Organic, Restaurant Ecològic

Organic, Restaurant Ecològic stands right above Cala Marçal near Portocolom, where the sand gives way to the low cliff edge. Outside you sit looking at the beach and the sea; inside, in a room that feels more like an overgrown living room than a beach place. Not every table faces the water — if you want the view, better say so when you book. The house sees itself as an organic restaurant and states that it works with organically grown produce from nearby. The menu is Mediterranean with a clearly Italian hand, plus a breakfast and brunch trade that many guests take to be the real heart of the place. What the Organic kitchen puts on the table The fixed points of the menu are ravioli and lasagne, alongside tostadas the house takes seriously: one with goat's cheese, pear, almonds and Mallorcan honey, one with seasonal vegetables, serrano ham and burrata, one with smoked salmon, avocado and fine herbs. Home-baked bread, olives and aioli often arrive first. The vegetarian burger, made in house from lentils and vegetables, has a reputation of its own among guests, as do the vegetable lasagne and the nut-filled ravioli. Desserts run to tiramisù, panna cotta and a chocolate cake with a molten centre, plus an ice cream counter with vegan and lactose-free flavours. Plates and glasses are dressed with edible flowers — that runs through the whole house. Smoothies are drunk in quantity: guests mention the fruit blends as often as the food. There are also cocktails, sangría, craft beer and coffee made with plant milk on request. The digestifs — limoncello, meloncello, hierbas — are made in house. Organic, vegan, gluten-free — and where the limits lie Vegan dishes carry their own symbols on the menu, and many others can be prepared vegan. Gluten-free and lactose-free options are marked throughout, right into the desserts — which is why Organic turns up so often in the travel notes of people with coeliac disease. One thing you should know: Organic is not a purely plant-based house. Fish, seafood and meat are on the menu too, octopus included. If you are looking for an entirely vegan kitchen, factor that in; if you are travelling in a mixed group, that is exactly what makes this a rare common ground. Terrace, shoes and a small shop The decor is the second reason guests remember the place. Discarded shoes and boots stand about everywhere, planted with succulents and cacti, and greenery spills out of pots and shelves in between. The result is colourful, dense and a long way from the usual beach bar. Indoors there is a small shop: fruit and vegetables, organic island wine, eggs, bread, along with ceramics and jewellery made locally. Booking is worth it, online or directly with the house — Organic is well visited, and a walk-in table is not always there. Cala Marçal on the doorstep Cala Marçal is a pale sandy beach in a natural inlet at the mouth of a torrent, framed by low cliffs and by pines that throw shade. The water is shallow and sheltered from the swell; there are lifeguards, showers, sunbeds and parasols, and the bay carries the Blue Flag. After a meal it is a few steps onto the sand, and if you want to walk, the coast leads from here towards Portocolom with its fishing harbour and its lighthouse. The neighbouring bay, Cala sa Nau, lies a little further south.