Restaurant la Parada del Mar

Ask anyone in Palma about La Parada del Mar and you tend to get the same sentence back: that is the place where you pick your own fish. Which is exactly right. The restaurant on Avinguda de Joan Miró in Cala Major, a few steps from the Palau de Marivent, does not greet you with a menu but with a display. Fish and shellfish lie spread out on a bench the way they would in a fishmonger's, with the prices set right beside the goods. You walk along it, let yourself be advised, settle on product and quantity — and only then take a seat. What happens next is unspectacular, and that is precisely why it works. The kitchen takes what you chose and cooks it. There are two routes, and the house needs no more than that: the plancha and the fryer. It has run on this formula in Cala Major for well over a decade, and the fact that the goods turn over constantly is less a matter of principle than a consequence of demand. How La Parada del Mar Works The counter is the menu. What lies on it follows the market and the season, and the range is wide: sole, cap-roig, sea bass, monkfish, gilt-head bream, squid, cuttlefish, anchovies, mussels, prawns, queen scallops, octopus. Then the smaller things no marisquería can do without — cockles, carpet-shell clams, razor clams, baby squid. You do not need to be an expert to eat well here. The staff walk you along the display and advise on product and quantity; the service is well drilled and steps in where help is wanted. That is the real appeal of the concept: it does not take the decision off your hands, but it does not leave you alone with it either. Plancha or Fryer The cooking is spare. Squid comes either off the plancha or Andalusian-style out of the hot fat, mussels are steamed, clams arrive off the griddle or marinera, prawns and queen scallops off the plancha. Anchovies and baby squid belong on the fried side. No more technique is in play, and with produce like this, more would be wrong. If you would rather not decide, there is the tasting menu. It runs straight across the house: a nut salad and Padrón peppers to begin, then baby squid, anchovies, squid off the plancha, steamed mussels, razor clams, prawns and queen scallops, with a drink and dessert included. Something Sweet at the End The desserts are the part you least expect at a fish restaurant. There is a carrot cake with nuts, and there is a chocolate cake baked with Guinness. It sounds sideways to a coastal kitchen, and that is exactly why it sticks. The Setting in Cala Major The decor is maritime without tipping into kitsch: large photographs of boats, tackle and fishermen, and blue-and-white tiling running up the columns. The tables are plain, there is no tablecloth, the cutlery and glasses are kept simple. Outside there is a broad terrace, which comes into its own above all once the worst of the heat eases off. All of that matches how the house sees itself: La Parada del Mar reads as an enjoyable, uncomplicated address rather than a temple. Its success comes down to the combination of good produce, sure-handed cooking and prices that stay sensible for a seafood restaurant.