La Lonja or Stay?

hoopy · #1 31-07-2021, 08:10

Just returned from PP and visited both restaurants. Stay used to be my favourite but La Lonja has surpassed it IMO.

Stay for first day lunch was a bit chaotic tbh. The service was poor and the table they gave us (at the front) wasn't great. The older waiter (quite tall with dark hair) seemed preoccupied with other tables order when taking ours and despite only ordering tapas and beers the service was slow. The tapas itself couldn't be faulted.

La Lonja for Saturday night dinner was exceptional. We were welcomed warmly and given a round table for 6 in the middle of the terrace. Service whilst far from fast was attentive. Four of us had fish off the specials board which would have taken a while but the food was magnificent. It was a special night rounded off by a drambuie and bailleys etc.

Any other thoughts on these two PP institutions?

scotslizzy · #2 31-07-2021, 10:03

Love them both but perhaps a bit unfair to compare lunchtime to dinner as the amount of waiters may not be the same as for evening service.
Funnily enough we nearly always have the fixed priced menu in Stay (although with a choice of food) and al a carte in La Lonja . I find that the choice in La Lonja on their fixed price menu not as good as Stay.

Scotslizzy

Luckjon · #3 31-07-2021, 14:30

[QUOTE=hoopy;133600]JThe service was poor and the table they gave us (at the front) wasn't great. The older waiter (quite tall with dark hair) seemed preoccupied with other tables order when taking ours and despite only ordering tapas and beers the service was slow.

We visited Stay Restaurant approx 6 times over the past month both for drinks or a meal and am really surprised that you describe service as poor. We now always book a table a day or so before if we are having a meal and get one of the shaded water-front tables. Our experience has been that servers are unfailing helpful and efficient. Yes - mistakes sometimes occur but the sign of a good restaurant is that they are rectified speedily.

Whilst we frequent the Cantina at La LLonja we haven't dined there for a while. If memory serves me well the food and service were superb but quite expensive.

hoopy · #4 31-07-2021, 14:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotslizzy

Love them both but perhaps a bit unfair to compare lunchtime to dinner as the amount of waiters may not be the same as for evening service.
Funnily enough we nearly always have the fixed priced menu in Stay (although with a choice of food) and al a carte in La Lonja . I find that the choice in La Lonja on their fixed price menu not as good as Stay.

Scotslizzy

As do I lizzy and fair comment re the comparison.

Sparky · #5 31-07-2021, 15:05

Can i say that because of the Covid situation most restaurants are not running with their normal staff levels, they are afraid to take them on only to have to let them go if things change. This sometimes means that they struggle if they get busy, i have talked to quite a few hospitality workers and they are doing their best but are having to work much harder to cover missing staff

.

Please spare a thought for them and be patient, lets be honest you are on holiday so just relax, what is the rush?.

mallorcaboy · #6 31-07-2021, 18:32

This thread just goes to highlight how subjective eating out experiences can be. We've been going to Stay for over 20 years. Although I wouldn't say we've ever had a bad meal, there has been the odd occasion when service may have not been exactly as we wished. However, 98% of our visits have been wonderful. My only negative would be that the a la carte menu doesn't really change, but of course there is the menu del dia which is often a lovely surprise.
La Longa on the other hand is a place which I haven't, as yet enjoyed. Admittedly we've only been three times, but one would think that out of three, one or two would have been nice. Perhaps I chose the wrong dish, each time fish. The first time the meal was terribly over seasoned, and the second, supposedly filleted fish was full of bones.
I'm not really complaining (before you get agitated if your a La Longa fan). I will go again, but perhaps be a bit safer with my order. However, I know many people who may say just the opposite
Thankfully, we who adore Puerto Pollensa have a fantastic selection of really good restaurants. We are out again for a few weeks soon, so I'll probably give La Longa another chance. See what sacrifices I make

elainewalls · #7 01-08-2021, 06:41

I was so interested to read this thread. We have just recently returned from PP and went to Stay as we always usually do. Have being going to PP several times per year for 27 years so have been to Stay a lot. For the first time ever we were so disappointed. The service was dreadful they just didn’t seem to have enough staff on. The service is usually excellent. The food was bland the presentation was very good. This was in the evening. My husband and I came to the conclusion they may be cutting corners they have had a dreadful 12+ months. It’s a pity but I am sure in a year or two if hopefully the world moves on from covid everything will be good again. Just my opinion. We will of course return.

Love La Llonja it remains excellent but it’s on a smaller scale easier to manage whereas Stay on a busy night is an enormous operation to control.

