Hi guys, I promised to write some reviews when I got back, so here they are.. since it's longer than I hoped, I bolded the restaurant names so you can skip to those.
Remember, food reviews are very subjective, so don't get all worked up. And I consider myself a foodie, so my standards may be different than others. Having said that, I 'reset' my expectations to levels attainable in Ibiza. Also, I go there to dance and club. But I can't do that if I am trying not to vomit my last meal.
First off, there is no reason to eat poorly in Ibiza. Before I went, I was afraid that the better restaurants would be very expensive.
But it turns out, -almost all- of the restaurants seem to charge between 18-25 euro for a main (average). Certainly everyone I went to ended up in this range. So for the same price that you are vomiting a little bit into the back of your throat with every bite, you could be having a really great meal if you just risk the more expensive (looking) places and travel a bit. Again, there is ZERO reason to be paying 20 euro for crap when all this good stuff is out there.
Unfortunately, I didn't make it to too many breakfasts, since clubbing meant I was usually sleeping until noon. The two places that I did eat were Passion and Ushuaia. Passion was a very good breakfast place. I had their pesto eggs and healthy shakes. Good solid menu with great choices. Thanks to all you who recommended it. Ushuaia's breakfast (I stayed there) was surprisingly good. Since it was included in our room charge, I usually ate here. It never got old; they had decent coffee, good eggs, decent quality meats, a billion different types of bread products, very good fresh fruit, free champagne (!!), awesome orange juice, etc. etc. Basically, a very nice surprise.
Lunches were scattered at all different places and not worth mentioning since, if we did eat lunch, it was usually a quick bite and almost always related to grilled calamari. The place at the west end of ses salinas always has good calamari.
DINNERS: (sorry for the relative lack of photos)
The first day we ate at Ushuaia (long flight, just wanted to crash) and I was surprised at how good it was. I had a tuna burger, which is very easy to screw up. They did a great job with it. My friend had their kobe burger which he also loved. Expensive (20 euro-28 euro for a burger), but at least both were tasty. In the past, we have spent a lot of money at hotel restaurants and gotten crap for it, so it was nice to at least know we could eat at the hotel and enjoy it. We had these again for lunch during the week, since they just bring it to you by the pool or on the beach.
Next day we had booked Bambuddha grove. Had the tom kah soup, ostrich, duck curry and blackberry mojito. Excellent stuff ! The ostrich was really good.. a little mineraly, like liver maybe, really tender, and very well done. The duck curry was awesome- nice salty, roasted skin. Haven't had a blackberry mojito before, but it was really good. Either that or they were using minimal rum. Bambuddha had great ambience, great food, and tasty cocktails. Definitely highly recommended. Worth every penny, but I think we were the only clubbers there, heh. The menu featured entries from the Kama Sutra, all of which I imagined myself performing on the chef in gratitude for the great meal. However, if chef's not a female, I guess the waitress would have done nicely.
On Monday, we drove over to St Eulalia and ate at Kathmandu. It's on a really quaint street. By the look of all the babies, parents and strollers, I'm pretty sure we were the only evil presence on that street. I think there was a priest following us sprinkling holy water in our wake to exercise our demonic presence. The owner of Kathmandu was super friendly, a pleasure to give him our business. We ate the butter chicken and some other crazy lamb dish. Once again, very good. But then again, it's hard to F up Indian food.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xPIVe-CJUL7j8vag3MRBoNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
Tuesday kicked ass. Es Trull de Can Palau, which we saved for our "off" night. Took us 45 minutes to find this place, as I think that you can only access it heading west on the main road, off a random rotary. The turnoff is around Can Misses somewhere. It's on some God-forsaken dirt path where I thought we would get raped by a herd of goats. Anyway, it's up on a hill a little bit with a spectacular view of Ibiza town in the distance. We were there when a massive red moon rose up over the town. Really amazing stuff. It's calm, peaceful, and beautiful. Food is very very good. Had foie gras, some awesome veal dish (see photo), great wine. Highly, highly recommended.http://www.white-ibiza.com/ibiza-restaurant-es-trull
http://www.estrull.com/
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QQ9kgh7hgGTV938kVI3MpNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LYy6UKSC2-XIb5oHuv4ZzdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/h9-HG66Zj7H6RjOHlMklNtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LaJ6D1HHbl2B9sbIQKpJO9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/eCsMo7jsQKpVSfzhVMuCstMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
On Wednesday, we just grabbed a quick burger at Blue Marlin. We were too early for proper dinner, and didn't feel like hanging out to formally sit at a table. So we just chilled on a couch, drank beer, and ate burgers. They were better than average, which is fine. I would have been curious to try their real food. Their deep fried calamari was very good, but the quantity was a bit like my left testicle: unusually small.
