Mia Naprta
My surname is supposedly Czech. I was born in Yugoslavia, a country that no longer exists. More specifically, I’m from Lika, a beautiful but scarcely populated part of Croatia, yet to be discovered by tourists who regularly descend upon the Adriatic coast and the islands.
I spent most of my adult life in the UK. I studied English and Journalism in Oxford, before moving to London. Over the next 17 years I worked my way up from an “office angel” to a food and drink market analyst, specialising in sugar and chocolate confectionery. Some of my friends would say that I was “getting paid to eat chocolate and write about it”!
After years of busy lives and grey skies, my partner and I decided to slow down and warm our bones somewhere sunnier. We explored Portugal, Italy and the south of Spain, before Palma won us over in 2015.
Although my career has been mostly about markets and numbers, I have always been writing – from personal blogs and opinion pieces for trade publications in the UK to travel articles for a Croatian lifestyle magazine and several monthly columns for The Islander Magazine since January 2021. Right now I am really looking forward to this additional challenge of writing for Mallorca Bulletin!
E-mail mia.naprta@gmail.com - Instagram: @mianaprta
Eating Out in Mallorca: SABA @ Kimpton Aysla, Santa Ponsa
The octopus was melt-in-your-mouth soft and went really well with the greens, altogether seasoned with spicy lime.
Eating out in Mallorca: Aromata, Jaume lll
At 32 euros for three courses, Aromata was at the top end of the price range for this kind of a meal.
Cocktail Hour: Morokko, Jaume lll
Bloody Mary was apparently invented a hundred years ago by a French bartender named Fernand Petiotin at the New York Bar in Paris.
Eating Out in Mallorca: Spot Mallorca, Santa Catalina
“I don't want places that are fashionable or that become fashionable. I just want people to like them!"
Cocktail Hour: Izizi Nunnak, Portixol
As Paula passed over each drink with a quick flash of a gas lighter, I asked why this is done and she told me that it gets rid of the excess air bubbles.
Eating Out in Mallorca: Bacan, Jaume III
Bacan is a family business that sprung to life in the middle of COVID.
Cocktail Hour: Iroko, Palmanova
Iroko “draws inspiration from the tropical forests of Japan” and “features an extensive list of cocktails made with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients”.
Eating Out in Mallorca: Erizo de Bar, Portixol
In the case of Erizo de Bar, I have known it since its previous incarnation as Pollito Café, where I have had some of the tastiest brunches in town.
Cocktail Hour: Agabar, Santa Catalina
Agabar serves all the usual classics, but also specialises in agave based cocktails, which explains the name.
Eating Out in Mallorca: Jonny's Dhaba, Santa Catalina
A thali typically consists of: a grain (rice or flatbread made with wheat, millet, etc.), lentils (dhal or sambar), vegetables, chutney, raita (curds usually mixed with some kind of vegetable), pickles and sometimes papadum.
Eating Out in Mallorca: Dmenu, Sindicato
The shorter version of their weekly changing menu includes a choice between two starters, two mains and two deserts plus water, while the longer menu is made up of two starters, two mains and one desert.
Eating Out in Mallorca: El Corte Ingles, Avenidas
Mallorcan's love their “fritos”, fried vegetables with liver and kidneys, meat or fish.
Eating Out in Mallorca: NAP – Neapolitan Authentic Pizza, Santa Catalina
I think that I might have just found my new favourite pizza place in Palma!
Eating Out in Mallorca: Café Riutort, La Rambla
Even though a single menu choice might sound limiting, I have not been disappointed so far.
Eating Out in Mallorca: Xalest - Palma
Xalest is a restaurant within the Concepcio by Nobis hotel situated in a lovely part of the Old Town.
Eating out in Mallorca: Market Kitchen - Santa Catalina
The two generous slices of Sirloin, with just enough fat on the edges not to be dry, were up there with the best beef I have had on the island.
Eating Out in Mallorca: Il Chiringo - Palmanova
This was an expectedly pleasant experience in a lovely setting, with fresh food and friendly staff.
- Emergency declared on Ryanair flight bound for Palma from Dublin
- British tourists will be “tracked” while on holiday in Mallorca
- Mallorca ambassador Sir Bradley Wiggins has “lost” his Mallorca home
- Mallorca restaurants losing clients, tourists tighten their belts
- Mallorca hotelier - "I wouldn't go to a place where I perceived there to be animosity towards tourists"