Tristan Restaurant, Puerto Portals, Mallorca
We were warmly welcomed by the Tristán Group manager Claudio Marini, who is well-accustomed to rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of the rich and famous. Claudio is one of the most important contacts in your address book – particularly in high season, when getting a table here is like getting an appointment with the Queen!
Our table was prepared with the maximum attention to detail: the linen napkin folded inside a silver ring, engraved with the restaurant name, and the burning candle flickering light onto the gold-etched menu, individually prepared for each guest. The maître d’ Alejandro Velázquez welcomed us with a choice of five different champagnes for our aperitif. From the water menu we selected a bottle from Japan, from an interesting range of 20 different kinds of water, priced from €7 to €119.
The sommelier arrived to give us the details of the recommended wines to accompany our menu – a very interesting selection of a local Mallorcan white wine from Vins Toni Gelabert from 2007, and two wines from the Canaries – the first with a strong sensation of passion fruits, from bodega Villa de Garafia and, the second, a red wine from Bodega Tanajara. A twenty-year old port from Portugal accompanied the cheese, and the sweet wine for dessert was from the Bodega Gramona on the mainland.
The first course of the Gourmet Tapas menu comprised a terrine accompanied by a Cumberland sauce and asparagus vinaigrette; pasta with truffle and celery, and perfectly-prepared turbot with king prawns, topped with caviar.
Then followed eight different tapas: warm carpaccio of lobster with truffle butter, lamb’s lettuce and ravioli stuffed with veal; bread wrapped in potato with mushrooms and white pepper sauce; a truly delicious dish of scallops baked in their shell with anato/puntalette/risotto and saffron sauce; a pot au feu of sea bass with artichokes and peas; a small cornetto stuffed with heavily-peppered duck foie gras, pineapple and orange blossom honey; breast of guinea fowl with herbs roasted in filo pastry with cream of potatoes and olive oil, asparagus and lemon vinaigrette, and La Peral cheese with warm jelly of roast potatoes and salt caramel.
These exquisite savoury dishes were followed by a refreshing composition of exotic fruits.
There´s a choice of beans for after-dinner coffee or, for those wary of drinking coffee at night, infusions. A perfect conclusion to a memorable meal.
It had been some years since I dined at the Tristán and I was pleased to see that the creativity and innovation for which Schwaiger is renowned, continues to evolve and to please the modern desire for more simplicity and purity of tastes. The service is exceptional, without being overly formal and stuffy. The idea of the Gourmet Tapas menu allows one to experience a variety of dishes and is more than sufficient for the largest of appetites.
The Tristán Group also offers the Tristán Bistro, the Tristán Bar and a well reputed catering service.
Restaurant "Tristán (** Michelin)
Local No 1, Torre Capitania,Puerto Portals,
Tel 34 971 675 547
www.grupotristan.com
