavour. Having seen other tables try the ice cream I'm definitely pleased that I got to sample some before leaving Palma.

Strawberry ice cream 

Ca'n Joan De S'aigo

Carrer Can Sanç, 10, 

07001 Palma, 

Illes Balears

Jamon y queso

On our first night we visited the nearby Molto Barra and were the first people through the doors as they raised the shutters at 19:30.

We ordered a bottle of Mallorcan red wine. We thought we should try a local wine and the barman commended us on our choice saying that Mallorcan wine has been going through a bit of a resurgence recently.

I was keen for my first taste of jamon so we ordered a plate of jamon y queso. What appeared was a plate of thick sliced Serrano ham, a sheep's cheese similar to manchego, toast rubbed with garlic and then covered in fresh tomato, olives and a few pickles. It was bloody brilliant and it only cost 9 EUR. I still think that must be a mistake, but as it was an off-menu item we've got no idea what it should have cost.

A Punt, Mallorcan Red

Molto Barra 
Carrer del Pes de la Farina, 12,
07001 Palma,
Illes Balears

Mike and Ed outside Mercado Gastronómico San Juan

On our Sunday stroll north of the city centre we found ourselves at the Mercado Gastronómico San Juan. The former abattoir which has been converted into a cinema, supermarket and upmarket food court.

(I was a bit surprised at how upmarket the place was. The prices were higher than several restaurants we'd visited in the centre of the city and while not being in a bad area, it wasn't the most well heeled either. However, it was definitely popular with the locals who arrived en masse to enjoy Sunday lunch.)

Inside the mercado

I started with a chorizo tortilla which came with a skewer of padron peppers on top. Padron peppers were a staple tapa when Becks and I were in Madrid and Seville so I was pleased to be able to taste some on this trip too.

The tortilla wasn't quite filling enough, and tempted by lots of people with boards of croquetas y rebozados I decided to order six to try. My Spanish isn't the greatest so my selections were a bit of a shot in the dark but I went for flavours I recognised as 'cheese', 'chorizo' and 'squid'. The tastes were a bit 'acquired' for me but the locals seemed to be hoovering them up.

Tortilla

Mercado Gastronómico San Juan
Carrer de l'Emperadriu Eugènia, 6,
07010 Palma,
Illes Balears

L'Oculto, a slice of Spain comes to Brockley

Caramel flan with sherry cream

We almost didn’t get into L’Oculto, a new(ish) tapas bar in Brockley, on Saturday night. We arrived to find the small restaurant full and, disappointed, were already walking back up the street, when one of the owners followed us out of the door and called us back. A couple at the bar had just asked for their bill and their seats were becoming available. I’m grateful they chased after us as I liked L’Oculto, a lot.

Our seats at the bar gave us a perfect view of the tiny kitchen. The two owners juggled the minute space which had been neatly divided into their own little sections. I have absolutely no idea how they aren’t forever treading on each other’s toes, but it seems to work. Just.

Mixed board

The two women who own L’Oculto also run the Flavours of Spain stall at Brockley market and import all of their own wines, cured meats, sherries, cheeses and cavas directly from producers in Spain. Sitting at the bar allowed us to have a chat about the ingredients and dishes, although any questions which were too probing about the recipes were met with a smile and being told “that’s chefs secret”.

Reflecting our evening at L’Oculto the two things that I enjoyed the most were the fact it brings something different to the area and it is also a restaurant of such quality. It’s something Brockley doesn’t have enough of.

Pan con tomate

I’m definitely no expert on tapas. I’ve only been to Spain once. However, in the week that we were in Madrid and Seville we visited a lot of tapas bars and L’Oculto seems to be hitting all of the same notes. (Apart from giving you free tapa with your drinks, although I think that is dying out in parts of Spain too.)

We gave the menu some serious attention, sampling around half of the dishes on offer. It is very hard to pick favourites as there was such consistency. However, if I was pushed to choose a couple of dishes, I’d have to go for the chorizo in red wine, a beautiful combination I haven’t tried before. And the family recipe caramel flan served with sherry and cream that finished our meal.

Chorizo in red wine

L’Oculto won’t be perfect for every occasion. We spent £80, which was well justified in terms of the quality, but not a place I could go to every week. When I’m looking to seriously fuel up, tapas never quite hits the sport for me either. However, if you want a lovely glass of wine, a light bite and a little bit of a treat, you won’t find many better places in SE4.

They are also already full and turning away diners (thankfully they do take bookings).

I love the fact that L’Oculto is on our doorstep. It’s already in my top three local favourites.

Beetroot and blood orange salad with pine nuts

Roasted aubergine with pomegranate and thyme

Meatballs

Poached pear in red wine with double cream

L'Oculto
57 Loampit Hill
London
SE13 7SZ