Taylor's Cocktail & Restaurant

Taylor's Cocktail & Restaurant stands in Palmanova on Carrer Duc Estremera, the street that runs parallel to the bay, and it makes no secret of one thing: you get a bar and a kitchen under the same roof here, and both are taken seriously. The house describes itself as a family business, and the name is meant as a tribute to precisely that family. Anyone who only reads the name might take Taylor's for one of the many cocktail bars along this promenade. The menu says otherwise. It runs from Mexican tacos through pasta and pizza to an aged chuletón and a carrillera cooked for hours at low temperature. That is a range a restaurant usually allows itself rather than a bar — and it explains why the place works just as well at midday for a plate as it does in the evening for a glass. What happens in Taylor's kitchen The starters draw their lines right across the map. Tacos with Yucatán-style cochinita pibil sit next to chicken wings in a homemade Korean sauce, sweet and lightly spiced. Alongside them come calamares a la andaluza, gambas al ajillo and croquettes in two versions, one with Iberian ham, one with chicken and pistachio. The Tex-Mex corner stands on its own: nachos with guacamole, pico de gallo and jalapeños, plus quesadillas and wraps. The main courses are more straightforward. There are smash burgers of dry-aged beef on toasted brioche, one version with goat cheese, caramelised onion and rocket, and one with panko chicken, red cabbage and avocado. The pizzas run from margherita to a variant with gambas al ajillo, cherry tomato and rocket. Out of the wok come noodles with fresh vegetables, with chicken, beef or prawns. And anyone who wants to eat classically will find solomillo de vaca vieja with sweet potato purée and a Pedro Ximénez reduction, a hand-cut steak tartare or grilled pluma ibérica. From the sea, the menu lists calamar a la plancha, corvina, salmon with crisp skin and cod in a light batter, the last as fish and chips with tartare sauce. The salads are not a side dish here: burrata with pink tomato and sun-dried tomato, warm goat cheese with mango and walnut, a Caesar with crispy chicken. There is also a brunch menu of its own with English breakfast, baguettes and toasts, and for children the house keeps a small separate menu. The bar that gives the house its name The drinks list is as detailed as the food menu. It is divided into classics, long drinks, sours, premium cocktails and a section that belongs to the bar team itself. Mojito, daiquiri, caipirinha and margarita can be varied with fruit, from strawberry and mango through kiwi, pineapple and coconut to passion fruit and raspberry. The premium row works with mezcal, Don Julio, Hendrick's or Diplomático. Gin, rum, vodka and whisky are listed individually rather than hidden under spirits, and anyone who prefers something bitter will find spritz with Aperol, Campari or limoncello. Palmanova on the doorstep Administratively the address belongs to the municipality of Calvià, but the place itself is Palmanova; the main town of Calvià Vila lies barely six kilometres inland. The street outside leads to the beach in both directions: Son Maties adjoins to the south, Platja de Palmanova to the north. Magaluf begins just beyond the next headland and can be reached on foot. Taylor's benefits from this position without relying on it — the menu carries itself without a sea view.