Posts Tagged ‘ibiza winter tourism’

Some five years ago we reported on the rather unusual ‘Restaurant Row’ in Ibiza, that locals know as the San Juan Road. It’s a stretch of innocuous country road from the middle of nowhere to San Juan, notable only for an extraordinary selection of diverse restaurants within the space of little more than five kilometers.

During the summer in Ibiza its reputation subsides into the shadow of the over priced and tourist dominated beach chiringuito restaurants, but it struggles through, ably supported by providing ‘insider’ food at ‘insider’ prices - these are the places to which the locals go…

And the term locals includes both the local Ibicencos and the resident ‘extranjeros’, so all tastes are catered for.
So as the bulk of the island puts up the shutters and prepares for a long winter of naval gazing, this quiet north side of the island wakes up…

In our last report we featured Es Caliu, which this year is closing throughout January for the first time in forty years, Can Gall, which has been shut all year awaiting a new owner, and Es Porrons, which has now changed hands and become Cicale, an Italian restaurant.

Further on down the road past Aura, the UK gastro-restaurant and pub/club, you’ll still find the typically Spanish Es Pins, Juanito, Balafia and Cana Pepeta family run restaurants. All have been running with their own traditional menu formulas for decades. So don’t expect to hear talk of the ‘crisis’ here, they’ve seen it all before many times over.

So how does the Restaurant Road look nowadays and when can you visit them over the winter.

Bambuddha Grove, the first and most spectacular restaurant, is to be found on your left as you take the first right hand bend after the roundabout that serves as your introduction to the Restaurant Road. A spectacular Thai restaurant, it’s only open for New Year’s Eve at this time of the year.

Next on the left is Ocho, another super hip venue frequented by the great, the good and the seriously attractive women of the north - and there are many. Ocho is the offspring of Jon and Leah of Formentera’s Banderas Hotel fame and is excrutiatingly English cool, but of the highest calibre.

To compensate for this, and in addition to their a la carte evening offerings, they run two extraordinarily successful English lunch menus. The first on Fridays is fish and chips, but presented in perfect haute cuisine style, at 9,50euros (6 for kids). The other is traditional Sunday lunch for 15/16 euros, but bear in mind that this is emanating from the kitchen of a five starred Michelin chef. You wouldn’t want to miss this.

To make it available to all, this roast comes with facilities to cater for children, who might otherwise make a restaurant dinner beyond contemplation. Perfect for those with young or energetic kids or grandchildren. They have a professionally run creche with proper kid’s entertainment organized by Katie Unsworth. Call it attention to detail if you like…

Around the next bend you’ll find the aforementioned Es Caliu and further along on the left the now idle premises of Can Gall. Next on the left is Cicale, formerly Es Porrons, an Italian restaurant that also has a winter following for lovers of fine Italian food, when it’s open.

A kilometer further on is Aura, which has achieved something of a reputation as a cool northern side venue for weekends. We reported last month on their party nights, but they too serve food in UK gastro-pub style during the summer. However, they’re shutting at the end of the year until the summer starts to break out again.

Continuing on along the road and round the corner by the huge balloon pines we encounter Es Pins set back on the right, which is most well known for its inexpensive and typically ample traditional Ibicenco midday menu. Es Pins is currently shut until mid February.

Then come Juanito and Ca Na Pepeta, both further along on the right. Juanito’s (aka Can Muson de sa Vila) is another ancient and typically Ibicencan restaurant famous for huge lumps of meat prepared on the open grill in the courtyard. Juanito’s closes on Mondays and will be shut from mid February until the end of April.

Ca Na Pepeta, in the rooms of a 120 year old farm house, again features an outside grill, but is more renowned for fish dishes than its neighbour. Ca Na Pepeta is open every day except Tuesday from 1 - 4 pm and 7:30 pm till midnight all through the winter. Opposite is the Restaurant Balafia set back in the trees. This is another traditional family run Ibicenco restaurant that is normally open in the winter at lunch time from 1 - 3:30 pm. This winter, unfortunately, they will be closed until April.

Nonetheless, it’s not all doom and gloom on the Ibiza Restaurant Road…

This article was originally published on 14th August 2007 …

A fresh face at the head of government always offers the possibility of positive change. It also encourages the citizens to take another look at themselves and the place that they call home.

Some feel sufficiently inspired to offer their expertise for the common good.

Dear Sir,

May I begin by congratulating you and all the politicians of Ibiza and Formentera who won office in the recent elections and who now have control of the destiny of this beautiful place, until the next election. Please guard your legacy well in the interests of everyone who was born here, loves Ibiza, makes their home here, owns an enterprise or is a visitor; I include myself amongst them.

Click for the whole article

A lot of lip service has been paid to “extending the season” - and many empty promises have been made! Earlier this year there were rumours that Space had agreed to delay their Closing Party for a week to this end which, theoretically, would have obliged the other clubs to follow suit. It didn”t happen, but maybe next year?

Similarly Winter tourism has been on the agenda for some time, but nothing seems to be being done at this end to cater for this imminent influx of happy, expectant winter visitors. Traditionally, the obstacles to progress have been: 1) No direct flights, 2) as a result, no hotels open, 3) nothing for people to do when they get here, 4) Business owners don”t really care anyway, because they all earn so much during the summer that they can afford a six month holiday…

This summer’s emphatically bad season appears to have put the final nail into this complacency. Ibiza is now widely recognized as overpriced and poor value for money in terms of service. This has been compounded by a general belief earlier in the season that the night clubs had all been shut down, if not the bars as well, according to the internet banter, which put many of our younger visitors off “in case it turned out to be true”.

(more…)

Ibiza is passing up another great opportunity! How long have we been hearing about the topic of winter tourism? It’s been so many years that we’ve lost count. They plan and promise, yet never seem to be able to get anything done.

Now, for the first time ever, Ryanair are offering a direct winter connection from London to Ibiza several times a week, and the prices cannot be beaten. Who can forget the winters when we needed at least a full day to get from England to the island? There were stops in Amsterdam or stopovers for hours on the Spanish mainland, and the prices could easily have paid for a ticket to New York.

Read the full editorial.