Ibiza Restaurants

Ibiza probably has a higher concentration of restaurants than any other place of similar size on the planet, apart from the major capital cities. This means that Ibiza is blessed with an enormous number and variety of restaurants from which to choose, in an extraordinary variety of different settings. The most obvious that leap to mind would obviously be the fish restaurant on the beach - where you can dine in the shade with your toes in the sand.

Or perhaps the quayside of a pretty little bay sampling the day's catch fresh from the fishing boats. Your dinner options might include candlelit luxury alongside one of Ibiza's fortress churches high above the centre of the island, with the distant lights of old Ibiza town sparkling in the distance, or the far off lights of distant ships traversing the invisible horizon with myriad stars overhead.

Alternatively, a restaurant alongside one of the island marinas, accompanied by the indignity of rubbing shoulders with wealthy yacht owners swapping tales from the high seas. Or, truly away from it all, at one of the many isolated country restaurants amidst the scents and scenes of an unspoilt, and relatively undiscovered, Ibiza.

In addition to local Spanish fare and the more unusual typical Ibicenco dishes with their mix of influences from the various cultures that have occupied the islands down the centuries, fine Italian, French, Dutch and German restaurants vie with Thai, Chinese and Japanese restaurants, some so authentic that all of the decor and even the chefs have been imported from their country of origin to complete your perfect experience. In fact every taste from around the world of cuisine is represented at one place or another and the competition is hot, so quality is not hard to find, as long as you look around and do your research.

So to guide you in the right direction - welcome to our guide to the island's restaurants, where you will find some of the better options appropriately highlighted. One of the nicest surprises when you visit Ibiza is the relatively low cost of eating out. It is often cheaper to visit a restaurant than to buy and cook the ingredients yourself. This is especially true of the 'menu del dia', the Spanish lunchtime menu, which normally involves three courses, often with wine thrown in, and can usually be found for less than 10 euros.

Bear in mind that it does get hot here and the least attractive place to spend the hottest part of the day can be the kitchen, trying to master an unfamiliar cooker!

Local Produce
The quality of the locally grown food is another example of the effect that enormous amounts of sunshine have on living organisms. The vegetables are as healthy as the indiginous population are happy, and the same appears to apply to all of the other animals with that we share the island with. We'd never really thought about a happy chicken before - coming from England where they all used to live in battery farms...

Anyway, the point is... it is far easier to make really good food with really good ingredients, so, in the same way that artists seek out the island as a place to create their art - because the light here is unique (very sunny), culinary artists are also attracted to this oasis, because the local produce is powerful and produces phenomenal results (it grows well in the sunshine). We shouldn't be surprised really... every other type of artist is represented on the island, from the physical to the spiritual ... why not the nutritional?

The choice becomes bewildering when the myriad of other 'summer only' restaurants open up too. Some are fantastic, others not quite so good - we'll try to keep you informed whilst trying not to get too fat. After all we have to do the beach research in our thongs too..