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Telegraph
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The 21 best restaurants in Majorca
An enticing and extraordinary gastronomic revolution has been gathering momentum in Majorca throughout the last decade, one that has seen the emergence of Michelin-starred island chefs, the opening of refined and modern tapas bars, and superb international restaurants starting to offer exceptional value, especially at lunchtime. In every town and village visitors can expect flavoursome authentic fare, whether simple pa amb oli (bread, cheese and cold cuts with tomatoes and olive oil), or creative menus featuring organic dishes and excellent Majorcan wines. In all, there has never been a better time for a culinary tour of this Mediterranean gem. For further Majorca inspiration, see our guides to the island's best hotels, beaches, nightlife and things to do. Port Sóller Kingfisher There's something bewitching about this sublime restaurant at the far end of the port, with its simple yet carefully balanced menu that includes beef tartar, Caesar salad with fresh prawns, expertly tenderised meats and juicy fish. Sitting on its terrace overlooking the sea, sipping on an aromatic gin cocktail while serenaded by a playlist of chilled blues, is a veritable dream. The experienced team know their clients' tastes, and perennial favourite dishes include the fresh catch of the day, and squid ink spaghetti with mixed seafood in a saffron sauce. Staff members are ever smiling and courteous, another reason why this is one of the jewels in the port's crown. Soller Ca'n Boqueta This Soller haunt, housed in a traditional old town house with private courtyard, has become a firm favourite with locals and visitors alike. Recently awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its excellent value, chef, Kiko Martorell, provides an enticing three-course weekly changing menu del día full of local colour and flair. A four-course evening tasting menu is also offered which changes fortnightly. Popular dishes include savoury rice with fish, tenderloin of venison with cherry curry and desserts such as scrumptious lemon pie created from Soller lemons with an added tot of Menorcan gin. Service is friendly and relaxed and returning customers are greeted like old friends. Fornalutx Café Med Talented Hungarian chef, Peter Toth, and his graceful maitre d' wife, Milena Leis, have created an inviting gastronomic oasis in the heart of Fornalutx village. This tiny restaurant spills out onto a simple cut through leading to the plaça, tempting those walking by with its heavenly aromas. Toth grows his own organic vegetables and passionately supports local producers. He makes his own rich and crunchy Carob flour bread, and is meticulous with detail. His tuna tataki with avocado rolls and confit onions is a winner, as is the tender lamb, slow roasted for 14 hours. The scrumptious à la carte menu changes according to the seasonal fare available. Deià Restaurante Sebastián This 31-year-old restaurant occupies a converted 250-year-old stable, now a contemporary and atmospheric space with an inviting and cosy terrace. With a modern and inspirational approach to Mediterranean cuisine, the eponymous chef, Sebastián Pasch, uses fresh seasonal produce to create distinctive and memorable dishes such as perfectly prepared skate with orange and lemon gremolata, nut butter and asparagus, or rich duck cannelloni, roasted carrots, figs and chickpea puree. There's a lively, warm ambience to the place, with a touch of fun too, largely due to the maître d', Patricia, Sebastian's attentive and welcoming wife, who greets clients like long-lost friends. Béns d'Avall A celebrated institution for five decades, this cliff top gastronomic sanctuary is a must-visit for the seascapes alone. Following in the footsteps of his family, executive chef Benet Vicens together with his chef son, Jaume Vicens, deliver exceptional seafood platters and slow roasted succulent meat dishes, using island produce full of Mediterranean flavour. The exquisite tasting menu has recently earned the establishment a Michelin star. Sit on the sweeping terrace overlooking the turquoise sea and relish the likes of marinated fish with citrus fruits and black pork pâté with wild mushrooms. Inspired desserts include apple tart with Suau brandy ice-cream and chocolate ganache. Llubí DaiCa The agricultural heartland of Majorca is garnering a fast reputation for hidden culinary gems such as the small but beautifully formed, DaiCa in the village of Llubí. A bijou hotel cum restaurant, it is the brainchild of David Ribas and local chef, Caterina Pieras, who creates innovative, flavoursome and beautifully presented Mediterranean dishes using the best island produce. The rural townhouse has a pretty courtyard and two snug dining rooms with atmospheric exposed stone walls. Two tasting menus are offered; the six-course 'seasonal' and nine course 'fiesta.' Expect melt-in-the-mouth dishes such as black pig pancetta with spinach, roasted leeks, and squid with truffle. Brut Situated in a former garage, slick and confident Brut has its own microbrewery on site producing kombuchas and craft beers. Argentinian chef, Edu Martínez, provides a bold and exciting gastronomic experience using fresh, seasonal island produce. Raw and fermented flavoursome vegetables are full of colour and panache while moreish plates such as slow cooked venison with a rich pumpkin sauce leaves you wanting for more. Only open during the spring and summer months, Brut offers one tasting menu of delicious contrasts with craft