TABERNA EL BURLAERO ( adults only )

Taberna El Burlaero sits one street back from the boulevard in Peguera, on Carrer Joan XXIII, and if you are not looking for it you walk straight past. From the outside the place gives little away: a narrow front, a rustic look, nothing that asks for attention. Guests keep telling the same story — they only looked in on the second or third time past, and then came back for a second dinner. Inside it is small, and everything is built around that. The house calls itself a Spanish-Andalusian tavern: tapas, Iberian cured meats, cheese and wine, alongside Andalusian dishes, paella and, as its own declared speciality, game. In Peguera, where hotel chains and boulevard restaurants set the tone, a kitchen that explicitly claims Andalusia is not a given. What comes to the table at Taberna El Burlaero The menu is short and stays with the classics. Patatas bravas, albóndigas, croquetas, prawns in garlic oil, chorizo, calamares, tortilla — the tapas you expect a Spanish tavern to carry, freshly made and firmly seasoned. Beside them sit Iberian charcuterie and cheese, a wine selection and sangria. Vegetarian options are noted on the card as well. Paella is available, but not on the spur of the moment: it has to be ordered a day ahead, because the chef buys the ingredients for it in the morning himself. So you decide on it the evening before — for a house this size that is less an inconvenience than a stance. While the kitchen works, warm bread and alioli come to the table. And when the evening winds down, the house tends to add something: a piece of cinnamon and honey cake and a small almond liqueur. The chef steps out of the kitchen himself and asks at the tables whether everything is right — it is the gesture guests mention most often. A house for grown-ups only Taberna El Burlaero carries the words "adults only" in its own name. The business is aimed at adult guests; anyone travelling with children will find plenty of alternatives in Peguera. What this house offers is a quiet evening in a very small room. Small here really does mean small. The number of seats is modest and so is the team, and together that explains why booking pays off. Turn up unannounced on a busy evening and you may well be back out on the street. Peguera all around Peguera runs along its boulevard as a chain of hotels, shops and restaurants, with the beaches in front of it. Taberna El Burlaero sits a corner away from that axis — close enough to walk to after a day on the sand, far enough to stay out of the main street's traffic. Santa Ponsa lies a few kilometres to the east; in the other direction the coast leads on to Camp de Mar and Port d'Andratx. The Ma-1 connects the town to Palma. For anyone staying in Peguera or Camp de Mar the tavern is an evening address with no journey attached — and for everyone else, a reason to take the road out to the south-west coast.