Ayt Iraten, Artà

The arrival of a new chef in a restaurant is always a good excuse to visit – especially when it’s someone whose food you’ve enjoyed in their previous position. This was the case with the restaurant, Ayt Iraten in Artà, where Mallorcan chef Gabriel Nebot is now in the kitchen, having left Son Penya Petit Hotel and Spa after more than 16 years.

Ayt Iraten is another restaurant within a hotel. This one is the smart, adults-only boutique property Juz de Yartan, tucked away in the narrow lanes of Artà. The handsome building, with its high ceilings, was once a bank; the security grills on the outside of the ground-floor windows are a distinctive feature.

If you’re curious about the hotel’s name, Juz de Yartan was a Muslim district of Mallorca before the Christian Conquest. The restaurant here was named after the Berber tribe, Ayt Iraten. History lesson over.

The restaurant is an elegant setting in which to eat. On the night we dined, the place was almost full and had a great ambience. The dining room accommodates only 36 diners, so booking a table is recommended. In warmer weather, tables are available on the attractive rear patio.

Dinner at Ayt Iraten is à la carte, but there’s also a tasting menu, which changes every month and costs 65€ per person, without drinks. Gabriel’s signature cuisine is based on seasonal, locally sourced produce and includes some Asian touches.

We weren’t quite hungry enough to try the tasting menu on this occasion, but it looked tempting, and I’m already planning a return visit for this.

A complimentary appetizer of celeriac salad and a basket of good bread began our dinner.  The extra virgin olive oil on the table came from the Son Poca Palla finca (also owned by Yartan Hotels)

Our starters were a fresh-tasting salad with goat cheese, textures of honey and seeds (18€), and an appealing selection of seasonal grilled vegetables with red pesto and a vegetable demi-glace (16€). Both were excellent and either would be shareable.

The à la carte menu offers three rice or pasta dishes, two fish, and three meat dishes.  I chose tender lamb cooked two ways on a bed of spiced ras el hanout tomato concassé (28€), and my companion enjoyed his perfectly cooked sea bass with a salsa verde and saffron parmentier (24€).

After two satisfying dishes each, finding space for dessert seemed impossible. My partner declined, but I opted for the 100% cacao chocolate dish in textures (9,50€).

Once it arrived at the table, my partner’s eyes widened, and a second spoon was requested. Silky and rich, this is a dessert that chocolate lovers should not miss.

Visitors to Artà’s popular Tuesday market may be interested to know that in a couple of weeks, Chef Gabriel Nebot will offer a special set lunch on Tuesdays: starter, chef’s rice dish, and dessert, for 35€. Lunch at Ayt Iraten could be the perfect end to a morning of browsing and shopping in this attractive northeast Mallorcan town.

Photos: JAN EDWARDS

Prices correct at time of writing.