beer and wine pairing. The restaurant exudes an intimate, private house party ambience dint of its only having capacity for 16 guests who dine together. Palma DINS Santi Taura Santi Taura, one of Majorca's most feted local chefs, has set up his gastronomic fiefdom in five-star Hotel El Llorenç in the atmospheric Calatrava district, close to Palma Cathedral and facing the sea. Situated on the ground floor, DINS Santi Taura, offers stylish dining either at a communal counter where you can watch the Michelin chef prepare his masterpieces or at private tables. Taura celebrates the rich culinary heritage of the Balearic Islands, serving contemporary dishes based on ancient Majorcan recipes. The eleven-course Origens tasting menu is a relaxed affair, full of flavour and enterprise and offering plenty of delicious surprises. Zaranda As the only Baleares-based chef with two Michelin stars, Fernando Pérez Arellano assures a gastronomic adventure of the senses for diners at Zaranda restaurant, housed in five-star Hotel Es Princep. The contemporary and elegant dining room, the site of a historic tannery, includes Moroccan artefacts and quirky objets d'art. Guests can enjoy a glass of bubbly in the bar before watching the artistic culinary team at work in the open kitchen. The three tasting menus are exquisitely presented and offer an innovative combination of high-quality local produce and traditional cooking methods, ensuring that each dish is a startling and seductive surprise. Perfection, precision and meticulous detail underline each one. Masterful and edgy creations include Arellano's iconic poached black egg with creamy white onion puree and cuttlefish caviar, and favourites such as octopus amphora. Caimari Ca Na Toneta Situated in a rustic village in the Tramuntana foothills, Ca Na Toneta embodies the spirit of the island via the recipes and farm-to-table values that hark back to a bygone era. The simple and attractive restaurant is run by two sisters, María and Teresa Solivellas, who source quality produce from their own organic vegetable garden, buy fresh fish daily and use local suppliers for everything else. A six-course menu of authentic and honest dishes is served which includes appetiser and soup, coca (a local pastry with vegetables), fresh fish, meat and dessert. Expect such culinary harmonies as aubergine stuffed with octopus and sundried tomatoes. Sa Coma Tomeu Caldentey Cuiner The first Majorcan chef to earn a Michelin star, it shocked many when, after 14 years, Tomeu Caldentey shook off the accolade and decided to go it alone with his own casual restaurant at the Protur Sa Coma resort. Assisted by his wife, Marta, Tomeu prepares dishes with locally sourced ingredients at a counter in front of diners in a warm and inviting kitchen-style room. Three bold and affordable tasting menus are offered, with tempting dishes such as baked cauliflower with brown mornay sauce, tallarines with steamed squid, and suckling pig with pureed chickpeas. The chef's homemade olive oil bread is particularly delectable. Selva Miceli Housed in a quaint 19th-century townhouse, Micelli, with its Michelin 'Bib Gourmand,' is run by Marga Coll, whose culinary ethos is steeped in the traditions of the island. The snug, modern dining room with beamed ceiling, open kitchen and fragrant terrace outside, kindles a relaxed and tranquil atmosphere. As Marga buys fresh market produce each morning, dishes change daily and according to the season. There are five- and seven-course menus, but à la carte dishes are also offered. There's a good selection of tender meat, fish and creative vegetarian options, with signature plates including stuffed aubergines, and suckling pig with poached peaches and apricot jus. Contact: Reservations: Essential Prices: £££ Inca Joan Marc This refreshingly informal gastronomic emporium sits on a quiet square. With modern interiors of tree trunks with funky lights, lime green chairs, wood tables and comfy banquettes, those in the know head here for lunch or supper. Local chef-cum-owner, Joan Marc, enthusiastically prepares his dishes in full view of clients, offering a modern interpretation of rustic Majorcan recipes. Since garnering the Michelin Bib Gourmand, there's been a notable increase in footfall and deservedly so. With five and eight-course tasting menus, dishes include ingenious creations such as beef brisket stew with pears and artichoke. Ca N'Ignasi This friendly, family-run culinary jewel in the heart of Inca serves up a lovingly prepared five- or eight-course tasting menu of Majorcan inspired delights in its cosy restaurant. Offering exceptional value, expect gourmet, creative fare using fresh seasonal produce. The tasting menu changes fortnightly and includes delicious dishes such as plump zucchini stuffed with meat and apricot, beautifully slow cooked lamb, and expertly cooked fresh fish. There's an excellent wine list too with some unusual local and Spanish wines. Port d'Alcúdia Maca de Castro Feted by gourmands, Macarena de Castro, the eponymous owner, was the first female chef on the island to be awarded a Michelin star. From a family of respected restaurateurs, she is loyal to her Majorcan ancestry while introducing a subtle and modern edginess to her cuisine. The elegantly designed, contemporary restaurant is dotted with canvasses, some by Antonio de Castro, a family member, and has an inviting and romantic garden. Using fresh ingredients from her own orchard, Macarena offers Mediterranean dishes with her own distinct signature such as chilled cherry soup with lobster or tender Galician-style octopus with crispy sea