A foodie’s guide to Ibiza: where to eat on the White Isle right now
Ibiza has exploded as a culinary destination. Where once, visitors arrived on the Balearic Isle primarily to party, they now also come to feed. As a result, it can be trickier to get a booking at the latest hype restaurant (we’re looking at you Casa Jondal) than it is to score a place on the guest list at Pacha. But never fear. With options that range from chic and spendy Michelin dining to more laid-back lunch options by the beach, there are a wealth of great places to dine on this Balearic Isle. These are the best for every type of diner.
Sa Capella
Best for: a romantic liaison
It’s slightly ironic, especially given how many new restaurants open each year in Ibiza, that in 2024 everyone is talking about an old favourite. Inhabiting an 18th-century chapel near San Antonio, Sa Capella has been a much-loved fixture of the island’s dining scene since the 1970s, counting Freddy Mercury among its regulars. But buzzy it was not. That all changed last autumn when the restaurant re-opened following a smart and seductive makeover by Grupo Mambo.
A new open kitchen with a wood-fire grill now take centre stage in the low-lit gothic interior, delivering a Mod Med menu to a glam crowd of DJ-types and glamazons. Highlights on our visit included Ibicencan tomato salad (which everyone is rightly raving about); grilled squid placed artfully in its own ink, and expertly cooked skirt steak that was salty, fatty, charred, buttery and pink at the same time. It goes to show that local ingredients cooked over an open fire are hard to beat. Long-time fans of Sa Capella will also be happy to hear that those dark corners remain for the kind of late-night mischief making that Freddy doubtless loved.
Atzaró Beach
Best for: a long lunch by the sea
Ibizan beach clubs typically follow one of two formats: there are the glam Miami-esque ones, where model-y types pick at sushi on white daybeds to a banging soundtrack; and there are the more laid-back chiringuito-style ones, where the focus is on gussied-up versions of local dishes delivered in rustic-chic surrounds (think hanging wicker lanterns and wooden furniture). With its reclaimed driftwood tables, potted cacti and straw parasols, Atzaró Beach more closely fits the latter camp, though we’d argue that it occupies a category of its own. To begin with, it’s notably good value. On an island where prices for starters routinely hit thirty euros or more, here you’ll find almost every dish is less than that. That includes the brilliant tuna ceviche, served up with avocado, mango and pomegranate; the exquisitely grilled Turbot with artichoke flowers; and even the knockout paella. Then there’s the fact that most of the ingredients are picked daily on a farm just six miles away, meaning the carbon footprint is minimal. Most importantly, Atzaró Beach, sits on the serene sands of Cala Nova in the island’s north east, which is a damn fine spot to watch the afternoon go by, a glass of rose in hand.
Up&Down
Best for: rooftop dining
It’s impossible to discuss the food at Up&Down without first mentioning the view. Sitting on the terrace of Ocean Drive Talamanca’s rooftop restaurant in early evening, with the Dalt Vila there before you is quite something. Ibiza’s walled old town dates back to the 7th century and it’s one of the island’s most dramatic sights, particularly at this time when its lights begin to twinkle on. To your right, as the sun drops behind the hilltop, the entire sky transforms into a blister of yellow and purple swirls. While below, dozens of boats and yachts bob in the sea, laid out dramatically against the rocky bay. The full-spectrum panorama is one you won’t experience in many other spots on the island, so it’s no surprise that this lively venue swiftly fills as the night unwinds.
So what of the cooking? A compact, well curated menu adds a welcome twist to Ibiza staples. So, the island’s famous red prawns arrive as a carpaccio, their sweetness offset by mango and basil caviar. Seabass – probably the most served-up fish in the Med – gets an Asian spin with oyster and coconut sauce; while watermelon; so often a starter in these parts, is here transformed into a dessert, partnering with a white chocolate and passionfruit ice cream. All in, a suitably splendid accompaniment to the natural spectacle.
La Gaia
Best for: foodies who want to blow the budget
There’s a moment of theatre that nicely sums up the experience at La Gaia. About half-way through the 12-dish tasting menu, our waiter approaches the table and places on it something resembling a steam-punk filter coffee machine. He pours its contents into a sherry glass before explaining that this is a broth made from local Iberian pork. In some restaurants, such performance can feel gimmicky, but at La Gaia it works. For starters, it tastes great, a brilliant counterpoint to the plate of artichokes and cured ham it comes with, but it’s also a moment of levity. You’re basically drinking gravy, after all. La Gaia, which can be found within the sprawling Ibiza Gran Hotel on the edge of Ibiza Town, is one of only a handful of Michelin-starred restaurants on the island and make no mistake, it is a showy affair.
