Bellavista
 

We like going out for lunch. There’s something sort of decadent about spending an hour or two in a restaurant in the middle of a weekday, when you feel you should, perhaps, be doing something more “useful”, even if it’s only checking your emails, hanging the washing out, or trudging round Sainsbury. We try to do it most weeks at home and, of course, away on holiday there’s not guilt over unchecked emails.

Bellavista is a well-nigh perfect lunch spot. Entirely casual, a bit ramshackle even. Certainly a bit quirky, tucked away down a side street. The sort of place you might go with and “illicit friend”, if you get my drift, with almost no chance of being spotted by your mates and grassed up. Of course, if you had the misfortune to be spotted, the grassing up would be less about the “illicit friend” and much more about the fact you’d been caught out in an entirely vegetarian restaurant.

A vegetarian restaurant? In Pollensa? I can almost hear the sharp intake of breath. But, let me tell you, this is good food, prepared well and served with a smile. I’m not going to do the old cliché and say you won’t miss the meat. Because, of course, if you’re a person who has to have flesh at every meal then, of course you’re going to miss the meat. And, because if you’re the sort of person who is going to enjoy a Bellavista lunch, you already know you don’t need meat at every meal, without me telling you.

Anywhere else, the pizza might have been called a Margarita but here there was a homemade wholemeal dough, a rich tomato sauce and, to add to the flavourings of the sauce, a further topping of caramelised onions and tomato quarters. Just fab.

Pa amb oli was a none too shabby version of the local classic. Tasty bread, toasted, rubbed with garlic and squidged tomato. It was topped with a slice of cheese and a scattering of fried mushrooms. There was a handful of crunchy rocket and a few salty olives. This was a really mix of tastes and textures.

We also shared a third main course. Salad leaves (no doubt from a supermarket mixed bag), enhanced with sundried tomatoes and fried tofu.

The dishes we had were all around the €7.50 mark. Do go. You really won’t miss the meat. Honest!

It all sounds great but sorry, have crossed this one off my list of new places to try after the stories about logs etc etc. I know it seems more usual to have dogs and cats wandering around restaurants in Spain, Greece etc and I know I have a touch of OCD but I always wonder if the animals are in the kitchen too......I assume there are no laws against this like we have in the UK.

Hi Tangofan, i have to say i feel the same as you regarding this problem and will not be giving this place my custom, pets should not be allowed in restaurants in my opinion.
As an EEC member Spain have to abide by the same food hygiene laws as the UK.

Hi Harters and great report, know what you mean about feeling decadent, this place is a great place to while away a few hours during the heat of the day, very relaxing and tranquil. We called in for lunch on our first day, we arrived at 12.30 off the bus from Palma and went straight there, we whiled away 2 hours waiting for the apartment. As usual the food was excellent, for mains I had cabbage leaves stuffed with vegetables and tofu in a creamy tomato sauce, it was amazing.
Just to clarify about the animals, the gardens the café is in are part of the grounds of the Hostal Bellavista, the clients have an area of the patio with soft chairs and swings for their use and I have only seen the dogs in this area, and I think it is no different than most restaurants in the port and town where the tables are outside on the pavement or even the road, the local dogs certainly come around in the evening hovering under the table in both squares.
And the suggestion the animals go in the kitchen or that Spain has different laws regarding this is just plain silly.

We went four times during our stay, we only ever saw one dog, which belonged to the owner of Bellavista, he was usally asleep in the shade, my daughters enjoyed making a fuss of him, it added to the enjoyment of the visit for them, so please don't be put off going, I will definately be returning next year.

No sign of animals when we were there.

If you have an aversion to cats in restaurants, Paphos (Cyprus) is the place to avoid. Whole resort is crawling with 'em.

We've been fans of Bellavista for a couple of years and fortunately haven't had a any 'dog' problems. There were a couple of dogs with some people when we were last there, but they were very well behaved and not in the 'eating' area. So maybe the incident of the 'log' was a one off;) We'll still be there in 3 weeks - cant wait:)

I have to agree with Sparky on this one. I love animals but not while I am eating and even less so when I am paying for the pleasure. I recall Balaixa receiving similar reports a couple of months before it closed as they had cats and their huge great dane wandering around. I know for a fact that the animals WERE often in the kitchen too which was when I stopped going there unfortuantley as prior to that it was one of my fav places..... Of course it is illegal and if a food inspector came along the place would be closed down immediately I imagine. All establishments have a `reclamation book´and if someone writes something in the book about animals on the terrace they could have serious fines and problems.