Well, it was a brief trip - but a great one!. Arrived at Palma airport on Sunday 10th June and my heart went out to the poor folk in the massive Goldcar queue. I waltzed up to the Herz desk with just one person in front of me and was away with the keys to a nearly new Peugeot 206 5 door before the bags appeared (which they did very quickly). At 108 Euros for six days and a full/full policy, that was an acceptable deal.
If there's a better view of the Bay of Pollensa than from the top (5th floor) room at La Goleta, I'd be truly surprised and Martin and Elke are great hosts.
So here's the eating bit (sorry for the delay!):-
Sunday 10th - Brisa Marina: We always start and finish a holiday here. Stuffed mussels, Fillet Steak and Lamb Chops, all washed down with a favourite bottle of Marquess de Riscal. Francisco tells us that over the 2012/13 winter the restauant is knocking through into next door - it'll be a size but I bet it won't dent the great welcome and service that await here.
Monday 11th - C'an Josep: What's to fault here? Josep is such a great guy and we always feel so welcome. A new Scrabbled Egg with Bacon and Mushroom is an interesting starter, allied to Garlic Prawns for my wife, then followed with John Dory (absolutely excellent) and Hake - washed down with a bottle of Baron de Lay. Love this place.....as you'll see later.
Tuesday 12th - Stay: A big thanks to this Forum for the recent posts about Menu del Dias. Went to Stay for a really fantastic meal which, at 34.60 Euros including three courses, coffee and wine has to be the bargain of the trip. An Amuse Bouche of a Cold Vegetable Soup, with starters of Smoked Mackerel with Potato Salad and Sweet Mustard Sauce for me, and Spinach Ravioli in Mushroom Sauce for Jane, were absolutely delicious. As indeed were main courses of Salt Cod Fillets with Saffron Sauce and Beef Scallopini. The accompanying Rioja was perfectly acceptable and the Dessert of the day amazing. Service here is impeccable, the setting superb and well worth the visit. The Menu del Dia changes every Tuesday, so if you go to PP for a week, you can go twice and have different menus - JOY!
Wednesday 13th - La Goleta: We stayed there, so had to eat there once, and we were not disappointed. Martin recommended an excellent Rioja at just 16 Euros and I had one of the very best Fish Soups that I have ever eaten (and I've had a few). Jane skipped the starter and we both had a new main course, Lamb La Goleta, chunks of slow cooked lamb in a delicious sauce. It was a fantastic meal.
Thursday 14th - C'an Josep: I'm afraid we went into "repeat mode" by returning to Josep's for starters of Smoked Salmon and Tempura Shrimps. Mains of John Dory (yes again!) and excellent Sea bass made for yet another great meal and friendly service at this restaurant that so many of you place in your "Top Three" - well deserved.
Friday 15th - Brisa Marina: Sorry for the repetition but tradition dictates we end our holiday here with Stuffed Mussels (yes, I know!! Again) with Lamb Chops and Pork Fillet for mains. Bet you won't be surprised at a nice Marquess de Riscal to accompany. How do they do this at the price? The espresso, by the way, is by far the best coffee I've had in PP and is just 1.10 Euros a go. Francisco tells us that, apart from a careful choice of coffee bean, part of the secret to the taste is using filtered water to take away the bitterness of the stuff that comes out of PP taps - genius!
So that's it.......8-15am on Saturday sees us off the the airport. Fair play to
Hertz. I return the car full of petrol, they check the car over, cancel the deposit credit card amount and give me a piece of paper that represents peace of mind!" I'm impressed.
Not sorry to be home....on 28th July all six Disorderlies are back for the main holiday renting a villa in Siller and giving these fine restaurants (and a few more besides) another opportunity to shine - which of course they will!
Tell you what.........didn't miss the UK weather while we were out - what a wonderful week it was. Roll on July.
Bye for now.
Duncan