Hope they both do well this season and are there for many years to come for us all to enjoy.

debz1 · #8 01-08-2021, 10:13

I don’t think you can compare lunchtime tapas at Stay to an a la carte dinner at La Llonja. I always book a table for dinner at Stay and request a table by the waters edge if possible, but during the day there probably isn’t the choice if you don’t reserve. Did you ask if you could be seated at another table?
Stay and La Llonja are two of my favourite restaurants and I have always found the service in both to be first class ..but they are very different restaurants. Stay is open 365 days a year and is probably about 3 times the size of La Llonja so the service can be a bit robotic.. for us a bit too fast sometimes and we’ve had to ask for a longer break between courses! As sparky says most places are operating with lower staff levels so things will be slower. We noticed this at every restaurant we went to over the past 3 weeks, and felt really sorry for the waiters rushing around in temperatures of 35 degrees .. plus wearing masks!

Disorderly · #9 01-08-2021, 18:28

I agree that it’s very difficult to be truly subjective about restaurants at the moment, all dealing with their own problems. When we arrived in the Port in early July, everything was very quiet. When we left, a little over two weeks later, the place was bombed out. For those critics out there……may I invite you to try running a restaurant in these unpredictable times.

On the La Llonga /Stay debate……as an alternative, does anyone have recent experience of the Yacht Club restaurant? Never tried it, but have heard it is very good, with a set menu similar to Stay. Any thoughts?

Gommar Goffer · #10 02-08-2021, 08:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disorderly

I agree that it’s very difficult to be truly subjective about restaurants at the moment, all dealing with their own problems. When we arrived in the Port in early July, everything was very quiet. When we left, a little over two weeks later, the place was bombed out. For those critics out there……may I invite you to try running a restaurant in these unpredictable times.

On the La Llonga /Stay debate……as an alternative, does anyone have recent experience of the Yacht Club restaurant? Never tried it, but have heard it is very good, with a set menu similar to Stay. Any thoughts?

The Yacht Club is very good. IMO better than Stay. The service is more 'correct'.

scotslizzy · #11 02-08-2021, 10:37

I like this one as well .Although we like going there during the day. The "problem" with all the places in PP is that there are too many of our fav ones to do in a short holiday !

We have been doing the rounds in Scotland to our fav hotels and restaurant's and without any question they are all suffering from a lack of staff so it truly is a real issue everywhere.

Scotslizzy

Carol · #12 02-08-2021, 10:41

Totally agree with Disorderly - we arrived mid June and the Port was like January with the sunshine within 2 - 3 weeks it was busier and by the time we left on 18th July very busy. Most restaurants were coping with limited staff - mostly family. We never had a bad meal and the service always OK. Also you cannot compare lunch/dinner - different experiences. Have always wanted to try the yacht club so next time! As an aside - Centric is excellant for lunch menu del dia!

Rockape · #13 02-08-2021, 10:44

I took my four pals to Stay on our last day on 9th July. Fortunately it was quiet as for some strange and worrying reason, I had booked the week before!

I was a bit shocked, but they were right ( I checked later), but smoothed it over and took us straight to the best table and everyone absolutely loved the whole meal. (we stuck with the set menu)

Ive been to Stay many times and always loved it, but only La Llonja once, last year when we sat in the car park, which rather diminished the experience. Maybe we should give it another go when back in a couple of weeks time.

debz1 · #14 02-08-2021, 13:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotslizzy

I like this one as well .Although we like going there during the day. The "problem" with all the places in PP is that there are too many of our fav ones to do in a short holiday !

We have been doing the rounds in Scotland to our fav hotels and restaurant's and without any question they are all suffering from a lack of staff so it truly is a real issue everywhere.

Scotslizzy

We also love the yacht club for lunch but not so much for dinner strangely. We’ve had good and indifferent dinners there in the past. We went last week on our last night and the service really was slow..and they weren’t very busy. I don’t mind waiting for food at all, as I least you know it’s not microwaved rubbish, but I do like to at least be offered a drink.. and we sat waiting for over 30 minutes before anyone came to take our order. I also don’t find the staff very customer friendly... and anyone who knows me knows I love to chat

Gommar Goffer · #15 04-08-2021, 08:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockape

I took my four pals to Stay on our last day on 9th July. Fortunately it was quiet as for some strange and worrying reason, I had booked the week before!

I was a bit shocked, but they were right ( I checked later), but smoothed it over and took us straight to the best table and everyone absolutely loved the whole meal. (we stuck with the set menu)

Ive been to Stay many times and always loved it, but only La Llonja once, last year when we sat in the car park, which rather diminished the experience. Maybe we should give it another go when back in a couple of weeks time.

La Llonja doesn't have a car park!