It might seem small, but you won’t get through Formentera in a couple of days. Or even in four or five. A sideline for some, and an essential destination for many, Formentera has a really big variety of quality culinary offerings, as well as being an idyllic spot for ambling around, and where you can literally lose track of time. In short, the island can be enjoyed in bites – varied, enticing and affordable. Here, then, are some proposals to satisfy your appetite via a range of different culinary offerings.

Ensalada Payesa

This is the island’s most emblematic dish. A simple, light and tasty salad, it includes fish dried in the island’s sun and sea breeze. Ideal for wetting your appetite. Served in an earthenware bowl at Can Forn, a benchmark restaurant for the finest traditional cuisine. For the best home-fried fish at the seaside, you can’t go wrong at Vogamarí, which also serve great croquettes and calamares a la bruta (calamari in their ink).

Rice

This is probably the food featured most on menus at virtually all restaurants on the island. Among the finest there is black rice and soupy rice with lobster at Can Rafalet, a classic on the up and up at Es Caló de Sant Agustí. Its terraces is among the most coveted in town, on account of the spectacular views. For multiple-customer paellas at knockdown prices, head for the Pelayo beach bar, one of the most alternative spots on the island, on Migjorn beach.

Snacks

Nothing better than a good yango, with your feet in the sand, as you wait for the sun to set on the beach at Ses Illetes. The best option, however, is to hop on board Sa Barca de Formentera, sail around the north as far as S’Espalmador, have a nice swim and, on the return trip, stop off alongside the vessel at the Beso Beach Club, a beach bar offering market cuisine and exotic sandwiches crafted by their chef, Carles Abellán.

Pizzas

If you’re surrounded by Italians and still fancy a pizza, the best are to be had at Macondo, in the town of Sant Ferran. Their variety is endless and you are advised to work up an appetite before you go, as the size of their pizzas and other dishes – like pasta – is considerable. Allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised by Macondo and go for the desserts, too, as they are home made. For afters, drop in on the adjacent Fonda Pepe, the centre of the island’s hippy movement, to order a mitjanet (chaser) of gin tonic or pomada.

Fish and Seafood

You will grow weary of seeing places offering seafood and fresh fish. The most select ones are in the area of Ses Illetes but, if you prefer something quieter and more genuine, try the day’s grilled fresh fish at Conxita i Xicu, on La Mola (Avinguda la Mola 36), a former pastry shop. Do have one of their pastries! You could also opt for lobster and fried eggs at the restaurant, Des Arenals, on the beach of the same name. You won’t be disappointed. And, speaking of eggs, neither can you go wrong with the free-range ones at Can Dani, the only Michelin star on the island.

If you can fit a good swig of wine in between so many snacks, the local fare at the Terramoll winery is highly recommended, as is a dusk cocktail at Piratabus.

Where to Sleep

The quaint Hotel Maisy, on Des Arenals beach, is known for its impeccable, family-style service and for its location next to Migjorn beach and the Caló des Mort. Its rooms with a view have been recently refurbished, as have the surroundings of their outside pool. It also has a restaurant and a bicycle hire service to move around the area.

Move it! Make haste and book your flight with Vueling to this wonderful island.

Text by Belén Parra of Gastronomistas

Formentera is known to be pricey. But, while the bill may be steep in some restaurants, it can also be really affordable in others which are well worth the visit. Following is our varied selection after a visit to the island – sea-facing, in the island’s hinterland, in a hotel… Which one would you pick?

Casbah
I stayed at the Casbah, a quaint three-star hotel of small huts scattered about a pine forest just five minutes from Migjorn Beach. The restaurant serves traditional cuisine using cutting-edge techniques. It is inexpensive and there are some outstanding dishes, like the octopus croquettes, served with black-olive mayonnaise, the very tender grilled octopus and fish of the day. The meat dishes are tasty, while soupy lobster rice is one of the standouts. The average price is 40 euros per head, while there is also a tasting menu of six dishes and dessert for 60 euros, without drinks, and 80 with a pairing. They open from March to December.

Caminito
A benchmark on the island for its seniority (36 years) and the quality of its Argentine, American and Australian meat. Hence, this Argentinian venue is a catwalk of stars (Medem, Ramazzotti, Mariscal, Custo, Iniesta, Messi, Buenafuente, Dalma, Guardiola…) yearning for South American and Mediterranean dishes, like the delicate prawn cannelloni and simmered egg with potato, codfish and spring garlic sauce. The indoor swimming pool is an eye-opener, with several dinner tables set around it. Open from May to October. The average price is 50 euros.

Fonda Platé
In Sant Francesc Xavier, an inland village, you will find Fonda Platé, a popular watering hole where you can just as well go for a barrido –an assortment of breakfast, lunch, simple burger-type dinner dishes and salads – or a fregao (cocktails, music…). The terrace with its grapevine pergola is enchanting and the interior gives off a well-worn air reminiscent of the period when the tavern first opened. In the nineteen eighties, the current owners swapped their yacht for this establishment. Average price: 20–25 euros.

Sol Post
As its name suggest, Sol Post, in the Hotel Cala Saona, is one of the most picturesque spots to watch the sun setting. Lunch ushers in traditional Balearic cuisine – take note of the steamed mussels and their rices, like the unbeatable fish and seafood Paella del Senyoret, both reasonably priced. At dinner they serve up more modern, Mediterranean cuisine. Open from May to October, the average price is 30-35 euros for lunch, and 45 euros for dinner (with two tasting menus without drinks for 32 and 58).

Es Jardí des Marès
All in fine taste, sober and elegant, at the Hotel Marès (Sant Francesc Xavier), replete with art exhibits which lead into the restaurant, featuring elaborate, innovative dishes based on quality produce all sourced locally in Formentera. The terrace, once the garden of the neighbouring convent, is the setting for tasting playful, entertaining and modern dishes like colt carpaccio, the revamped country salad, sea bass with wild asparagus and kalamata olives and sweet potato crisps… Average price from 35 to 40 euros, while the tasting menu of five dishes and dessert, without drinks, costs 50.

Es Caló
Another Formentera benchmark. Traditional island cuisine (country salad, fish stew, rices, fried lobster with egg…). The excellent produce is served on several terraces – one of them a chill-out – with marvellous views of the turquoise blue sea and the green La Mola mountain. The lobster is fried with potatoes and green peppers; when the customer has finished ladling the food, the remaining pan oil is used to fry up some eggs. Open from Holy Week to the end of October; average price from 35 to 40 euros.

Sa Sequi
Ideal for enjoying a sunset with views of neighbouring Ibiza. At Sa Sequi, you can have a drink and small, cold or hot dishes in the chill-out, or full dishes on the restaurant terrace. There, the staple is fresh fish at more restrained prices than in the adjacent area of Ses Illetes. Open from May to November. Average price, 50 euros.

Text and photos by Ferran Imedio of Gastronomistas.com

What do you know about Ibiza, apart from that it’s got incredible beaches and is a mecca for DJs, go-go dancers, ravers and celebrities? We’ve put together 8 fascinating facts about Ibiza, the largest of the Pityusic Islands (Ibiza and Formentera), which we bet you didn’t know.

With an enormous quantity of products and dishes, plus lots of differents markets and fairs, the Balearics are a perfect destination for lovers of gastronomy tourism, and not just in summer.