The dining room is serene and gallery-like, the silhouettes of jelly fish floating on a back wall as chefs plate up in view of diners. There’s talk of sensory journeys on a menu that combines Asian accents with bold Mediterranean flavours (kimchi with beef tartare, for example), and – yes – tweezers are on display. But at its heart, La Gaia is a glorious, soulful experience made all the better by the friendly waiting staff. Chef Óscar Molina’s cooking celebrates Ibiza’s culinary heritage in a way that feels both authentic and suitably refined (the standout was a deconstructed version of local scorpion fish stew), while also putting on a fun show for dinners. And who can argue with that?
Aiyanna
Best for: a laid-back feed in your flip flops
There are a lot of watermelon salads on menus in Ibiza, but we’re going to nail our flag to the mast here and say that Aiyanna’s is the best of the bunch. Why? Because they’ve taken the bold step of grilling the fruit, so it arrives from the kitchen a semi-charred chunk of sweetness sitting in a nest of peppery rocket, and salty goat cheese. It’s a flavour combo that works brilliantly, and it’s very much indicative of the joyful approach to cooking at this cool little spot on Cala Nova beach in Ibiza’s north-east. Aiyanna is the place to come for a laid-back, globally-inflected feed: bright Guatemalan parasols flutter in the breeze and Cuban beats pump from the speaker as you tuck into dishes such as Red King Prawn Tartar with a Thai-style Tom Kha dressing, and grilled seabass with ceviche of seaweed, cucumber and Peruvian yellow pepper. Aiyanna is the boho sibling of Amante beach club, and if there’s a less buttoned-up place on the island to enjoy such fine fare we’re yet to find it.
Teatro Pereyra
Best for: a truly entertaining night out
Is this dinner and a show, or a show and dinner? With a menu that includes sea urchin zabaione among the starters, grilled turbot in mussel foam in the mains, and truffle-encrusted dark chocolate fondant in the dessert selection, you might be tempted to argue for the former. But once you’ve actually sat through the live performance at Teatro Pereyra, we reckon you’ll be in the latter camp. First, some background. The Teatro originally opened in 1898 as Ibiza's first theatre and cinema, and the neo-classical building in the centre of Ibiza Town was, for nearly a century, the locus of the island’s cultural life.
Now, after nearly four decades, it has re-launched as a state-of-the-art venue where visitors are entertained nightly, while being fed rather well courtesy of chef Emiliano Crucely. Ibiza has its fair share of cabaret-style shows, but Teatro’s stands out, and an exciting year-long programme is promised by organisers. If the next one is anything like the last, which had the audience up on their feet and signing along by the end, then you’re in for a treat.
Atzaró Agroturismo Hotel
Best for: spending a day like an A-lister
Here’s what Ibiza’s most relaxing daytime dining experience looks like. You arrive at Atzaró Agroturismo Hotel around 11am and head straight to your Balinese daybed, tucked away in a corner of the bougainvillea-fringed garden, amidst rows of orange trees. Over the next few hours, you’ll sip a watermelon cooler to a soundtrack of chirping cicadas, the scent from nearby rosemary and lavender bushes wafting over you, as you feel all tension drain away. At around 2pm, you decide to have a dip. Hidden in Ibiza’s rural north, Atzaró Agroturismo is one of the island’s most exclusive hotels, beloved by a jet-set crowd, and its 43-metre long, natural water pool, is the photogenic centrepiece. A few lengths cool you down and leave you feeling peckish, so you head back to your family-sized bed and order lunch in situ. That might be mushroom croquettes with paprika aioli to start, then a salmon poke bowl or herby chicken in walnut and goat’s cheese sauce, if you’re more peckish. You eat in a semi-reclined position, and then close your eyes for a post-prandial snooze.
As the late-afternoon descends and the air cools, it’s time to visit the spa. You sit in the hammam for 10 steamy minutes, before exiting for a very cold shower, and return to your bed energised and ready to take on Ibiza’s nighttime delights.
Daytime experiences at Atzaro, which include a daybed, yoga session, use of the spa facilities and 70e towards food and drink, begin from €100.
