Bar Bodega Biniaraix, Biniaraix

You don’t have to be a hiker to visit Bar Bodega Biniaraix, but it is a good place to know if you are donning your walking boots for one of the several scenic hikes around this part of the Sóller valley.  

Bar Bodega Biniaraix is not a conventional restaurant, but it has bags of Mallorcan character and charm and offers carefully made 0km food. First opened as a bar in 1937, it’s been in its present guise since 2023 when it came into new ownership. The website describes the place as a hikers’ café and natural wine bar, where you can enjoy resident chef Lorenzo’s food on weekdays. Come for breakfast, snacks, a lunch plate, or drinks.

Bar Bodega Biniaraix has a large front terrace alongside a handsome plane tree, and this popular place looks and feels like the heart of this pretty hamlet. The traditional character of the interior has been retained, with the addition of decorative touches made by the owners, business partners Katja Wöhr and Kate John.

Bar Bodega Biniaraix is another demonstration of these women’s care for their adopted island’s environment and for its natural bounty. When I first met Katja, she had founded Flor de Sal d’es Trenc – today an essential Mallorcan ingredient for enthusiastic home cooks and professional chefs. With Kate, she later founded Dos Alquemistas, making olive leaf teas – which are on the drinks lists in Bar Bodega Biniaraix.

Now these two dynamic women have immersed themselves in the world of hospitality and it’s clear from their people skills that they love what they’re doing.

Fans of pop-ups and guest-chef-events should note that these are regular weekend features at Bar Bodega Biniaraix, and details are posted on their Instagram account. Guest chefs come from as far away as Amsterdam and Marseille to cook here. Sourdough pizzas are another regular offering. Booking for weekends is essential.

We were there on a Saturday for a pop-up featuring the healthy and delicious food of private chef Max Newton – assisted by his private chef friend, another Max. From the open kitchen at the rear of the premises, he offered – and we ate – four savoury plates and a cherry and ricotta tart, all of which garnered a lot of praise. This was Max Newton’s second pop-up at Bar Bodega Biniaraix and I’m sure he’ll be back. I certainly shall.

NB Only residents of Biniaraix can park in the hamlet, so park outside and walk in.

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices correct at time of writing.