Restaurante Colón, Portocolom

Portocolom is one of Mallorca’s unspoilt places, where almost every restaurant, café, and bar has harbour views. Over the past twenty years, we’ve eaten in most of them and seen a few come and go.

Restaurante Colón has been a constant presence over that time. It has a handsome interior with impressive proportions, wooden ceiling beams and floor, and exposed stone walls. There are stools at the smart bar, next to the open kitchen, and armchairs in front of an imposing stone fireplace, but perhaps the most eye-catching feature is a life-size sculpture of a Spanish bull.

As appealing as the dining room is, we were drawn to the front terrace for an impromptu lunch, sitting at a table shaded by a pine tree. The views are what tempt people away from the dining room: across the road, the seawater in the natural harbour sparkles in the sunlight, and there are boats to admire. Portocolom is a picturesque part of Mallorca that shouldn’t be missed.

The Austrian chef, Dieter Sögner, has owned Restaurante Colón for twenty-seven years. His cuisine attracts a loyal clientele of residents and discerning visitors. Chatting with our friendly server, we discovered that her name is Soad, she’s Moroccan, and has worked at this same restaurant for twenty-seven years. That says a lot about everything.

The menu is à la carte, offering starters, two vegetarian, two vegan, four fish, and four meat dishes. There’s also a section of lighter dishes available from 11:00h until 18:00h.

On this occasion, we were having lunch, so skipped the starters, which included grilled watermelon with burrata, and grilled squid with ratatouille and sobrasada pesto.

For his main course, my husband enjoyed the steamed cod with a potato and wasabi purée (32€). He requested it without the wasabi, but felt the fish portion could have been larger.

If there’s a dish I wouldn’t cook at home, I like to try it, so I chose the vegan vegetable strudel with a peanut sauce (27€). The pastry was golden, and the filling a tasty mix of chopped vegetables, sesame seeds, and quinoa, for protein.

There are six desserts (including a cheese plate), but the prices are higher than many desserts I’ve seen on other menus. However, these are not bought-in desserts, which appeals. My husband wouldn’t pay 19€ for the apple tartlet with rum-and-raison ice cream that he would have chosen. But I was keen to try the coconut crême brûlée with mango sorbet (also 19€), which was a wow dish with the silkiest mango sorbet I’ve ever eaten.

Prices here are higher than in some of the restaurants we visit, but overall, if your budget fits, eating at Restaurante Colón is a good-quality experience. Everything is made here, including the bread and ice creams/sorbets. It’s not a place we’d eat every week, but for a special occasion calling for beautiful views and warm, efficient service, we’d be there.

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices correct at time of writing.