Restaurant Los Arcos

Los Arcos sits on Carrer Monturiol in Cala Ratjada, and the sharpest description of that location comes from the house itself: tucked away among the streets of Cala Ratjada, close to the harbour. Not a table on the promenade, then, but an address in the lanes behind it, one you head for because you have heard about it. The kitchen has been cooking here since 1997, Mediterranean and Spanish, and the house describes itself plainly as a traditional family restaurant. German-speaking guests describe Los Arcos much as it presents itself: rustic and characterful, Spanish in temperament, set a little apart from the busy strip — not a place built for passing trade. The atmosphere is called warm, the service welcoming, and the value for money comes up strikingly often in guest accounts. There is a terrace; indoors can get loud, which is why some prefer to sit outside. What Los Arcos puts on the table The menu is arranged under three headings: Carnes, Pescados, Arroces — meat, fish, rice. On the meat side there is a beef entrecôte, Mallorcan lamb chops and the parrillada de carne, the mixed grill. This is cooking without contortions: cuts where sloppy craft would have nowhere to hide. Among the pescados the menu lists sole from the plancha, a salmon fillet with orange and the parrillada de pescado, the mixed grilled fish platter. Fish and seafood are also what guest accounts return to most often: alongside the paella, prawns, sea bream and steak keep reappearing. Paella, fideuà and the rice kitchen Los Arcos is best known for its arroces. On its own Facebook page the house reduces itself to the shortest possible formula: Spanish family restaurant, homemade paellas. The choice runs from paella mixta to a paella of fish and seafood, a vegetarian paella and a paella negra. Beside them stands the fideuà, in which short noodles take the place of the rice. In guest feedback the paella is the dish praised most often. The same voices note that food can take a while to arrive when the house is busy — this is a place where you settle in rather than rush. Family recipes and the kitchen garden The house says itself what it traces its history in gastronomy back to: the family, the team that long ago became part of it, and fresh produce straight from the garden. The dishes follow family recipes, made with the best of the island's produce and with vegetables from its own huerto, the restaurant's kitchen garden. That explains why the menu reads so calmly: it does not need to surprise, because the produce does the work. Typical dishes of Mallorcan and Spanish cooking stand here the way a family has settled them over the years. Booking, takeaway and celebrations It is wiser to secure a table in advance; German-speaking guests put it bluntly: without a reservation you need luck. Reservations are taken by phone, by email or through the venue's own booking system. The website runs in Spanish, Catalan, English and German, and keeps the menu available to download in each of those languages. Every dish can be ordered to take away, the rice pans and the fideuàs included. And anyone looking to celebrate is in the right place: the house explicitly hosts events and birthdays, and writes that it enjoys sharing them with its guests.