Factoría, Manacor

2019, Nov. 25th | by Jan Edwards

The signature cuisine of chef Joan Bauzà is on offer at this lunch-and-dinner restaurant near the church in the heart of Manacor.

Joan’s cocina de autor is offered in an à la carte menu that’s available at both lunchtime and in the evenings.

Factoría is in the pedestrianised centre of Manacor, with terrace tables at the front. Indoors, it’s larger than you would expect from seeing the restaurant’s narrow frontage.

The interior décor is modern, with trendy lighting, and cream-painted furniture. Towards the back of the restaurant you can see into the open kitchen.

When I rang to book, every table was reserved from 9pm. We booked for 7 pm – earlier than we’d usually eat – on the understanding we’d vacate the table by nine.

Everything is made on the premises – including the delicious breads baked daily. Two types of bread were served warm, accompanied by extra virgin olive oil, olives, and flor de sal. We had to restrain ourselves from finishing the whole basket. Vanesa – front of house – served us a small complimentary appetizer of fennel soup.

We had a choice of eight starters, three fish, four meat dishes, and three desserts. My husband started with duck cannelloni and I had chicken and pak choi skewers with ginger and sweet chili sauce. I opted for the Arabic flavours of the main course of slow-cooked lamb with dates, served with sautéed marmahon pasta with ras el hanout. It was the perfect comfort-food dish for a chilly autumn evening. My husband chose the fish of the day, which was perfectly cooked turbot (20 €). For dessert, he had the frosted coconut ball stuffed with white chocolate and hazelnut ice cream – inspired,  by Ferrer’s rich Rafaello sweets. I chose the lighter and refreshing passion fruit cream, with a nut crumble and citrus sorbet. We also had a glass of cava each and three glasses of Mallorcan wine between us, bringing our total bill to 96,40 € – which we thought was good value for the quality of the cuisine and service.

Photos: Jan Edwards / Factoría

Prices correct at time of writing.