Vermutería San Jaime

On Passeig de Mallorca, beside the channel of the Riera, ‘la Vermu’ — as the staff call it — has a terrace on the promenade, a well-kept dining room and a kitchen that stays open all day with no afternoon break, which is unusual in Palma. People come for the vermouth on tap and a tapas menu that goes well beyond the basics. The dish that justifies the trip is the oxtail croquettes, homemade and very creamy; the Mahón cheese ones are the alternative. Tortilla is the other signature, in several versions: with caramelised onion, truffled with pecorino, or the loose, runny ‘tortilla vaga’ with sobrassada. The rest of the menu includes grilled sobrassada with honey, gildas and periwinkles, octopus grilled with rum and sweet-potato purée, tomato with tuna belly, and a cachopo you can order as a half portion. For dessert, the caramelised torrija (Spanish French toast), which melts in the mouth. Prices aren’t neighbourhood-tavern prices — four croquettes come to about €10 — but the quality is there. From Thursday to Saturday nights it’s packed and service gets stretched; at lunchtime or on a weekday you’ll enjoy it far more. The owner, Sergio García, runs the place.

Reviewed in November 2026