Eat like a local in the Balearics: guide for foodies

Are you looking for a top-notch food destination? Prepare your taste buds to explode with supreme flavors of juicy Mallorcan shrimps, Menorcan lobster rolls, and crunchy crab legs. Check our list below, hop on the ferry and go on a gastronomic journey to the Balearic Islands to try them all:

• Mallorca for delicious ensaïmada
• Menorca for freshly made caldereta de langosta
• Ibiza for finger-licking zarzuela de mariscos
• Formentera for sun-kissed peix sec 

The delicious Spanish cured sausage, sobrassada

Mallorca for delicious ensaïmada

We are starting our food hopping experience from the largest island in the Balearic Islands, Mallorca! Prepare to dip your fingers into spicy sauces and delicious seafood as you’ve just disembarked in every foodie’s paradise.

Stretch your legs and go towards Plaça Major to drink a coffee and try an ensaïmada. Once you taste its soft, fluffy dough stuffed with saïm (pork lard), you will be coming back for more.

While sweet is always neat, on the other end of the culinary spectrum there is a delicious salty Mallorcan dish, the tombet. You can find it on every menu on the island as it is a signature plate of the local cuisine. And how not to?

In just one bite you get red bell peppers, baked potatoes, and onions topped off with mashed eggplants. Sounds tasteful, right?🤤 

The Mallorcan sweet pastry ensaïmada filled with pork lard

Menorca for freshly made caldereta de langosta

Next stop to the quiet island of Menorca to taste its strong flavors and explore its rich cuisine. In the village of Fornells, you will try its most famous dish, the caldereta de langosta. In fact, the Menorcan lobster stew is so popular that King Juan Carlos I himself used to visit the island only to eat this dish.

What makes it so special? The tasteful local lobster in combination with the fresh vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes) are the key ingredients for its success.

After tasting the most delicious lobster stew, you can say goodbye to the village of Fornells and head towards the Menorcan capital, Mahón. Here, you can sit in the picturesque harbor, enjoy the stunning sea views and eat the soft, buttery maó cheese in the traditional way.

Foodie tip: drizzle maó cheese with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a few good grinds of black pepper and tarragon to enjoy it to the fullest.

The crumbly, dense Maó cheese made from cows' milk in Menorca

Ibiza for finger-licking zarzuela de mariscos

Leaving the low-key Menorca behind, it’s time for the flamboyant Ibiza! We bet that you’ve heard about Ibiza’s intense nightlife. However, the local delicacies are also intense! While on the island, try zarzuela de mariscos.

This over-the-top Ibizan stew is a shellfish stew with a range of different seafood, including crabs, prawns, squid, mussels, and more.

However, if you are more into meat, the sofrit pagés is a staggeringly good traditional stew mixing meats and spicy sausages called sobrassada and botifarra. To neutralize the spiciness and better balance the flavors, finish your meal with a piece of flaó.

The Ibizan cheese tart will balance the intense flavor of the cured sausage and its smooth goat cheese cream, almonds, pumpkin jam, and honey will leave you with the sweetest taste. 

Tip: if you are really into this foodie-hopping thing then you should also check our guide for island hopping to the Balearic Islands and find travel tips.

The delicious cheese tart with honey and almonds

Formentera for sun-kissed peix sec 

And now anchors aweigh! We’re setting sail for the smallest and southernmost island of the Balearic archipelago, Formentera! The island’s most sought-after dish is peix sec (dried fish) and it’s also fishermen’s favorite delicacy.

You can choose among rays, cat sharks, or smaller fish, all placed in coarse salt for a few hours and then hung on pine trees to dry in the sun.  

Ask for the farmer’s salad (ensalada payesa) to fully enjoy peix sec, as it is its main ingredient. And of course, you can’t leave the island without trying the calamar a la bruta dish. It’s fresh squid cooked in its own black squid ink and served with roasted vegetables.

Tip: are you wondering how to get to Formentera? Take a day trip to the beautiful island of the Balearic archipelago from the island of Mallorca or Ibiza in just a few hours.

The traditional dish of Formentera, dried fish

So, is your palate ready to explode from experiencing new flavors? If yes, download our Ferryhopper App to track the next ferry to the Balearic Islands in real time and book your ferry tickets with no hidden fees!