AT THE HEART OF ISLAND LIFE
Sóller, One Course at a Time
Four restaurants, winding streets and a carefully curated journey through the flavours, stories and hidden corners of one of Mallorca’s most captivating towns.
Skip the stress, taste the islands like a local. That’s the Food Tours Balearics’ tagline, and their Wine and Dine tours do just that.
By Lucy Hawkins
17/09/26
It’s 24 hours before my tour of Sóller and I’ve received my eagerly anticipated email. ‘Your tour starts tomorrow at 13.00h,’ it says, ‘Are you ready for 4 hours filled with delicious food and wine?’ I am so ready I’m practically salivating.
I’ve been to Sóller a few times before and honestly, not known where to start. I don’t live there, I know it’s hugely popular with tourists and I’ve had to hope for the best when choosing somewhere to eat, which often makes or breaks your experience. This time however, I am confident, because the team behind Food Tours Balearics have done all the planning for me.
I follow the link from their email and I go through to their web app with the itinerary for the day and a map with the route to follow to the different restaurants. I am not tech savvy but this is a doddle. The team at Food Tours Balearics are also always at hand, you can tell they’ve put a lot of love into this.
My route for the day is:
1pm-2pm - Do de Pit
2pm-3pm - Ca’n Pintxo
3pm-4pm - Chez Junior
4pm-5pm - Finca Ca’s Sant
They’re all within walking distance and I can see from the map that between each restaurant there are stars that I can tap on which will guide me to places of interest with fascinating background info on this adored gem of a town.
The next day my husband and I allow plenty of time to find parking and we start our adventure in one of Mallorca’s most captivating inland towns, famed for its handsome stone architecture, citrus groves and cosmopolitan atmosphere. My tailored map takes us down a street where the most magnificent villas in town were built by emigrants from Sóller who made their fortunes in France or America and later returned home. The French influence on the architecture is unmistakable.
My map tells us about artisanal crafts in the area, it takes us to the market where farmers from the valley bring their produce. It tells us about the church of Sant Bartomeu, guides us through the coolest streets and shows us where to find a moon carved into stone, an intriguing symbol that used to help people find their way home before house numbers existed. It’s like being on the trail of the Da Vinci Code, but with fabulous food.
And the food was fantastic. Praise be, not a croquette or a Padrón pepper in sight. Not that I don’t like them, I do, but I wanted new tastes.
We arrived at our first restaurant, Do de Pit, told them we were on the tour and were greeted warmly, it was as if we were in the know. Our server presented us with artichoke flowers, pepper and walnut muhammara, arugula and lemon vinaigrette. It was delicious, one of my favourite flavour experience of the day. Each of the 4 stops offer you a beer, wine or water, so with my first crisp white wine I was well on my way.
We weaved our way through the narrow backstreets which were actually a highlight in itself, because with app in hand I knew I wasn’t lost, I strolled with the confidence of a local. We rounded a corner and found our next restaurant, Ca’n Pintxo - unbelievably cool, but unpretentiously so. We sat at the bar, listened to cumbia tunes and I felt I could have been in Mexico, it just had a vibe. (My daughter will be mortified I wrote that. But it was FUN! So; vibe, vibe, vibe, vibe, vibe.)
The waiter served us glasses of a local rosado wine (might have contributed to the vibe), and cappuccino de verduras; vegetables, sweet potato, smoked honey foam and seaweed. Delicious and the new culinary experience I longed for.
The next day my husband and I allow plenty of time to find parking and we start our adventure in one of Mallorca’s most captivating inland towns, famed for its handsome stone architecture, citrus groves and cosmopolitan atmosphere. My tailored map takes us down a street where the most magnificent villas in town were built by emigrants from Sóller who made their fortunes in France or America and later returned home. The French influence on the architecture is unmistakable.
My map tells us about artisanal crafts in the area, it takes us to the market where farmers from the valley bring their produce. It tells us about the church of Sant Bartomeu, guides us through the coolest streets and shows us where to find a moon carved into stone, an intriguing symbol that used to help people find their way home before house numbers existed. It’s like being on the trail of the Da Vinci Code, but with fabulous food.
And the food was fantastic. Praise be, not a croquette or a Padrón pepper in sight. Not that I don’t like them, I do, but I wanted new tastes.
We arrived at our first restaurant, Do de Pit, told them we were on the tour and were greeted warmly, it was as if we were in the know. Our server presented us with artichoke flowers, pepper and walnut muhammara, arugula and lemon vinaigrette. It was delicious, one of my favourite flavour experience of the day. Each of the 4 stops offer you a beer, wine or water, so with my first crisp white wine I was well on my way.
