Bar Andaluz

Fourteen tables, a bar counter and no terrace: that's how it has stayed since 1985, the bar Miguel and María opened on Carrer del Quarter, a back street of s'Arenal at the eastern end of Playa de Palma. In an area full of fast food for the hotels, it's one of the few places serving old-school Spanish bar cooking, which is why it fills up with visitors and with people from Palma who come out specially. The room has never been refurbished and doesn't pretend otherwise: tables close together, orders shouted to the kitchen and quick service that never leaves a table empty for long. What keeps it going is seafood. Octopus – grilled, Galician-style or the local Mallorcan rock octopus – is the dish people come back for, followed by baby squid, Sóller prawns and red prawns, grilled queen scallops and fried fish, with a classic ensaladilla rusa and an aioli that even passing Andalusians rave about. There's also fish such as monkfish or hake and meat such as sirloin or milk-fed lamb chops. At the end they bring a slice of sponge cake and a sloe liqueur on the house. It's for anyone after a loud, lively tavern; if you want a quiet chat or a slow dinner, look elsewhere.

Reviewed in November 2026