What to eat Minorca? culinary specialties and gastronomy

In Menorca, as in the rest of Spain, mealtimes are spread throughout the day. In the evenings, restaurants fill up around 9/22pm, and customers will often have met beforehand for a drink and tapas, and start their meal in the restaurant later. Dining out is common, as Spaniards like to eat out. You'll find plenty of small, inexpensive establishments frequented by locals. When they choose to dine at home, they sit down to dinner around 9pm and enjoy a drink to finish the evening with friends. Generally speaking, Menorca's mealtimes are based on Spanish schedules, with service generally provided from 1pm to 4pm and from 8pm to 11pm/night. However, some seasonal establishments adapt to people from more northerly regions who are used to eating earlier. However, restaurants open from midday are not commonplace!

You can eat very well for very little money in Menorca. Local produce is good and restaurants are plentiful. If you opt for a few tapas to share or a lunchtime menu, you can get by for 15 euros. However, good restaurants are also plentiful and the bill can easily rise. Nevertheless, there are a few tables in town serving a dish of the day for around 12/15 euros. Focus on local products and dishes: frit mallorquí (made with meat or fish, peppers and potatoes fried in olive oil) and the famous ensaïmada (a sweet spiral pastry eaten for breakfast), caldereta de llagosta (a kind of bouillabaisse made with lobster in a small cauldron) and Mahón cheese.

Bread and water have to be paid for! As for tips, as in France, do what you feel is best according to your level of satisfaction.

A few tips for eating like a local in Menorca: start the day with a hearty breakfast of bread, cheese and cold meats; pour yourtallat coffee into a glass filled with ice cubes; head to the market to pick up some local produce at a good price.

Comete Menorca. Menorca's gastronomic portal! As well as listing a host of good places to eat, the platform lists culinary events for small groups organized in the network of establishments collaborating with the island's main gastronomic events. These include small-scale meetings and masterclasses with the island's leading chefs (in low season). The Gourmet Tour, which introduces visitors to Menorcan gastronomy, is in great demand! For further information: www.cometemenorca.com

Agroxerxa. Another reference portal for finding all kinds of content related to rural Menorca: artisans, farmers, producers, etc. This is also where you'll find information on discovering and tasting local Menorcan produce: vegetables, fruit, meat, cheese, fish and seafood, oil, wine, liqueurs, preserves, sweets... A list of restaurants and farms with sales outlets is also available, as well as local producers, recipes and cooking tips! More info here: agroxerxa.menorca.es

Children are generally welcome in Menorca's restaurants. Some hotels, however, specialize in an adult-only clientele.

While smoking is forbidden in restaurants (the same rules apply here as in mainland France), smoking was generally tolerated on the terrace as long as you didn't get in the way of others. However, since the Covid-19 pandemic, the rules have changed, and you will no doubt be asked to stand back from smoking, even on the terrace. Special areas are usually set aside for smokers. The easiest way to find out for sure is to ask the establishment's staff.

Generally speaking, restaurants in seaside resorts whose menus are displayed in the front row of the terrace (with photos of the dishes and translations in 5 languages) are to be avoided. They've been designed with tourists in mind, and are often expensive for the quality of the food on offer. The presence of a "rabatteur" is another sign that a restaurant should be avoided.

Bakeries, cafeterias and ice-cream parlors are generally open all day, until around 8 p.m., and even a little later for ice-cream parlors (a good ice-cream is always a good dessert idea in this heat!). However, there are no hard and fast rules here, and to avoid wasting time, it's best to make a quick phone call. Bars generally open around 7-8pm and close around 2am, or even 4am in some cases.

Prices for gourmet breaks and alcoholic beverages are generally lower than in France (with the exception of discotheques and similar establishments). Minorcan pastries are highly recommended, especially the delicious ensaimadas .

It's very common to drink your coffee, and even more so your café au lait, on the rocks: it's the famous tallat amb gel (in Menorcan).

In addition to the wines and gins produced and consumed on the island, there's another Menorcan specialty: the pomada. This aperitif, a blend of gin, homemade lemonade and sugar, is drunk during patron saint festivals and the great equestrian celebrations known as jaleos!

Children are generally accepted wherever a bar permit is not in force. However, they may sometimes be accepted on a bar terrace until early evening.

While smoking is banned in gourmet shops, cafés and bars, until recently smokers were welcome on the terraces of these same establishments.
However, pandemic-related restrictions have changed all that, and in 2024 smokers were invited to step back a little to smoke.