Michelin star restaurants on Mallorca

Mallorca is home to nine restaurants serving cuisine recognised by the prestigious Michelin Guide for Spain and Portugal. Zaranda – with Fernando P Arellano at the helm – was awarded two Michelin stars since 2016. All the other restaurants retained their one star from 2017 for 2018. Wherever you are on the island, you are never far away from Michelin-starred cuisine!

Adrián Quetglas – 1 star
Andreu Genestra – 1 star
Argos – 1 star
Bou – 1 star
Es Fum – 1 star
Es Racó d’es Teix – 1 star
Jardín – 1 star
Marc Fosh – 1 star
Zaranda – 2 stars

The French automobile tyre producer Michelin has been publishing guides for motorists since 1900. The red-covered restaurant ‘Guide Rouge’ is updated every year. It´s considered the most influential advisor in worldwide top-level gastronomy.

The rating instruments and criteria are kept top secret. A restaurant can be rated with a maximum of three Michelin stars. There are guides on the market for different countries: France, USA, Germany, UK and Ireland, Italy, Spain & Portugal, Austria and Switzerland. Furthermore, there´s a series for capital cities like New York, Tokyo, Paris, and London.

Here’s a look at the chefs and restaurants whose Michelin-starred cuisine has helped contribute to Mallorca’s growing reputation as a gastronomic destination.

Adrián Quetglas in Palma

Adrián Quetglas‘s eponymous restaurant in Palma opened when the chef returned from Russia – where he had been serving high-quality Spanish cuisine to Russian gourmets for a decade. The restaurant has gained a reputation for fine food at great-value prices – in particular at lunchtime. At night he offers an excellent tasting menu with matched wines.

Argos in Port Pollensa

The popular holiday resort of Puerto Pollensa now has a Michelin-starred restaurant in the form of Argos, where talented young chef Álvaro Salazar leads the kitchen. The restaurant is within the contemporary La Goleta Hotel del Mar, which opened in summer 2015. The chef was one of ten finalists in the San Pellegrino Young Chef Spain and Portugal competition in 2015.

Zaranda in Es Capdellà

Fernando P Arellano first opened his restaurant Zaranda in Madrid in 2005, where it gained one Michelin star a year later. He moved his restaurant and entire team to Mallorca, where he is passionate about the ingredients sourced from the land and sea. He also values the artisan crafts of the island and has commissioned unique plates and bowls on which to serve his innovative and superbly executed dishes. Zaranda, located within the 5-star hotel Castell Son Claret, was one of only two restaurants in Spain to be newly awarded a second star for 2016.

Restaurante Jardín in Puerto Alcúdia

In 2012 Macarena de Castro became the first female chef on Mallorca to have her cuisine awarded a Michelin star at Restaurante Jardín in Puerto Alcúdia. The star has been awarded annually since then. Initially this chef studied Fine Arts, and her artistic eye is evident in the styling of her cuisine. She takes local recipes and makes them her own with creative twists and manipulations. During her early career, she spent winter months (when her family’s restaurant on Mallorca is closed) honing her culinary skills alongside some top chefs. In recent years she has travelled south to Uruguay, where she has a restaurant open in the winter.

Es Fum in Costa d’en Blanes

José Miguel Navarro was appointed chef de cuisine at Es Fum at the St Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort in March 2017. His career experience includes several Michelin-starred restaurants, including the MB Restaurant (2 stars) at the Ritz-Carlton Abama in Tenerife and the 3-starred restaurants Aqua at the Ritz-Carlton in Wolfsburg and Restaurant Lasarte in Barcelona.

The chef’s top priority is the quality and freshness of the products he uses, ideally sourced from the island. He offers top-class cuisine with a high level of creativity at Es Fum, revealing his passion for detail and perfectly presented dishes in the restaurant’s tasting menus.

Bou in Sa Coma

The out-and-out Mallorcan version of top gastronomy is that of Tomeu Caldentey of Bou restaurant in the five-star Protur Sa Coma Playa Hotel & Spa in Sa Coma. The Mallorcan chef runs the gourmet jewel case at the place where he lives, grew up, and graduated as a cooking master. The supposedly best Mallorcan restaurant on the island is housed in a modern setting. It was opened in 2000 and celebrated its 15th anniversary with a change of dining format and name (from Es Moli d’en Bou).

Four years after opening his restaurant Tomeu obtained his first Michelin star. “Since then we’ve defended it successfully every year,” he proudly remarks. In spite of this he’s not obsessed with the award: “The real star is the customer. He should leave with the desire to come back. Thus every dish is a challenge for me.”

Marc Fosh in Palma

Chef Marc Fosh of Marc Fosh (previously named as Simply Fosh) in Palma was the first British chef in Spain to be recognized with a Michelin star, when he was working at rural Reads Hotel on Mallorca. He left to open his own restaurant Simply Fosh, serving healthy Mediterranean cuisine, and it was only a matter of time before the Michelin inspectors would be tucking their napkins under their chins and savouring his new style of cuisine. Simply Fosh was first awarded a Michelin star in 2015 and has retained it for 2016.

Marc once read in a magazine how the average Michelin inspector behaves: “He’s about 42 years old, books normally for two people and then arrives alone. From the menu he chooses the cheapest dish.” If this reflects reality, Marc can’t confirm: “None of them introduced himself to me.”

Es Racó des Teix in Deià

Gaining a Michelin star, losing it and recovering it later is the special experience of Josef Sauerschell of Es Racó des Teix in Deià. Before the 53-year-old German had opened his own restaurant, he worked as chef at the luxury hotel Belmond La Residencia in Deià. For his creations there he obtained the Michelin star in 1991.

In 1999 the Michelin committee took it away from him. Sauerschell: “It hurts and it’s a professional damage. I pondered the reasons for a long time.” It wasn’t all down to him though. The new hotel owner applied a tough savings strategy, and the chef became overstrained: “Our service deteriorated and some mistakes happened.”

In 2000 he and wife Leonor opened their restaurant in Deià, which was awarded a star in 2002 and has retained it annual since.

Andreu Genestra in Capdepera

Inca-born chef Andreu Genestra has his eponymous restaurant on the outskirts of Capdepera (with fine views of the castle from the terrace). He grows much of the produce he uses in his cuisine in the grounds of the hotel in which the restaurant is located. Like Macarena de Castro, he uses the off-season to travel and enjoy new culinary experiences, such as working as a guest chef in a luxury hotel in India. Andreu Genestra was awarded its first star for 2015 and retains it for 2017.

More about the Best Restaurants in Mallorca

More Restaurants on Mallorca

We hope you have found this article about Michelin star restaurants on Mallorca useful and that you have many memorable meals as a result of our recommendations.

There are always new restaurants opening and unfortunately others closing down so while we do our best to maintain this information up-to-date, it can change without notice – if so please advise us at content@abc-mallorca.com.

Bon Profit as the locals say!!