Restaurant Alma Cas Patró, Son Carrió
If your ideal restaurant is cosy, has super-friendly owners, and home-made food, Restaurant Alma Cas Patró in Son Carrió, near Sant Llorenç, is worth a visit. Originally a café/bar, the premises became the home of Samuel and Rosy’s restaurant in August 2023. A bonus for those in Mallorca out of season is that Restaurant Alma Cas Patró is open all year, serving Mediterranean cuisine for lunch and dinner.
As we entered the restaurant, Samuel came to greet us, shaking hands and making us feel immediately welcome. He offered us the choice of the available tables and we were soon sipping a cava (7€ a glass) and studying the à la carte menu, which offers starters, salads, wok dishes, pasta and risottos, meat and fish dishes, and desserts, as well as two children’s dishes (12€ and 13€). We also ordered a large bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water at 4,50€.
The dining room is small and cosy, with art on the walls, and linen cloths on the tables. Soft, recorded jazz played in the background. Samuel told us the dining room capacity is a maximum of twenty, a number that enables him to give his diners a good degree of personal attention. In fine weather, there’s a terrace at the side of the restaurant and, since our visit, additional tables have been added on the upper floor.
We chose two starters, although one would have been ideal for sharing. I had a generous portion of the Samu-style baby squid (17€), which Samuel explained was coated with semolina rather than flour or batter, for extra crispness. My companion chose tataki of tuna (23€), which he enjoyed.
For our main courses, I had decently cooked grilled salmon fillet on a puree of asparagus with asparagus spears and Padrón peppers (28€). Samuel brought my companion’s sea bass to the table, then deftly took the fish off the bone and served it with a separate plate of potatoes and stir-fried vegetables (28€).
Everything is home-made here at Restaurant Alma Cas Patró, including desserts. Samuel recommended the tiramisu, and we shared a portion (9€). The kitchen here is upstairs and going up and down those stairs during service must keep Samuel fit!
Samuel is from north Portugal and his wife Rosy is from Manacor. They both have what the Spanish call ‘don de gente’ – good interpersonal skills – and we enjoyed some time chatting to the couple at the end of the evening, when we also met Julian, the Colombian chef.
Incidentally, if you’re a paella fan, you can order one here in advance when you book your table, even if there’s only one of you wanting it. Julian told me he learnt to make paella from Valencian rice master Kike Martí, whose restaurant in Santa Maria is a previous Restaurant of the Week on Mallorca Sunshine Radio.
Photos: Jan Edwards
Prices correct at time of writing.