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Aromata, Palma

Having been a fan of Andreu Genestra’s Palma restaurant, Aromata, since it first opened, I was shocked late in 2024 to hear that the restaurant was leaving its original premises with no new address revealed at the time.

During the ten years that the restaurant was tucked away in the heart of Palma, we’d taken visiting UK friends there to enjoy the Inca-born Andreu’s delicious and fair-priced cuisine in a setting of marble pillars and handsome stone arches. it felt very ‘mallorquín’. Would Aromata’s new home have the same appeal?

 

But Andreu is a shrewd businessman as well as a chef who’s passionate about his island roots and local produce. In 2023, he successfully relocated his Michelin-starred eponymous restaurant from Capdepera to a 5-star hotel in the Llucmajor countryside. The new home for Aromata is also in a hotel, the contemporary 4-star HM Palma Blanc, a short walk from Passeig de Mallorca’s underground car park.

 

The dining room is more spacious and lighter than the original premises. Modern and comfortable, it has a feel of understated elegance. Table linen, monogrammed napkins, and stools for bags add to this. To my relief, I liked the new setting a lot.

 

The charming restaurant manager and sommelier Giorgia Scaramella greeted us and showed us to our table. We began with a glass of Vermú-Da, Andreu Genestra’s own vermouth (he also offers his wines here), while studying the lunch menu. This menu – which changes every 15 days – comprises snacks, and the choice of two starters, two mains, two desserts, and petit fours. All for 38€. Bread service is worth the 4€ charge, as the excellent breads are made by the association Esment’s bakery and served with Aubocassa extra virgin olive oil from the Manacor countryside and Aromata’s herbed butter.

 

Because two of us were lunching, we were able to try each dish on the lunch menu.

 

After two tasty snacks each, we began with celery stew with clams, carbonara sauce, and Iberian bacon, and an interpretation of Mallorcan ‘sopas’, with duck-stuffed pasta. Both dishes were excellent.

 

Main courses were perfectly cooked hake with seaweed romesco sauce and fried ‘safarnaria’ or purple carrot. My companion enjoyed rabbit – not often seen on restaurant menus in Palma – with peanut sauce and mustard.

 

Desserts were mandarin yogurt with caramelized hazelnuts and milk rice pudding with vanilla confit pear.

 

Having finished our good Americano coffees (2,90€ each), we were surprised to be offered a complimentary slice of carrot cake to share. The restaurant kitchen is also responsible for baking a delicious choice of cakes available to hotel guests.

 

Aromata has a good choice of local, Spanish, and some Italian wines, with some interesting wines by the glass, as well as Andreu’s own wines (7€). Sustainability and supporting smaller producers were key in compiling the list. in Our drinks cost 3,50€ for a bottle of sparkling Font Major (Mallorcan); 10€ for a glass of Mallorcan AN/R and 9€ for Malcorta DO Rueda from Bodega Javier Sanz, made from a recovered variety of verdejo grapes.

 

When he created Aromata, Andreu set out to offer haute cuisine at accessible prices. Although the restaurant’s location and setting have changed, Aromata is still a place to eat an excellent gastronomic lunch in Palma. We’ll return to try one of the two tasting menus (Aromata, 70€ & Sentits, 85€) available for dinner, or the à la carte, for lunch or dinner.

 

NB Aromata is closed for a short holiday until February 3rd, 2025

 

Aromata is mentioned in the Michelin Guide for 2025.

 

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices correct at time of writing.

 

Aromata

HM Palma Blanc
C/ Ramón y Cajal, 12

07011 Palma

+34 971 007 014

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Opening times:
Tuesday to Saturday 13 - 15 h & 19:30 h - 21 h