On Thursday, I saw you guys recommending Bella Napoli right next to Ushuaia. Since it was Luciano's opening night at Ushuaia, we wanted to go close by, and I wanted to eat something that I could easily vomit back up if Guetta played mostly commercial trash later that night. Thankfully, his set was actually enjoyable, and I am happy to report that the pizza made it through my digestive system and was transformed into a nice ball of stool the following day. So from Ushuaia, we listened to Garnier for a while, then ran over to Napoli for pizza, then back to Ushuaia/Luciano. The pizza at Napoli was surprisingly good, which is high praise coming from a pizza pig like myself. Took me a while to figure out their spicy salami is pepperoni. This is another recommended spot, especially for a quick bite in playa den bossa. (Did Guetta after Ushuaia closed)
Friday we ate at KM5. I'm sure you guys all know by now that it's a very cool place. We had great steaks (ribeyes) done just right. Now in the 'States, Ribeye is typically the crap steak at a good steakhouse: everyone always gets the New York strip or something similar. But Ribeye is the best cut they had, so I settled. However, I was surprised that it tasted pretty good and they cooked it just right. The seared foie gras starter was also done very well. Finally, I had some lychee fruit soup concoction. It was fine, if you like lychee. I just ordered it because it was unusual and refreshing. In summary, as you all know, KM5 is a lot of fun because of the crowd, the music, and the good food. Definitely have to do this one every time I come to Ibiza.
On Saturday, a friend of ours on the island recommended La Brasa, near the old town. Now I have seen some people talking it up on here, but damn, this place was very average. At best. Take a look at Es Trull above, then look at La Brasa. Same price. Where would you prefer to eat? No competition. I struggled to find anything interesting on the menu. I ended up with a lamb dish, another guy had rabbit, and a third guy had some beef or steak or something. The starters were those little fried whitefish things the Brits like to eat, fried calamari, and their mushroom crap, err, specialty. Very mediocre. Everything tasted very average, at best. The mushrooms were a goddam disaster in a bowl. The battered calamari were at the level of very crappy pub food and overly greasy. The mains were forgettable. Seriously, the worst meal of the week, we all agreed. Having said that, the ambience is nice with the trees and bushes in the alleyway. And the hot girls rolling in every 10 minutes were a nice diversion from the food.
Sunday was a nice suprise. We were walking around the old town looking for a meal, but everything was packed. Eventually, they squeezed us in at Dalt Villa. I remember it being mentioned on here as being good, but I didn't think much of it (didn't look like much on the outside). I ate the octopus/king prawn main and steak tartare starter. That was the best steak tartare I have had in a long time, far better than the swill they serve in the USA. I think my stomach had an orgasm. The octopus was also very good, mixed with some random shellfish and king prawn, with a base of creamy seafood sauce. It wasn't too heavy since we were going to the 'We Love' opening in an hour. As mentioned, two of us had the steak tartare and we both raved about it. Other dishes people got were the lamb main and pork loin main, and also papaya spicy chicken starter. All very good. Most of us didn't finish our food since the quantities were pretty generous and we were going out after.
Monday was another great place. El Clodenis. Like Es Trull, awesome awesome food. Quaint little courtyard to sit in. I had the foie gras terrine with salad starter, which was really tasty. But it was a bit big, really meant for two people. The main was the 24 hour slow roasted lamb, with pumpkin puree. So very tender and so very delicious. This place was tied with Es Trull for the best meal of the week and not that expensive.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bwYNJnc9AZdpnxD_dZZNkNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
Thinking back on my prior trips to IBZ, I wonder what the F* I was doing, spending money eating absolute rubbish, when I could have been eating at any one of a number of -really- good places. (I wish I could take my night at La Brasa back and go to La Paloma) If you are dropping 18 euros on Vodka Redbulls and 12 euros for water in the clubs, there is really no reason not to spend maybe 5 euros more and get a great meal.