We weaved our way through the narrow backstreets which were actually a highlight in itself, because with app in hand I knew I wasn’t lost, I strolled with the confidence of a local. We rounded a corner and found our next restaurant, Ca’n Pintxo - unbelievably cool, but unpretentiously so. We sat at the bar, listened to cumbia tunes and I felt I could have been in Mexico, it just had a vibe. (My daughter will be mortified I wrote that. But it was FUN! So; vibe, vibe, vibe, vibe, vibe.)
The waiter served us glasses of a local rosado wine (might have contributed to the vibe), and cappuccino de verduras; vegetables, sweet potato, smoked honey foam and seaweed. Delicious and the new culinary experience I longed for.
From there, we were guided to Sóller’s famous and elegant central square, Plaça Constitució, just as the historic wooden train trundled past with its familiar carriages which have been winding through the mountains since 1912, conjuring a bygone era. Surrounded by restaurants, the Plaça is a hub of tourists. But this time we weren’t clueless as to which eatery to pick, because we knew exactly where we were going.
The host at Chez Junior showed us to our table outside overlooking all the action and brought us scrumptious brioche with braised beef cheek, achiote and orange, kimchi, lemon mayonnaise and plantain puree.
Because of the walks in between each course, at no stage did I feel uncomfortably full. It was the perfect amount and the perfect pace.
The crowds thinned as we leisurely strolled the last leg out of town, through the tree lined lanes, blue skies crowning the mountains that for centuries isolated Sóller from the rest of the island fostering its distinctive character and strong sense of independence.
We arrived at our final destination, and it was one very carefully thought out. Finca Ca’s Sant is a beautiful historic estate that has evolved from a working agricultural finca into the boutique hotel it is today, while retaining its centuries-old trees and traditional orange-growing heritage. It was one of those properties where you dared to imagine living there, and then felt thoroughly depressed that you didn’t. I bounced back quickly however, because the personalised attention by the owners and the coffee and lemon pie next to the pool was utterly perfect.
We made our way back to the car, well fed and in no hurry to leave. The tour showed me a side of Sóller I hadn’t seen before and I’ll always think of it fondly as a result.
Food Tours Balearics offer ‘Wine and Dine Tours’ as well as ‘Private Food Tours’ in Palma, Soller and Pollença in Mallorca as well as in Ibiza.
Food Tours Mallorca are offering a 10% discount to In Mallorca readers, just enter the promocode ‘INMALLORCAMAGAZINE’ at checkout. For more information or to book go to www.foodtoursmallorca.com
By Lucy Hawkins
17/09/26
From there, we were guided to Sóller’s famous and elegant central square, Plaça Constitució, just as the historic wooden train trundled past with its familiar carriages which have been winding through the mountains since 1912, conjuring a bygone era. Surrounded by restaurants, the Plaça is a hub of tourists. But this time we weren’t clueless as to which eatery to pick, because we knew exactly where we were going.
The host at Chez Junior showed us to our table outside overlooking all the action and brought us scrumptious brioche with braised beef cheek, achiote and orange, kimchi, lemon mayonnaise and plantain puree.
Because of the walks in between each course, at no stage did I feel uncomfortably full. It was the perfect amount and the perfect pace.
The crowds thinned as we leisurely strolled the last leg out of town, through the tree lined lanes, blue skies crowning the mountains that for centuries isolated Sóller from the rest of the island fostering its distinctive character and strong sense of independence.
We arrived at our final destination, and it was one very carefully thought out. Finca Ca’s Sant is a beautiful historic estate that has evolved from a working agricultural finca into the boutique hotel it is today, while retaining its centuries-old trees and traditional orange-growing heritage. It was one of those properties where you dared to imagine living there, and then felt thoroughly depressed that you didn’t. I bounced back quickly however, because the personalised attention by the owners and the coffee and lemon pie next to the pool was utterly perfect.
We made our way back to the car, well fed and in no hurry to leave. The tour showed me a side of Sóller I hadn’t seen before and I’ll always think of it fondly as a result.
Food Tours Balearics offer ‘Wine and Dine Tours’ as well as ‘Private Food Tours’ in Palma, Soller and Pollença in Mallorca as well as in Ibiza.
Food Tours Mallorca are offering a 10% discount to In Mallorca readers, just enter the promocode ‘INMALLORCAMAGAZINE’ at checkout. For more information or to book go to www.foodtoursmallorca.com