Restaurante Maritimo

Marítimo in S'Illot is a small, family-run restaurant right by the sea. It sits on Passeig Neptú, the promenade that closes the village off towards the bay, and the terrace faces the water — there is no more than a few steps in between. The house treats its size as a principle rather than a problem. The menu is deliberately short, space inside is limited, and the two together explain why a reservation here is not a formality but the normal way in. Quality before choice, alongside selected Mallorcan wines: that is how Marítimo describes its own line, and the compact menu is the consequence. The kitchen: Mediterranean with a Persian accent The head chef is Afshin Shekoufandeh. His career began in Hamburg, where he also trained as a cook, and he most enjoys cooking Mediterranean food — with a Persian accent that comes into the kitchen through his roots. That is why this short menu does not quite read like those of the neighbouring houses. Fish and seafood carry the larger part: grilled prawns, sea bass, tender calamari. Mussels in tomato sauce are among the dishes guests single out most often. The second pillar is meat, more precisely Argentinian beef — seafood and Argentinian beef are what the house itself puts side by side when it has to describe itself in one line. Steaks come out of the kitchen the way you ordered them. Alongside that: pasta, salads and vegetarian dishes. Paella at Marítimo — by advance order only Paella is the dish you have to plan ahead for. It is prepared fresh in the house, in the traditional way, and the cooking takes over an hour. That is why the kitchen only accepts it as an advance order: register it a day beforehand. Do turn up punctually, because the kitchen starts the paella early enough to spare you the long wait. There are four versions to choose from: a pure fish and seafood paella, one with meat, the mixta, and a vegetarian one with vegetables only. And it is cooked for a single person too. Wines from Santa Maria and cocktails with a stance On wine the house has committed itself: only regional wines are poured, and specifically those of Bodega Angel, a small Mallorcan bodega in Santa Maria. Its range is modest but finely tuned — white, rosé and red. The decision was not taken from a desk: Marítimo went there, tasted the wines and had a look around the bodega. The same stance applies at the bar. Only branded spirits go into the cocktails, and the bartender learned his craft over years in various countries. From Norderney to S'Illot The house tells its own story as a change of islands: from one island to another, from Norderney to Mallorca. Marítimo is run as a family business, the team behind it is young and international — and in the house's own introduction everyone gets a title, from chef de service to jefa grande. In the dining room Sebastian is the face of the house; guests name him strikingly often. Together with the short menu and the limited space, that produces the character of this place on Passeig Neptú: manageable, right by the water, and happier to offer less and get that exactly right.