If you look back at my previous trip reports you'll see a theme of last minute bookings and this year was no different. Having had over 3 weeks touring New Zealand earlier this year I didn't expect to have another holiday this year but the lure of Pollensa and some last summer sun was too great.
Flights from Glasgow with EasyJet were easy but finding somewhere to
stay this year was a challenge - most of the
villas left seemed to be extremely large countryside ones more suited to large or multiple families. However on the Sunday before we were due to leave, another search threw up the town house we stayed in last year - Casa D'Alt in Carrer Torres - which hadn't shown up in previous searches.
We snapped that up and then booked our hire car through the villa company - Villa Parade. We opted for a Ford Fiesta at £126 which at first glance seemed reasonable - there was nothing with EasyJet for less than £200 - and that was as far as I looked. However in future I'll probably spend a bit more time doing my research as adding in the 94 Euros for fuel - most of which I didn't use there were probably better bargains to be had.
The flight from Glasgow was nicely early and we were out of the airport with luggage in less than half an hour. For the first time our hire car was off site - Centaur, but again that was painless - other than getting eaten alive by mosquitoes whilst picking up the car - the last we saw of them the whole holiday.
Centaur upgraded us to a Mazda 3 - which given the narrowness of Pollensa's streets I wasn't too happy about but there was nothing smaller available. The car itself was in reasonable condition but had grubby marks all over both the interior and the exterior - they were either sun block lotion or like that fingerprint dusting the police use!
We reached the 'villa' around 9pm, quickly unpacked (including toilet rolls - yes there were none again - is this true of all Villa Parade properties?!) and we were in the main square having a drink before 10.
We'd grabbed a table at Café Placa and just intended having a couple of drinks before retiring but some of the food we saw being served around us looked so good we ended up ordering some tapas around 11.30 for a true midnight feast. It’s a great place to just sit back and people watch and looked to be good for a meal or a snack.
Next morning we were up early to get our weeks shopping at the market. We did notice that prices were a bit more expensive this year - especially cheese.
Early afternoon and we were back in the centre this time looking for some tapas. Our usual Sunday afternoon haunt was La Taberna del Temple but unfortunately that seemed to be closed which was a pity.
We headed back down to the main square and just as we were passing Dos Hermanas when a table became free and never having eaten there before we de idea to give it a try.
We've been coming to Pollensa for over 25 years and have seen this back street restaurant change hands many times over the years but have never actually eaten there. This trip we decided to give it a try and happy to report that we'd go back.
We could never work out what its opening hours were as some evenings when passing it by on the way to the main square it was shut. However we gave it a try this afternoon for tapas. We took advantage of one of their tapas "meal deals" and had a great selection of tapas with a bottle of wine thrown in for 30€. At the time we ate it wasn't particularly sunny and there was a bit of wind blowing so you did have to hold on to things on the table. Other than that we thoroughly enjoyed our snacks and would go back.
That evening we went back to our very favourite Pollensa restaurant - El Cantonet. We hadn't booked but were lucky enough to get a great table on the terrace overlooking the rest of the town. As ever the service was excellent. Over the years I suspect we've eaten in most of the restaurants in central Pollensa and this is one we keep coming back to. It's a combination of the excellent food and service that makes this our favourite. Whether we're seated on the terrace or in the restaurant itself, the atmosphere is always just right for a great night out. The food is excellent and the portions are just right (for us) and allow us to have starter, main and dessert - so many we times nowadays we only manage a main course. It appears to be a family run business and whilst they all speak reasonable English they're very helpful when trying out my Spanish - at many other restaurants in Pollensa you just end up using English.
On that Sunday we decided to book a table for the Friday – our last night of the holiday.
On the Monday evening we were on our way into the square not really having thought about what restaurant we would eat in but when passing the street that heads up to La Font del Gall and El Cantonet we noticed a nice table in the small square at a restaurant called El Brio. Never having eaten there we thought we’d give it a try.
Service was excellent and the food was really good and reasonably priced. I might be wrong but it looked to me as though the food came out of the kitchens from the restaurant next door - La Font del Gall? Whilst we have eaten there in the past it's not one of our Pollensa favourites, regardless we'll certainly be back to El Brio.
Tuesday during the day we decided to take a trip to Formentor (to use up some of that petrol) but it was so busy we actually turned around part way there and headed back to the villa.
On the Tuesday evening before we’d left the house we’d made our mind up to eat in La Fonda that night. However when we got there it was closed.
Walking further down the street we came across the restaurant outside Cal Lloro. There were some tables available and the menu looked okay if a little pricey but we decided to give it a try. They have a sign outside the
hotel showing 4 stars but I guess that’s for the hotel because it certainly isn’t for their restaurant! Whilst the food was all very nicely presented, it was bland to taste with very small portions and very large prices.
The service was very very amateurish and towards the end of the evening a couple of other staff – what looked like management from the hotel itself - had to be drafted in to help out the two struggling waiters. Having since had a look on Tripadvisor, there seem to be very mixed reviews of the restaurant and hotel. There are too many other excellent restaurants in Pollensa for us and we’ll not be back.
Just as an aside I notice today that the number 1 restaurant in Pollensa on Tripadvisor is La Placeta which looks to be the restaurant In the Hotel
Son Sant Jordi which we walked past every night on our way into town. We had briefly looked at its menu but rejected it – maybe we have to try next year!
Wednesday we got back to La Fonda. This is another of our favourite Pollensa restaurants. It's always very busy and regardless of whichever night you go it's always best to book. They have tables in the street outside as well as indoor - we've eaten at both but outside is always best on a lovely hot summer night. The menu is huge and the portions are large - we rarely have more than two courses. The staff are great, very friendly and helpful and don’t seem to change too much year on year. We'll certainly go back.
We decided to give Puerto Pollensa market a miss this year and headed to Inca market on the Thursday instead. We’d been before and knew what to expect however an incident within about five minutes of arriving there soured the day. My wife had a leather handbag which she was wearing over her shoulders – like a backpack. We were walking side by side and for some reason I glanced back to see a young man with his hand inside the handbag about to remove her purse! I swore out loud and he walked off (walked! not run!) empty handed. We stopped to find both zips in the top of the hand bag already open and luckily nothing was missing. She had glasses, camera, purse, etc there so it could have been a costly mistake! My wallet was also in her bag but in another zipped pocket not easily got at. We felt so stupid at having been caught this way and she spent the rest of the day clutch her back to her chest.
Discussing it with a shop keeper in Pollensa the following day she said it was something that was very much on the increase on the island but that Pollensa and Puerto Pollensa had taken steps to eradicate it with increased police and plain clothed police around specifically targeting these thieves on market days.