Ca Na Martina

Pere Garau is Palma's neighbourhood market, the one locals actually shop at, and Ca Na Martina is its bar. It opens before dawn for the stallholders setting up and keeps going until lunchtime, with a crowd of traders, pensioners, local workers and whoever has come to do the shopping. The bar is named after its owner, who cooks and runs it with her son; it's small, mostly counter, and when it's full you wait a little for a spot.

You come for the variat, the Mallorcan plate of assorted tapas, served here the traditional way and neatly arranged: pica-pica, tripe, meatballs, frit mallorquí (fried offal with potato, pepper and fennel), Russian salad, kidneys, tongue, octopus and some battered vegetables, with country bread. It comes small or large, and the meatballs and frit get the most praise. There are also sandwiches, croquetas and, on weekdays, a set menu.

Don't come looking for finesse: this is generous, cheap home-style market cooking, with the noise and rhythm of the stalls all around. Few bars explain so well how Palma eats away from the tourist centre.

Reviewed in November 2026