There are 4516 restaurants in Mallorca which have been reviewed on Trip Advisor. And at No.1 is a place in Sa Pobla.
Yes, Sa Pobla. The place that's signposted to the right on the motorway roundabout where everyone turns left for Pollensa. The place that looks like an industrial wasteland when you drive through it. The place that looks closed.
Try doing a search for Mare Nostrum on here and nothing shows up. Have a look on Trip Advisor and you'll find review after ecstatic, gob-smacking review.
So last night, armed with
sat nav (you'll need it!), we threaded our way through the anonymous streets of Sa Pobla to find Carrer Ric. It's situated almost exactly in the middle of nowhere. Next door to nothing.
Blink and you'll miss it. But shut your eyes and you're in heaven.
Mare Nostrum has been open for three years. It's run by a young Mallorcan couple and the food is simply sublime. Cris the maitre d' is one of the most charming hostesses you could meet. Hubby is in the kitchen producing 7 breathtaking courses of simply astonishing food whilst she - and she alone - takes care of the guests.
The food is indescribably good, so really what's the point in trying to describe it here? But I'll try.
First course was a chilled melon soup flavoured with Basil. It was genuinely unlike anything we'd ever tasted before. There was guinea fowl in a pastry like a spring roll served with fig sauce. There was a magnificent canard of duck with fruit sauce. There was a raspberry and lemon sorbet which defied description. A piece of fish cooked to perfection .... a trio of desserts which was the best I've tried on the Island
The courses just kept on coming. Each served with a smile more broad that the the last; each creating an impression that we were experiencing something very special; each of them utterly delicious.
And then there was the bill.
Twenty five Euros a head for the 7 courses. No that's not a mis-print, it's not a mistake. 25 Euros each for the No.1 Restaurant in Mallorca.
Mare Nostrum is just another in a new breed of Mallorcan restaurants. Just like Santi Taura at Lloseta it's a tasting menu with no choice. The chef chooses the best daily ingredients and then works his magic.
It's not to everyone's taste. But for this who really appreciate simple food cooked to perfection, it's worth making the right turn at that roundabout.