Anyway, there are still plenty of places left to try that you guys recommended. Next time
Need to try: Trattoria del sole, La paloma, L'elephant, Ayoun, S'ametller
Remember, food reviews are very subjective, so don't get all worked up. And I consider myself a foodie, so my standards may be different than others. Having said that, I 'reset' my expectations to levels attainable in Ibiza. Also, I go there to dance and club. But I can't do that if I am trying not to vomit my last meal.
First off, there is no reason to eat poorly in Ibiza. Before I went, I was afraid that the better restaurants would be very expensive.
But it turns out, -almost all- of the restaurants seem to charge between 18-25 euro for a main (average). Certainly everyone I went to ended up in this range. So for the same price that you are vomiting a little bit into the back of your throat with every bite, you could be having a really great meal if you just risk the more expensive (looking) places and travel a bit. Again, there is ZERO reason to be paying 20 euro for crap when all this good stuff is out there.
Unfortunately, I didn't make it to too many breakfasts, since clubbing meant I was usually sleeping until noon. The two places that I did eat were Passion and Ushuaia. Passion was a very good breakfast place. I had their pesto eggs and healthy shakes. Good solid menu with great choices. Thanks to all you who recommended it. Ushuaia's breakfast (I stayed there) was surprisingly good. Since it was included in our room charge, I usually ate here. It never got old; they had decent coffee, good eggs, decent quality meats, a billion different types of bread products, very good fresh fruit, free champagne (!!), awesome orange juice, etc. etc. Basically, a very nice surprise.
Lunches were scattered at all different places and not worth mentioning since, if we did eat lunch, it was usually a quick bite and almost always related to grilled calamari. The place at the west end of ses salinas always has good calamari.
DINNERS: (sorry for the relative lack of photos)
The first day we ate at Ushuaia (long flight, just wanted to crash) and I was surprised at how good it was. I had a tuna burger, which is very easy to screw up. They did a great job with it. My friend had their kobe burger which he also loved. Expensive (20 euro-28 euro for a burger), but at least both were tasty. In the past, we have spent a lot of money at hotel restaurants and gotten crap for it, so it was nice to at least know we could eat at the hotel and enjoy it. We had these again for lunch during the week, since they just bring it to you by the pool or on the beach.
Next day we had booked Bambuddha grove. Had the tom kah soup, ostrich, duck curry and blackberry mojito. Excellent stuff ! The ostrich was really good.. a little mineraly, like liver maybe, really tender, and very well done. The duck curry was awesome- nice salty, roasted skin. Haven't had a blackberry mojito before, but it was really good. Either that or they were using minimal rum. Bambuddha had great ambience, great food, and tasty cocktails. Definitely highly recommended. Worth every penny, but I think we were the only clubbers there, heh. The menu featured entries from the Kama Sutra, all of which I imagined myself performing on the chef in gratitude for the great meal. However, if chef's not a female, I guess the waitress would have done nicely.
On Monday, we drove over to St Eulalia and ate at Kathmandu. It's on a really quaint street. By the look of all the babies, parents and strollers, I'm pretty sure we were the only evil presence on that street. I think there was a priest following us sprinkling holy water in our wake to exercise our demonic presence. The owner of Kathmandu was super friendly, a pleasure to give him our business. We ate the butter chicken and some other crazy lamb dish. Once again, very good. But then again, it's hard to F up Indian food.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xPIVe-CJUL7j8vag3MRBoNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
Tuesday kicked ass. Es Trull de Can Palau, which we saved for our "off" night. Took us 45 minutes to find this place, as I think that you can only access it heading west on the main road, off a random rotary. The turnoff is around Can Misses somewhere. It's on some God-forsaken dirt path where I thought we would get raped by a herd of goats. Anyway, it's up on a hill a little bit with a spectacular view of Ibiza town in the distance. We were there when a massive red moon rose up over the town. Really amazing stuff. It's calm, peaceful, and beautiful. Food is very very good. Had foie gras, some awesome veal dish (see photo), great wine. Highly, highly recommended.http://www.white-ibiza.com/ibiza-restaurant-es-trull
http://www.estrull.com/
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QQ9kgh7hgGTV938kVI3MpNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LYy6UKSC2-XIb5oHuv4ZzdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/h9-HG66Zj7H6RjOHlMklNtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LaJ6D1HHbl2B9sbIQKpJO9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/eCsMo7jsQKpVSfzhVMuCstMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
On Wednesday, we just grabbed a quick burger at Blue Marlin. We were too early for proper dinner, and didn't feel like hanging out to formally sit at a table. So we just chilled on a couch, drank beer, and ate burgers. They were better than average, which is fine. I would have been curious to try their real food. Their deep fried calamari was very good, but the quantity was a bit like my left testicle: unusually small.
