Il Bistrot, Manacor

Authentic home-made Italian cuisine is on offer at the cosy restaurant Il Bistrot in Manacor, located in Plaça de la Constitució, in the shadow of Manacor’s impressive church and only a gnocco’s throw from the town’s fresh produce market stalls.

Il Bistrot is owned and run by Elisabetta Petronella, originally from Italy’s northern city of Turin, capital of the Piedmont region. Her home region has influenced some of the dishes on the menu, notably the pizza al tegamino – different from any other pizza offerings in Manacor.

The interior is small and attractive, with a view of Elisabetta working in the open kitchen at the far end. It almost felt as though we were sitting in her home as she prepared – and served – our dishes.

A small terrace at the front is available for al fresco eating, but we ate indoors for the ambience.

Elisabetta’s pizzas and artisan pastas are on the menu. Starters for your Italian lunch or dinner at Il Bistrot are: farinata – a thin, Italian flatbread made from gluten-free chickpea flour with a choice of three toppings; bruschetta with three toppings to choose from, and focaccia, with a choice of four toppings. We began with focaccia with a Mallorca twist: it was topped with the three-summer-vegetable combo known as trampó. We shared one (9€) and it was more than enough for two people.

Three salads were on the menu but we were craving carbs, so home-made pasta it was.  We could choose from five types (including gnocchi) and seven sauces.

I had the short pasta, cavatelli, with amatriciana piccante, and my companion chose tagliatelle with Bolognese. Both dishes were satisfying and tasty.

There’s a good choice of toppings for the pizza al tegamino – a speciality of Turin. Unlike Neapolitan pizzas, the dough is traditionally baked in a tin. Elisabetta’s are all 21cm in diameter and come as either red (with tomato) or white (without tomato) pizzas. With a choice of 18 toppings for the red pizzas and nine for the whites, Il Bistrot caters to most tastes. We’ve not yet tried the pizzas at Il Bistrot, as we usually have pasta here.

We ended our dinner sharing a panna cotta topped with a forest fruit sauce.

We drank the house rosé wine by the glass, but beer fans may be interested to see the Italian craft beer menu.

For a cosy, welcoming Italian-eating experience, with a Turin twist, head for Il Bistrot in Manacor.

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices correct at time of writing.