Xalest – Palma

If you’re planning a day in Palma and want somewhere stylish where you can enjoy a reasonably priced ‘menú del día’, Xalest could be for you.

Xalest is the restaurant of Concepció by Nobis, the contemporary 5-star boutique hotel from the Scandinavian Nobis Hospitality Group.

Looking at the hotel today, it’s hard to believe the property was built way back in 1576 and once housed a soap factory. Swedish interior designers transformed the property into today’s elegant hotel, sensitively incorporating some of the original features, such as the handsome stone arches and stone vaulted ceilings.

The restaurant is light, with attractive marble-tiled floors, several seating areas, and potted plants.

Xalest has an attractive bar that’s open from 12:30 until late, if you want only a drink and some tapas, but it was for lunch – and specifically the ‘menú del día’ – that I went with two friends.

This weekly changing three-course lunch menu is offered from Monday to Friday, for 24€ per person. This includes a choice of breads – I had an olive bread – and water. The same menu is also available on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays for 28€, including a glass of house wine, beer, or soft drink.

Three starters were caramelised onion coca with sobrasada and figs, fish of the day tartar, and a seasonal vegetable stew with Iberian ham. We all enjoyed the ‘coca’; the combination of sobrasada and figs was a good one.

Main courses were Thai-style fish soup with vegetables and spicy coconut milk, aubergine Parmigiana in the chef Xema Álvarez’s style, and a veal and vegetable stew with herbs, sweet potato purée, and crispy leek. My friends had the Thai-style fish soup, and I enjoyed the aubergine dish, served on a warmed plate.

We had the choice of three desserts: grilled banana with maple syrup, a butter-biscuit crumb, and vanilla ice cream; almond cake with vanilla ice cream, or seasonal fruit. Two of us enjoyed the banana dessert, the other had almond cake.

Our bill included two glasses of cava rosado (10€) and a bottle of the Mallorcan rosado from Can Axartell (32€), but wine is also available by the glass.

The restaurant’s name, Xalest, is a Catalan adjective used particularly in the Balearics to describe something or someone cheerful or pleasant. It seems appropriate for a lunch experience in stylish surroundings in one of Palma’s less-bustling streets.

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices correct at time of writing.