anemone. Lloseta Es Garum Still one of the island's best kept culinary secrets, Es Garum has rapidly garnered a devout following. Owner cum chef, David Palomo, offers a monthly-changing five-course tasting menu full of flavour and panache that offers exceptional value. Highly experienced and inventive with a larger-than-life personality, Palomo has taken the low-key interior town of Lloseta by storm. He spent many years crafting his skills while a master chef in Scotland and is a devotee of haggis which he occasionally serves up as a surprise for his fervent disciples. Located in modest premises on a quiet street, miss Es Garum at your peril. It is a Cinderella in waiting. Contact: 00 34 871 80 67 00; Reservations: Best to reserve but accepts walk-ins. Prices: ££ Best table: Anywhere on the tiny street terrace Muro Fusion19 Chef Javier Hoebeeck, one of the island's rising stars, has earned Fusion19 its first Michelin-star for a sumptuous and avant-garde five-stage, 13-course fusion tasting menu. Faultlessly presented using local seasonal fare, the dishes combine Mediterranean, Asian and Latin American cuisine with memorable offerings that include cured pigeon in red curry with leeks and foie, and desserts such as deliciously textured chocolate cherry tamale. Just a few minutes' drive from Muro's sandy beach, this stylish and modern restaurant has an internal leafy patio, open kitchen and glass-fronted wine cellar. Canyamel Voro This much vaunted gastronomic den, squirrelled away in the extensive grounds of the Cap Vermell Grand Hotel, is some distance from Palma but for a two-starred Michelin fine dining experience, its many devotees think it's worth the schlep. Two bold and edgy Mediterranean inspired tasting menus of 20 and 25 bijou plates are offered. Dishes are impeccably presented, and service is personal and discreet. Innovative and inventive creations pay homage to the island's culinary heritage and traditions, with an emphasis on locally sourced produce and ingredients. Wine pairing is available and there's plenty of choice with 400 local and international wines in the cellar. Manacor Can March With its origins dating back to 1925, family-run Can March remains a beloved culinary fixture in Manacor. Warm and inviting, the restaurant serves what experienced chef, Miguel Gelabert, describes as new Majorcan cuisine. Diners can expect impeccable service and crisp white linen, and enjoy browsing curios such as a grandfather clock and dresser adorned with nostalgic family photos. Both the menú del día and weekend menu offer exceptional value for creative Majorcan gastronomy, the hallmarks of which are local seasonal and sustainable produce. Highlights include artichoke, prawns and sobrassada sausage with apricot sauce, a lip-smackingly good mixed paella and lamb terrine with carob sauce and sweet potato. Ses Salines Casa Monolo A cosy and authentic restaurant, Casa Manolo harks back to 1945 when the founders opened a grocery selling wines and spirits. Forty-five years later, the same family created the much-loved restaurant which continues to delight diners with attentive, friendly service and fresh, scrumptious and perfectly-prepared fish and seafood dishes. Specials include salt-baked fish, Notari rice and rich lobster stew. Much of the fish is locally-sourced with some seafood brought in from Galicia. The attractive two-storey building includes an atmospheric ground floor with hanging hams and a pretty terrace. Contact: Reservations: Recommended Prices: ££ Best table: On the sunny terrace Petra Can Salom This old favourite in the pretty town of Petra, started life in 1969 and has stood the test of time. Situated plumb in the main square, the restaurant has a warm and ambient atmosphere and a delightfully relaxing terrace with elegant seating under the trees. Inside, diners can choose a table in the bar room or ambient cellar room where they can drool over the extensive wines on display. Offering modern Majorcan cuisine, expect generous servings and stylishly presented plates such as shrimp pancakes with scrambled eggs, mains which include rice and tender grilled meat dishes, and the likes of cod gratin with homemade aioli sauce. How we choose Every restaurant in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighbourhood favourites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to best suit every type of traveller's taste – and consider the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest opening and provide up to date recommendations.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
2 drug combination lowers cholesterol better than just a statin, researchers say
Statins are very cheap and highly effective cholesterol-lowering drugs -- but high-risk heart patients may have an even better option, a new evidence review says. Combining statins with another drug, ezetimibe, significantly reduces the risk of death in patients with clogged arteries, according to findings published Sunday in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Using a high-dose statin with ezetimibe significantly reduces levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, increasing a person's chances of reaching healthy levels by 85%, researchers found. The combo also brought about a 19% reduction in risk of death from any cause; a 16% reduction in heart-related deaths; an 18% decrease in the risk of a major cardiovascular health problem; and a 17% decline in stroke risk. This combination therapy would prevent more than 330,000 deaths a year worldwide among patients who have already suffered a heart attack, including almost 50,000 deaths in