A friend asked me once: “What will you do when you run out of restaurants to write about?” I thought about it for a moment and concluded that that would be impossible. There are new places opening almost every week these days, and there are so many places in Palma, around it and further out, all over the island I have yet to explore. I am pretty sure that I will have something to write about for as long as my fingers work and for as long as I am not completely replaced by AI.
A couple of weeks ago my lovely friend Jennifer invited me to her friends’ place on the outskirts of Palma. I have been there once before but in a bit of a rush, so I really took my time this time around to enjoy several flavourful plates by Andreas Aberg, a Swedish chef now based in Mallorca, who is running this stylish place together with his wife Violeta Minnick.
We started with a grilled slice of Lozano sour dough bread with whipped butter and olives. The bread was excellent and I really liked the playful texture of whipped butter.
Next up we had a plate of Som Tam, a traditional smashed green mango and peanut salad. This was so fresh and moreish that we polished the plate clean before either of us remembered to take a photo.
Looking at the mains, I was intrigued by ½ grilled lobster with Formentera style chickpeas stew. How does something so luxurious as lobster work with a simple legumes stew, I thought. Well. it worked brilliantly! The lobster was just perfect and it went really well with a rich, thick stew. It was a bit messy to at but I absolutely loved it.
Jennifer opted for her favourite: Muay Thai Kickboxing chicken that consisted of stir fried minced chicken leg, green beans, basil and chilli, toppef with a fried egg. I loved the name and the kick of this scrumptious dish. I could just imagine it being picked up from a stall on a roadside somewhere in Asia.
Andreas came out to talk to us for a bit in between cooking for several other tables. I loved how passionate he was about his cooking and especially about various levels of flavours. He gave me an example of a simple tomato sauce, which could be made with garlic and onion and it would be “good”, but if you took your time to sauté onions, mix it with roasted garlic and added a just bit of cumin, you would “elevate it to a whole other level”. He applied this logic to every single dish he made and the evidence was right there for us to taste.
We finished the night with a Crunchy banoffee with tequila and lime dip, another example of Andreas’s playfulness with both textures and flavours that was beautiful to see and a pleasure to taste!
THE VERDICT
Sauvage is a stylish restaurant on the outskirts of Palma, beautifully decorated inside and with a gorgeous relaxing garden outside. The food is excellent, with a distinct Asian kick, and the service is friendly and personal. If you are a flavour geek, make sure you talk to Andreas.
THE RESTAURANT
Sauvage Food & Wine
Carrer de Joan Mascaró i Fornés, 113, Nord, 07010 Palma, Illes Balears
Tel: 971 76 93 79
Instagram: @sauvagefoodandwine
THE BILL
Starters from 14€
Mains from 18.50€
Desserts 7.50€
OPENING HOURS
Wed to Sat 7pm to 1pm; Sat and Sun 1pm to 4pm
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