Il Pizzettaro Mallorca cala d'or

Il Pizzettaro sits on Carrer Marquès de Comillas in the middle of Cala d'Or, and the house describes itself in a single line: Pizzería y cocina típica italiana. The menu delivers on both halves. There is a long list of pizzas, plus starters, pasta, meat and fish — and a bar that is no afterthought, with its own snacks, draught beer, sangría, cocktails and coffee. Behind the place stands an operation whose original house is in Gliaca di Piraino, in the province of Messina in Sicily. Cala d'Or is the second and younger address. That origin is easy to read on the menu: a Norma with aubergine and baked ricotta, an escalope in the Palermo manner, a Sicilian salad with capers and sun-dried tomatoes. How the kitchen works is something Il Pizzettaro puts briefly itself: oven on, living dough, ingredients that speak for themselves. The house writes in Spanish, German and English, and the printed menu is set in exactly those three languages, dish beside dish. That says more about who eats in Cala d'Or than any description could. What comes out of the oven at Il Pizzettaro The classic range is complete: Margherita, Marinara, Cotto, Cotto e Funghi, Tonno e Cipolla, Quattro Formaggi, Vegetariana, Calzone. Right at the top stands the Pizza Pane, with nothing but oil, salt and oregano — the bare version, the one that lets you judge a dough. The list of specials is where it gets interesting. The Norma carries aubergine and baked ricotta, the Basta Cosi sausage and friarielli, the Mortazza mortadella, pistachio and burrata. The Carbonara does without tomato altogether and works with guanciale, egg and pecorino. The house pizza is named after the place itself and combines porcini, sausage, pork belly and parmesan. One pizza carries the name of the town: the Cala d'Or, with chicken and bolognese over tomato and mozzarella. Orthodox it is not, and that is exactly the appeal — it appears on no other menu. Pasta, second courses and the starters The pasta side follows the same line. Rigatoni alla Norma come with tomato, aubergine and basil, the baked ricotta served separately. Alongside them sit tagliatelle with porcini, ravioli with gorgonzola and walnut, linguine allo scoglio with seafood, spaghetti carbonara with pecorino and black pepper, and a lasagna that has aubergine in it. Among the second courses you find a Florentine T-bone, entrecôte with mushrooms, an escalope in the pizzaiola manner with tomato, olives, capers and oregano, and calamares a la romana, each with a side of your choice. The starters run from parmigiana and caprese through vitello tonnato to carpaccio of bresaola or octopus. Anyone eating meat-free will find something without having to ask: marinara, vegetariana, penne all'arrabbiata, spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino and the salads. Gluten-free, the bar and the terrace Unusual for a house this size: at Il Pizzettaro gluten-free is a section of the printed menu, not a question you have to put at the counter. Every pizza can be ordered gluten-free, and so can macaroni and spaghetti, bruschetta and fries. Anyone who otherwise gives up pizza because of coeliac disease gets the full choice here rather than a token variant. Outside you sit along the street; inside, the bar keeps draught beer, wine, sangría and cocktails, with the snack side of fried bread, potato croquettes and a mixed platter. Booking is possible, and the house asks for it expressly. Everything can be taken away as well, and there is a delivery route within the resort.