the U.S. alone, researchers said. "This study confirms that combined cholesterol lowering therapy should be considered immediately and should be the gold standard for treatment of very high-risk patients after an acute cardiovascular event," senior researcher Dr. Peter Toth, a professor of clinical family and community medicine at the University of Illinois, said in a news release. Up to now, studies have been inconsistent regarding whether to provide combo cholesterol-lowering therapy immediately for high-risk patients, even before they suffer a heart attack or stroke. Typically, doctors wait at least two months before adding any medication to a statin, to see how well statins alone will lower cholesterol, Toth said. "This approach does not require additional funding or reimbursement of new expensive drugs," he said. "In fact, it may translate into lower rates of first and subsequent heart attacks and stroke, and their complications like heart failure, which are extremely costly for all healthcare systems." For the new evidence review, researchers pooled data from 14 studies involving more than 108,000 heart patients at very high risk for a heart attack, stroke or other heart-related health problem. Results were even more pronounced in an additional analysis that enabled a direct comparison of different therapies, researchers said. "This showed a 49% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 39% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, when compared to high dose statin therapy alone," said lead researcher Dr. Maciej Banach, a professor of cardiology at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin in Poland. Ezetimibe works by reducing the amount of cholesterol the intestines can absorb from food. Statins have a different mechanism - they work by interfering with the liver's ability to make cholesterol. Both drugs are available as inexpensive generics. "Our findings underline the importance of the adages 'the lower for better for longer' but also the equally important 'the earlier the better' for treating patients at high risk of cardiovascular conditions and to avoid further medical complications and deaths," Toth said. More information The Cleveland Clinic has more on cholesterol levels. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New mass-producible space-grade solar cell promises 10x cost reduction
Extraterrestrial Power, a Sydney-based private Space Tech company, has unveiled its new space-grade solar cell thin enough to be mass-produced like terrestrial solar cells. Estimated to be up to ten times cheaper than current solar cells, this innovation could make waves in the space solar cell industry. Supported by the Australian Space Agency, the federal government's satellite agency headquartered in Adelaide, this new technology is timely given the current rapid growth in satellite production. Space organizations are looking for innovative ways to achieve their missions with improved sustainability and lower costs, so cheaper, lighter solar cells would be appealing. According to the company, its new solar cells are thin enough to benefit from mass production alongside terrestrial ones, while retaining the efficiency, stability, and robustness to survive in space. The company explains that the main barrier to making solar cells thinner so far has been the need for them to survive the extreme atmospheric conditions in the orbit. This includes hazards like radiation, temperature fluctuations, and vacuum environments. To this end, Extraterrestrial Power set out to develop solar cells that meet the high standards demanded for the technology. Backed, in part, by the Australian Space Agency's moon to Mars supply chain program, the company has now achieved what was once thought impossible. 'We are primarily focusing on utilizing the large investments in terrestrial solar for space, which has tremendous value for space,' said Peter Toth chief executive officer and co-founder of Extraterrestrial Power. 'Importantly, we are only utilizing technologies that allow high throughput manufacturing, which enables satellites being manufactured in high volumes necessary for low earth orbit (LEO) constellations," he added. The company first demonstrated its solar cells on Caltech's space-based solar power experiment in 2023. This experiment made history by wirelessly transmitting power in space and beaming it to Earth for the first time. That was shortly followed in 2024 when the cells took a ride-share on Waratah Seed. The New South Wales government supported this mission with various cutting-edge technologies on board. 'Since thin solar cells use less materials, but we still need to maintain high efficiencies, they will have applications on Earth for lightweight usage initially—and wider uses later," Toth explained. These new cells could also enable the manufacturing of solar cells remotely in space. Harnessing in-situ resources such as lunar regolith (moon soil), which can melt down into different metals, is also a possibility. If achievable, cells manufactured in situ could power rovers, robotic systems, and infrastructure for permanent human outposts in space. To this end, Extraterrestrial Power has declared its ambition to become "the electricity provider of the solar system." 'For humanity to move forward and become truly spacefaring, it needs an abundance of power in space, and sunshine is abundant in space,' Toth said. 'When founding Extraterrestrial Power, I long wanted to connect my passion for space and solar, which originally meant manufacturing solar panels on the Moon from local materials," he added.