On Thursday, I saw you guys recommending Bella Napoli right next to Ushuaia. Since it was Luciano's opening night at Ushuaia, we wanted to go close by, and I wanted to eat something that I could easily vomit back up if Guetta played mostly commercial trash later that night. Thankfully, his set was actually enjoyable, and I am happy to report that the pizza made it through my digestive system and was transformed into a nice ball of stool the following day. So from Ushuaia, we listened to Garnier for a while, then ran over to Napoli for pizza, then back to Ushuaia/Luciano. The pizza at Napoli was surprisingly good, which is high praise coming from a pizza pig like myself. Took me a while to figure out their spicy salami is pepperoni. This is another recommended spot, especially for a quick bite in playa den bossa. (Did Guetta after Ushuaia closed)
Friday we ate at KM5. I'm sure you guys all know by now that it's a very cool place. We had great steaks (ribeyes) done just right. Now in the 'States, Ribeye is typically the crap steak at a good steakhouse: everyone always gets the New York strip or something similar. But Ribeye is the best cut they had, so I settled. However, I was surprised that it tasted pretty good and they cooked it just right. The seared foie gras starter was also done very well. Finally, I had some lychee fruit soup concoction. It was fine, if you like lychee. I just ordered it because it was unusual and refreshing. In summary, as you all know, KM5 is a lot of fun because of the crowd, the music, and the good food. Definitely have to do this one every time I come to Ibiza.
On Saturday, a friend of ours on the island recommended La Brasa, near the old town. Now I have seen some people talking it up on here, but damn, this place was very average. At best. Take a look at Es Trull above, then look at La Brasa. Same price. Where would you prefer to eat? No competition. I struggled to find anything interesting on the menu. I ended up with a lamb dish, another guy had rabbit, and a third guy had some beef or steak or something. The starters were those little fried whitefish things the Brits like to eat, fried calamari, and their mushroom crap, err, specialty. Very mediocre. Everything tasted very average, at best. The mushrooms were a goddam disaster in a bowl. The battered calamari were at the level of very crappy pub food and overly greasy. The mains were forgettable. Seriously, the worst meal of the week, we all agreed. Having said that, the ambience is nice with the trees and bushes in the alleyway. And the hot girls rolling in every 10 minutes were a nice diversion from the food.
Sunday was a nice suprise. We were walking around the old town looking for a meal, but everything was packed. Eventually, they squeezed us in at Dalt Villa. I remember it being mentioned on here as being good, but I didn't think much of it (didn't look like much on the outside). I ate the octopus/king prawn main and steak tartare starter. That was the best steak tartare I have had in a long time, far better than the swill they serve in the USA. I think my stomach had an orgasm. The octopus was also very good, mixed with some random shellfish and king prawn, with a base of creamy seafood sauce. It wasn't too heavy since we were going to the 'We Love' opening in an hour. As mentioned, two of us had the steak tartare and we both raved about it. Other dishes people got were the lamb main and pork loin main, and also papaya spicy chicken starter. All very good. Most of us didn't finish our food since the quantities were pretty generous and we were going out after.
Monday was another great place. El Clodenis. Like Es Trull, awesome awesome food. Quaint little courtyard to sit in. I had the foie gras terrine with salad starter, which was really tasty. But it was a bit big, really meant for two people. The main was the 24 hour slow roasted lamb, with pumpkin puree. So very tender and so very delicious. This place was tied with Es Trull for the best meal of the week and not that expensive.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bwYNJnc9AZdpnxD_dZZNkNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
Thinking back on my prior trips to IBZ, I wonder what the F* I was doing, spending money eating absolute rubbish, when I could have been eating at any one of a number of -really- good places. (I wish I could take my night at La Brasa back and go to La Paloma) If you are dropping 18 euros on Vodka Redbulls and 12 euros for water in the clubs, there is really no reason not to spend maybe 5 euros more and get a great meal.
Anyway, there are still plenty of places left to try that you guys recommended. Next time
Need to try: Trattoria del sole, La paloma, L'elephant, Ayoun, S'ametller
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