In the sleepy little village of Torret on the Spanish island of Menorca, you’ll find a culinary experience to surpass all others

Imagine the perfect night out; you arrive at your restaurant against the purply orange glow of a soft, mediterranean summer evening, deep in the countryside of a lazy Spanish isle. Your head waiter then leads you into a rambling courtyard, seating you at a candlelit table for two as he takes your aperitif order, and you sigh that most wondrous of sighs, as you realise that something very special is about to take place.

The location is the sleepy little village of Torret, at Sant Lluis on the Balearic island of Menorca, and the establishment one Sa Pedrera d’es Pujol, lovingly presided over by head chef Daniel Mora and his partner Nuria García. The couple, both from Northern Spain, bought the house in 2003 and then set about the major task of turning it into their dream restaurant. But I actually hesitate to call this just a restaurant because, in my opinion, this is probably the best restaurant in the world. A profound and sweeping statement, you may think, and you’d be right. But the thing is, I’ve sampled the cuisine of many restaurants all over the world and there have been some pretty fantastic ones, I can tell you. But if you take the best of the best, and then look at what each of them individually does best, Sa Pedrera simply does it all that little bit better. In fact, to perfection.

I’m a huge believer in the fact that dinner out should not be hurried; I don’t ever want to feel that I’m being processed quickly so they can squeeze another cover into my table as soon as I’m out the door. From the moment head waiter Matthew (from Surrey) shows you to your table, the evening is your own. You can take as long as you like over ordering, eating and, well, just sitting and chatting if that’s what you want to do. The food is an exquisite blend of gourmet excellence from the island itself, where Daniel’s mother was born, and Asturias, the home of his father. With such resplendent starters as home-made duck foie paté with green pistachios and figs cream or white Mahón cheese breaded into sesame with tomato and cardamom chutney, you can only await the drama of your main course with mouthwatering anticipation. Oh, and you might get a beautifully presented quail’s egg while you’re waiting, between trips to the perfectly kept wine cellar in the middle of the restaurant. And then the magic continues, mine with an unbelievably good beef Wellington with gravi sauce and my partner’s with the superb Menorcan lamb, slowly cooked in oil and accompanied by velvety oven-done potatoes. All, of course, washed down with an extremely palatable Rioja. Just when you think things couldn’t possibly get any better, you’re faced with Daniel’s heavenly desserts, my favourite being his very own apple pie, served with home-made apple ice-cream and a majestic apple ‘crisp’.

A post-gastro Xoriguer Menorcan gin, either with tonic, or local-style with Fanta lemon, makes the perfect nightcap as you drift into the garden to soak up the last of the tranquil decadence while awaiting your carriage.

Dinner at Sa Pedrera d’es Pujol is so outstandingly good, not just in terms of the superb food cooked to perfection, but also the unfussy, unobtrusive service and sheer delight of the surroundings. There’s a danger, in fact, that your evening is so blissful that you decide not to return; you know, that silly thing we do when we don’t want to spoil perfection by trying to repeat it. Well relax, because I’ve been back every year since 2004, and believe me when I say that it just keeps getting better.

Daniel and Nuria, I salute you both – and thank you for some of my most special memories. Nos vemos!

For more details, visit: www.sapedreradespujol.com

Sa Pedrera d’es Pujol
Caserío Torret
23 – Sant Lluís
Menorca
Tel: (34) 971 150 717
Email: sapedreradespujol@hotmail.com

main image © Sa Pedrera d’es Pujol

The Balearic island of Menorca is truly the road to Heaven

We Brits still visit Spain by the plane load for our summer holidays, despite the ever broadening geographical horizons demanded by today’s more adventurous and savvy tourist. That said, we are quite set in our ways when it comes to choosing our Hispanic destinations, and particularly so when it comes to the islands. The Canaries are as popular as ever, but when it comes to the Balearics, Majorca and Ibiza still win out for sheer numbers over sleepier Menorca, but that just seems to make this little corner of paradise even more idyllic for those who consider it ‘their island’.

I was won over by Menorca’s many charms quite by accident. I was bound for Turkey in 1999, but was informed at check-out that an earthquake had damaged our hotel, and after many hours spent at Manchester airport, was finally offered either Ibiza or Menorca.

My clubbing days well and truly behind me (oh, okay, I might be seen out in town once every now and then if Belinda Carlisle or Hazel Dean are putting in a comeback appearance, but those are special circumstances) I decided to opt for the latter. After all, I’d never been before and I do love to visit new places.

I flew into Mao airport in the late October sunshine and was promptly transferred to my resort of Arenal D’en Castell on the north east coast of the island. Now – despite the fact that I now love Arenal for reasons which are quite idiosyncratic – had this been my only experience of the island, good though it was, I may never have yearned to go back year after year (something I thought only old people did. Oh, wait, I am old now. Well, my great nephews and nieces think so, anyway. My excuse is that I do go to many other much more diverse and exotic places for the rest of the year, so returning to Menorca is both my only indulgence and my only weakness. Apart from the gin and steak pies, that is). But I was fortunate enough to take a tour of the island, and this led me to my perfect little corner – Binibeca, tucked away on the south west coast.

Binibeca is stunningly beautiful. Not to be confused with the neighbouring Binibeca Vell – a seventies recreation of a typical Menorcan fishing village – Binibeca (also spelt Binibequer) is a quaint, picturesque and gentle settlement built up around one of the most beautiful bays on the island, complete with Los Bucaneros – its very own beach bar. Binibeca itself doesn’t have much to offer the uninitiated tourist in terms of amenities, but literally next door is Cala Torret, which sports a supermarket and a string of seafront restaurants, the best – in my humble opinion, of course – being DPs. Presided over by genial host John, this sizeable establishment manages to be both intimate and friendly, whilst offering superbly cooked food from its extensive menu. It’s not the cheapest, but is always excellent value for money.

Exploring the island is a must, so I’ve broken the Menorcan experience down into the various highlights in order to do them all justice. Have a look through them, and please do add your own comments.