Restaurante Chicos del Mar

Restaurante Chicos del Mar sits a little away from the main promenade in Peguera, on Carrer de la Talaia, and it is one of those addresses you walk straight past the first time. The name is mildly misleading: if you arrive expecting a pure fish house you will indeed find seafood and a dedicated fish section, but above all a tapas-driven Mediterranean kitchen. The house describes its own approach as flexitarian — a kitchen that puts vegetables and pulses at the centre without giving up fish, shellfish, meat, cheese or eggs. Buying is kept local and seasonal as far as possible, from producers on the island. Mediterranean tapas with a Peruvian thread The tapas section is by far the largest part of the menu, and it carries the place. Two entries give away where the cooking comes from: strips of beef fillet sautéed Peruvian style with soy, vegetables, fresh coriander and crisp potatoes, and mussels a la chalaca, sharply marinated and served with Peruvian toasted corn. Both sit openly alongside Spanish and Mallorcan dishes, without anyone building a fusion concept out of it. Just as naturally, tumbet appears on the menu, the Mallorcan vegetable lasagne, next to padrón peppers, patatas bravas, albóndigas in spiced tomato sauce and a selection of three croquettes with changing fillings — green asparagus, grilled chicken with truffle, chorizo with pepper. If you lean towards the Levant, there is hummus with dates and zaalouk, the Arab-inspired aubergine and tomato dip with country bread. Then come the classics: boquerones, octopus, small sautéed calamari and bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with almond. What else comes to the table The main courses are kept short but clearly sorted. Under Pescado you find sea bass and tuna fillet from the plancha and a crisply battered fish fillet with guacamole, plus the house fish burger. The meat side runs from marinated chicken skewers on roasted carrot hummus through Mediterranean lamb skewers to Angus entrecôte and a burger of dry-aged beef. Rice and pasta get a section of their own. Paella comes mixed, as a fish and seafood version, purely vegetarian with vegetables and mushrooms, and as a black paella with squid; alongside them sit a fish and seafood pot with rice and coriander and spaghetti with prawns in white wine. The desserts are made in-house — orange and almond cake with rosemary, chia pudding with mango, cherry sorbet with basil pesto, a Basque-style cheesecake and a chocolate coulant with carob. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free This is not a side show here. Vegan dishes are marked on the menu, right across the sections — among the tapas, the mains and the desserts. For guests with gluten intolerance the house keeps a separate offering, likewise marked, that goes well beyond the usual one or two alternatives. If you are used to working such menus out by interrogating the staff, you notice the difference immediately. Finding Chicos del Mar in Peguera The restaurant is on Carrer de la Talaia, inside the building of the Hotel Bella Colina, a few minutes on foot from the main street and the beach. From outside, the entrance is not obvious at first — the way in leads through the hotel entrance. Peguera itself you reach on the Ma-1 west of Palma. There is on-street parking in the centre, and booking is worth it, because the place is well attended.