Balm Restaurant

Balm Restaurant sits in the middle of Deià, in a narrow lane of the mountain village above the Tramuntana coast, and it is exactly the small, family-run house it describes itself as. It calls its own approach "Cocina de la abuela viajera" — the kitchen of a well-travelled grandmother. What that means is a Mediterranean home kitchen that brings recipes, flavours and techniques back from its travels rather than serving them as an exotic turn. The core is quickly told: vegetables sit in the middle, not at the edge. The house describes its cooking as a kitchen of balance and places it under the heading of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant eating. In practice that sounds less like a diet than like a kitchen that works a great deal with plants and overloads nothing. The motto on its own site reads "Cocina honesta y atenta" — honest, attentive cooking. One thing is worth knowing before you come: the menu is short and changes often. Vegetables, fruit and herbs set the rhythm, and the house rewrites the card when the market asks for it. If you are hoping for one particular dish, ask ahead. What is on the menu at Balm Restaurant The starters are kept entirely vegetarian and vegan: sourdough bread with marinated Mallorcan olives and aioli, a cream of the day that is always vegan and follows the market — sweet potato and pumpkin, cauliflower with cashews and fresh herbs, or a green gazpacho are the examples the house itself gives — and a Mallorcan coca with roasted peppers, a light garlic dressing and Mallorcan cheese. The vegetable dishes are the heart of it and are meant for sharing. The marinated broccoli arrives as a salad with feta, yogurt, lime, blueberries and pumpkin seeds — a combination that shows how sweetness and acidity get built into a vegetable here. Under the name "Pedro Porro" come confit leeks with a homemade ajoblanco, olive tapenade, oven-roasted tomatoes and chilli honey. Alongside them, a salad of romaine and rocket with avocado, red onion and a green lemon dressing, and a vegetable plate that changes weekly with the market. Among the more substantial plates the house lists its rock mussels as one of its signature dishes, marked Thai on the card and meant either for sharing or as a main course. Next to them stand the fish of the day, a green chicken on cauliflower cream with fresh herbs, linguine with three kinds of tomato, and a creamy rice with courgette, sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and lemon. The desserts are made by the house's own pastry chef. Chocolate is always there — as a brownie, a mousse or a cake, depending on the day. A fixture on the card is "La Cookie": two handmade cookies of caramelised white chocolate, almonds, macadamia and tonka bean, filled with cream ice cream. Beside it, a classic flan with a touch of coconut. The garden behind the herbs One line on the menu says more about this house than any self-description: the gremolata for the pasta comes from the Huerto del Mar. That is not an image but an address — a garden in Alconàsser on the road to Béns d'Avall, in the heart of the Tramuntana. Many of the herbs, flowers and plants that reach the plate at Balm grow there; the restaurant made the connection public itself. The garden deliberately backs variety over volume, with aromatic plants, edible flowers, its own bees and an unusually large citrus collection. That explains a good deal: the many herbs, the green dressings, the confidence that a vegetable can carry a plate on its own. Balm at home Alongside the restaurant, the house runs a private catering service for small gatherings under the name "Balm en Casa". Chefs and service staff come to your home, the menu is tailored to the occasion, and on request there is bar service with the house's own cocktails. If you like, you can taste the planned menu at the restaurant beforehand — a pragmatic touch that fits the rest well.