Arab Times
06-02-2025
- Science
- Arab Times
AI and scientists unite to decipher old scrolls charred by volcano
LONDON, Feb 6, (AP): Scientists hope a mix of artificial intelligence and human expertise will help decipher ancient scrolls carbonized by a volcanic eruption 2,000 years ago. Hundreds of papyrus scrolls were found in the 1750s in the remains of a lavish villa at the Roman town of Herculaneum, which along with neighboring Pompeii was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79. The library of what's called the Villa of the Papyri has the potential to add immeasurably to knowledge of ancient thought if the scrolls, which have been rolled up into the size of a candy bar, could be read. The heat and volcanic ash from Vesuvius destroyed the town and preserved the scrolls, but in an unreadable state, turning them into charred fragile blocks that disintegrate if unrolled physically. Scholars and scientists have worked for more than 250 years on ways to decipher the scrolls, the vast majority of which are held in the National Library of Naples. In 2023, several tech executives sponsored the "Vesuvius Challenge' competition, offering cash rewards for efforts to decipher the scrolls with machine learning, computer vision and geometry. On Wednesday, the challenge announced a "historic breakthrough,' saying researchers had managed to generate the first image of the inside of one of the three scrolls held at Oxford University's Bodleian Library. University of Kentucky computer scientist Brent Seales, co-founder of the Vesuvius Challenge, said the organizers were "thrilled with the successful imaging of this scroll.' He said it "contains more recoverable text than we have ever seen in a scanned Herculaneum scroll.' The scroll was scanned by Diamond Light Source, a lab at Harwell, near Oxford, that uses a particle accelerator known as a synchrotron to create an intensely powerful X-ray. Scientists then used AI to piece together the images, search for ink that reveals where there is writing, and enhance the clarity of the text. The process led to a 3D image of the scroll that allowed experts to unroll it virtually, using a process called segmentation. AI, as it stands, has its limits. Little of the text has been deciphered so far. One of the few words that has been made out is the ancient Greek for "disgust.' Scholars are being encouraged to join in the effort to complete the text. "We are still at the beginning of a long process,' Peter Toth, the Cornelia Starks Curator of Greek Collections at the Bodleian, told The Associated Press. "We need better images, and they are very positive and very, very confident that they can still improve the image quality and the legibility of the text.' Toth also laid out his hope that the technology can be made available locally so that the other two fragile scrolls won't have to be transported to Diamond's headquarters. "Maybe there will be something which can be moved,' he said. "And then don't forget that there is like 1000 more scrolls in Naples.'
Sky News
06-02-2025
- Science
- Sky News
These ancient scrolls were charred by a volcano - are they now revealing their secrets?
Ancient scrolls charred by a volcanic eruption 2,000 years ago may finally be starting to reveal their secrets. UK scientists say they have made a historic breakthrough in their efforts to decipher the artefacts - with the assistance of AI. Hundreds of papyrus scrolls were found in the 1750s in the remains of a lavish villa at the Roman town of Herculaneum, which along with nearby Pompeii was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. While the heat and ash from the volcano was catastrophic for the town, it preserved the scrolls - though in an unreadable state. Scholars and scientists have been working for more than 250 years on ways to decipher the scrolls, which are too fragile to be unrolled physically. In 2023, several tech executives sponsored the "Vesuvius Challenge" competition, offering cash prizes for efforts to decipher the scrolls with technology. On Wednesday, the challenge announced a "historic breakthrough," saying researchers had managed to generate the first image of the inside of one of the three scrolls held at Oxford University's Bodleian Library. University of Kentucky computer scientist Brent Seales, co-founder of the challenge, said the organisers were "thrilled with the successful imaging of this scroll", saying it "contains more recoverable text than we have ever seen in a scanned Herculaneum scroll". The scroll was scanned by Diamond Light Source, a lab in Harwell, near Oxford, by using a particle accelerator known as a synchrotron to create an intensely powerful X-ray. AI was then used to piece together the images, searching for ink that reveals where writing is located. A 3D image of the scroll can then be formulated that allows experts to unroll it virtually. Little of the text has been deciphered so far. One of the few words that has been made out is the ancient Greek for "disgust". Peter Toth, a curator at the Bodleian Library, said: "We need better images, and they are very positive and very, very confident that they can still improve the image quality and the legibility of the text.
