Gareth Ward is Chef Owner of Ynyshir, a Michelin star restaurant and rooms in the heart of Wales, which serves 19 course dining experiences with flavour the focus of every dish. In summer 2018, Gareth visited the Balearic island of Ibiza for the first time staying at new boutique hotel Las Mimosas. He thought the island and the food he tried was, in his words “epic” so in October decided to take an out-of-season trip to explore more of the food that Ibiza has to offer.
Casa Maca
This is an incredible place to eat as well as stay, as they have 10 rooms. The views across to the Old Town are amazing and there’s just a super chilled atmosphere. My favourite meal is a Sunday roast, and Casa Maca does a great one. It’s quite surreal eating a Sunday roast in that setting, in the sunshine. They also do some outdoor grill nights and are working on a series of food events for the winter and the summer. There’s huge potential there and I’ll definitely be going back.
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Open all year casamaca.com
El Portalon
We spent the day with Executive Chef Filippo Alberi, Head chef Massimo Arienti and Restaurant Manager Leah Prentice and they are amazing people. Chef and founder of El Portalon, Anne Sijmonsbergen, moved to Ibiza over 10 years ago into a 450-year-old farmhouse, Can Riero. The farm now supplies local organic produce to top restaurants and private chefs across Ibiza. El Portalon serves sustainably grown and sourced food, a lot of which comes from farm, with dishes that come from Anne’s study of Ibiza’s food culture.
Open April to November elportalonibiza.com
Hostal La Torre
I think this is the best place in Ibiza to sit and watch the sunset. There are tables on the terrace, but I like sitting on those out on to the rocks. They serve great drinks and great food. I had Fried Calamari with Pistachio Aioli and Iberian Ham Croquettes with Romesco Sauce. I love croquettes and I always try those when they’re on the menu. It’s a good test of a place. They also have DJs playing music to match the sunset. It’s just a really great place!
Open all year latorreibiza.com
Villa Mercedes
This restaurant has a lovely location overlooking the marina in San Antonio. It’s a converted villa with a great outside cocktail bar for drinks before or after dinner. The service is amazing, it has a family feel and they really looked after us. I had croquettes again! And then a special of a Red Thai curry, which was really tasty. Dessert was too hard to resist, a chocolate volcano with dulce de leche. A very good end to a delicious meal.
Open all year villamercedesibiza.com
Ca’s Pagès
Ca’s Pagès is great for something that is really authentic and feels Ibizan. It’s a massive restaurant which you would never guess was there and that means it is mainly full of locals. The food is right up my street as they use amazing ingredients, cooked really well. They serve a lot of meat cooked over fire and the suckling pig which is made into a stew is epic!
Open all year caspages.es
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