Ibiza’s gastronomy is experiencing one of its sweetest moments. Apart from the offering at the more traditional restaurants, where you can enjoy a bullit de peix (Ibizan fish stew), a lobster stew or the classic sofrit pagès (one of Ibiza’s most typical dishes), there are a growing number of other establishments offering different world cuisines, enriching Ibiza as a tourist destination.
Whereas some local chefs delve into the traditional cookbook and others reinvent it, internationally renowned chefs choose the island to establish their brands in a setting as appealing as Ibiza. Dishes created by some of world’s top chefs are being served in hotels at the foot of the beach, or in urban locations.
This is the case with Dani García, a chef who garnered three Michelin stars in 2018 (although he decided to close his restaurant shortly after), and has suddenly earned himself two more in the latest edition of the Red Guide for his Smoked Room in Madrid after being open for just six months, making history. The Malaga-born chef, who owns twenty-something restaurants around the world, brought his BiBo brand to Ibiza last year. And in 2022 not only is he repeating it, but he is also bringing new openings of his different firms to the island in the next few years. «I’d like to open more places in Ibiza, and in Formentera too,» he says.
Another name opening up on the island this season is Mario Sandoval, who has installed his kitchen in the Ibiza Gran Hotel with his new Asal. «It’s the first time we’ve ever ventured outside Madrid with a very original concept, based on the Ibiza salt flats,» the chef explains, who firmly believes that the island is experiencing an excellent moment. «The pandemic has challenged us to realise that Ibiza has a lively daytime scene. In four years from now, Ibiza is going to be the Silicon Valley of European islands, where the whole world comes to enjoy the hospitality, the fine catering on offer at its hotels, and its nightclubs... I believe that these four years are going to be very strong in Ibiza,» Sandoval declares.
Also landing in Ibiza for the first time is three-Michelin-starred Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco, who has set up shop in El Silencio alongside his great friend Federico Desseno, master of open-fire cooking. In 2019 Colagreco’s flagship restaurant Mirazur, ranked first in the prestigious World's 50 Best Restaurants. Now he has arrived on the island attracted by the magic of Cala Molí and the dynamic culinary project at Silencio.
Without forgetting the Spanish chef with the most Michelin stars in Spain, Martín Berasategui, who continues his path in Ibiza with his restaurant Etxeko at the Hotel Bless bringing his famous garrote* to the kitchen. Berasategui flies a flag for the old flavours of San Sebastián and the most sublime of ingredients from the Cantabrian and Mediterranean seas. An avant-garde style of cooking that has earned Martín Berasategui 12 Michelin stars at the restaurants he directs in different parts of Spain.
For its part, Sublimotion, the most expensive restaurant in the world, continues to offer its special brand of gastronomic performance in Platja d’en Bossa. Paco Roncero still a fan of the island since he started to offer his extravagant, eye-catching dinners that go way beyond a normal dining experience in 2014.
The fact that Ibiza has attracted so many world-renowned chefs is not by chance. The next few years are going to be brilliant for its gastronomy, which is forever linked to high spending tourists and who continue to choose Ibiza over many other world destinations.
Best gastronomic hotel
Another great blessing for the island’s gastronomic sector is the award won by Ibiza Gran Hotel this year as ‘Best Gastronomic Hotel in Spain and Portugal’ on the Conde Nast Traveler Gold List, an award that strengthens its position as gastronomic destination. These awards recognise the most exclusive national destinations, affirming the tourism quality of these countries.
From the breakfasts to the dinners, including any number of the aperitifs, lunches or small snacks, every bite and sip in this exclusive hotel endorses its recent accolade as Best Gastronomic Hotel 2022 granted by the prestigious Conde Nast Traveler magazine. This year, La Gaia, the first hotel restaurant on the island to earn a Michelin star, has been joined by other new openings, such as Asal, Zuma and Club Chinoise.
