Hort de Sa Vall – Manacor
This week I’m not featuring a conventional restaurant, but a farm-to-table experience in the beautiful, rural valley near Manacor known as Sa Vall.
Hort de Sa Vall is a large farm with the benefit of a building housing a dining room with an open kitchen. During the summer months, they hold regular dinners and BBQs on the terrace, and in the autumn and winter months, they’ve started to offer a Rural Brunch on selected dates.
The Rural Brunch begins with a short tour of the farm, so comfortable shoes are recommended because of the terrain. This is an opportunity to find out about the farm’s sustainable working practices and the produce they grow.
After this, in the barn, there’s a tasting of some of Hort de Sa Vall’s own products; we tried delicious strawberry jam, and another made from pumpkin and mandarin; we also watched a four-minute video featuring some of the farm’s hi-tech agricultural machinery – including a driverless tractor.
We next saw the atmospheric old stables, which are now a rustic setting for private events and dining. In the two rooms adjoining these, we sampled a Macia Batle rosé wine along with tastings of cheese from the Burguera dairy in Campos and Hort de Sa Vall’s sobrasada. In a cave-like space next door is the farm shop, where the farm’s super-fresh produce for sale is displayed.
Brunch is a buffet laid out in the contemporary, light-filled dining room. The buffet comprises a choice of fresh juices and a generous selection of appealing 0km dishes.
Bread, different types of coca, cheese with walnuts and quince jelly, cold roast pork, sausages, roast vegetables, salads, olives and pickled fennel, tomatoes, and a choice of two sweet dishes to end the brunch. From my table, I watched the chef regularly replenish dishes, so the buffet always looked tempting. Water and the juices are included in the price of 36,50€.
The dates for the next two Rural Brunches are 29th November and 13th December. Booking is essential. The farm shop is open only on the Rural Brunch dates, but you’ll find Hort de Sa Vall shops in Manacor and Porto Cristo.
If you value fresh food carefully made from locally and sustainably produced ingredients, the Rural Brunch at Hort de Sa Vall is an experience not to miss.
Prices correct at time of writing.