We found this friendly little bar/cafe whilst in Menorca this year. It's in the shadow of a hotel called Mar De Menorca but holds its own where food is concerned. The food was a real taste of home, we could tell it was home made and it was really tasty. The reason we felt the need to post this tip is the family who run Chepas are so friendly and went out of there way to make us welcome. Good food, good drink.

Es Canutells, 7 miles south-west of Mahon. Close to the lovely cove of Cala Canutells.

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Great watercolour painting courses on the lovely island of Menorca.

www.briansmithwatercolourways.com

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Harbourside restaurant with own fishing boat - great location, great food, great service.

Pla de Sant Joan, 15
Ciutadella
www.cafe-balear.com/
971 38 00 05
gastroplod.wordpress.com/2008/06/20/cafe-balear-ciutadella/

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This is an authentic Spanish restaurant with a very friendly staff, local products, a good cook, no-nonsense food (we had a wonderfully fresh dorade for two) and all the things you will appreciate in contrast to the fast-food dominated tourism industry on the Balearic Islands.

The restaurant has just closed for the winter. I suppose it will open again on May 1st, 2008. Give it a try!

Restaurante Cala Blanca
Cala Blanca, Menorca, Spain
(5 km south of Ciutadella, overlooking the little beach of Cala Blanca)

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Bar and nightclub set in caves halfway down the cliffs, just outside the resort of Cala en Porter. A great place to sip your drink and watch the sun set over the sea.

www.covadenxoroi.com/

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And what else is Menorca famous for?
Gin. Not quite the strength of Gordon’s but with a wide range of flavours. A trip round the gin factory will educate the taste buds. Menorcan gin is made from a grape distilled spirit, not cereal based as ours is. The juniper now comes from the mainland but the distilling process continues to be done in copper stills.
But it’s hard to beat Gordon’s

The gin factory is in Mahon.

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It’s worth hiring a car here, either the modest Seat, which is fine unless you’re deciding to explore some of the little roads which run off the main and only road of the island that connects Mahon and Ciudadella.
In which case beware, as these roads are not even tracks, but in some cases boulder-strewn wastes ready to crack the careless sump or bend the odd steering arm, or as has been known, break an axle of even the cleverest of drivers.
This is territory for big four by fours. So check your insurance. Have you a damage waiver?
Going down these tracks brings the explorer to the hidden coves that are rarely seen, except by boat, and even then some are unapproachable because of reefs. Stay here and be fairly sure no-one else will be there.

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Car hire is very cheap in Menorca and you can travel the island end to end easily in a day. The roads are very quiet but if you are not experienced at driving abroad, avoid the city centres. The road system is a bit weird because there is one main road running between the two cities and the minor roads run off this to the resorts, to get to the next resort you have to go back to the main road then down the next minor road, there are very few coastal roads but all roads were quiet.

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Santo Tomas is a very quiet resort with very little nightlife, we found the best beach on the island here. The Hotel Playa Victoria is superb for families.

Hotel Victoria
Playa Santo Tomas
07749

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There is much mystery about the pre-history of the island. All around are dotted these gigantic megaliths and domes, Talaiots and Taules and Navetas. It is impossible to ignore these monuments dating from around 1300 B.C. as there are so many on the island.

Visit them in the early morning while the dew is still damp on the stones. Contemplate them in the quiet and dignified atmosphere that the early morning brings and see them at their best.

Everywhere

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The harbour at Mahon is one of the biggest deep-water harbours in the world and it was here that the British anchored fleets from 1713 onwards as it was of enormous strategic importance in control of the Mediterranean. Was this why the gin industry flourished so much on the island?

Our word for the sauce we traditionally pour over many of our dishes comes from here, “grevi” and later entered our language via the British Navy.

Mahon cheese is one of the great Spanish cheeses and is as good as any on the mainland. It is a cow’s milk cheese and is the island’s biggest export. And ice cream. The island is famous for this product. The flavours are infinitely variable. My favourite, Pistachio and Almonds.

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There are the usual glass-bottomed boat trips of the Med. But here is a very unexpected one. As the boat moves slowly along off-shore you are urged to watch for “the abyss.” Suddenly, the sea bottom, decorated with the usual detritus of rusty beer-cans only a few metres below the keel, plunges over the edge of a precipitous underwater cliff. There is a real feeling of vertigo as the cliff recedes downwards to a blue-green haze. Worth seeing.

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This is the original whitewashed Menorcan fishing village of little dwellings cascading one upon the other as if they had grown there rather than been built. Dazzling in their whiteness, they nestle at impossible angles on the edge of the harbour.

Tiny windows with smells to draw the taste buds. Roasted garlic, langoustine and mussels jostle with Spanish voices for attention. For this is where the Spanish come for their holidays. Alleys in blinding white stone wind through Moorish arches, opening into little courtyards with lemon and orange trees growing, and always around the next shadowed bend, something new.

There is a juxtaposition of light and shade, of white and more white, topped by that blue that only the Mediterranean gives. A little open-air restaurant of a few tables sits in the shadow, a gentle breeze wafting through the arches. Forget Sangria. Try the Rioja that the waiter recommends. And if it has been aged in sherry casks and the magical word Crianza appears, tip him twice.

This is a gentle fishing village for relaxing in the traditional Minorcan manner. Only problem is, it’s a cheat. This “old” village was built by an architect in 1972. But it doesn’t matter, it’s good design and it’s pleasant to be there.

On the South coast.

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