Es Molí Club — Underground inside the old mill
Some places you underestimate at first glance — and that is precisely what makes them unforgettable. Es Molí Club sits on the corner of Carrer de la Indústria 13 and Carrer d'Antich 36, where the south-western edge of Santa Catalina meets the windmill quarter of Es Jonquet. The exterior deceives: behind the unassuming façade of an 1860 *molino harinero* — a flour mill listed as historic-industrial heritage — lies one of the most distinctive and uncompromising clubs on the whole island.
The mill as a stage
The building dates from a time when grain was still ground here in Palma. Raw stone walls, low vaulted ceilings, a tight room that holds around 150 people — none of this is set design, it is simply what the place is. Resident Advisor itself calls Es Molí "one of the most underground clubs in Spain." That label is earned.
As the night builds, the space develops a peculiar energy: red strobe light fractures across the rough-cut stone, the bass sits low, the crowd stands close. There are no VIP boxes, no grand staircases, no frills. What remains is a concentrated experience — music, room, people.
Music with a position
The programming revolves around deep house and melodic techno. No radio mainstream, no tourist playlist — this is a room for people who actually want to listen. Residents Paula Serra and Víctor Lorenzo (performing as Vikenzo) have held the house together for years; through their sound sensibility they built a scene in Santa Catalina that reaches far beyond the island. Alongside them, familiar local names cycle through regularly: Isaac Indart, Manu Oubiña, Kiko Melis, Nichole, Yokay — a small but genuine network.
Recurring formats give the programming shape: the **Comunyon** series gathers the scene under an electronic flag; the **Shaolin / Shaolin Cutz Showcase** nights bring a house focus; and the **Sound Gallery** sessions celebrate vinyl culture with free admission. Many weeknight sessions run without a door charge — which says something about the house philosophy.
A club drives a movement
The team around Miguel Fernández, Paula Serra and Víctor Lorenzo has proven something with Es Molí Club: that a small, uncompromising venue can, under the right conditions, develop real cultural reach. When they found the club had grown too small for their ambitions, they opened Sótano Club in Plaça Gomila — in the former home of the Tunnel Rock Club, which had closed after more than thirty years. Their message was clear: "Let's make Gomila dance again." Es Molí Club is the root of that story.
The neighbourhood breathes along
Santa Catalina is Palma's most alive barrio — and the one that least resembles a postcard. What was once a working-class fishing district has transformed into a creative hub without losing its character. On the intimate scale of the streets around Carrer de la Fàbrica, Carrer Cotoner and Carrer Sant Magí, tapas bars, cocktail spots and the busy Mercat de Santa Catalina market hall compete for space. The Paseo Marítimo with its yacht marina lies just alongside. And the windmill hill of Es Jonquet — with its carefully restored *molins* of the same building typology that Es Molí Club itself occupies — looks down from above on the nightlife moving through these streets after dark.
Whoever ends up here is not following the tourist trail. They are looking for the real, unstaged side of Mallorca — and they find it in this small, unpretentious building that barely registers during the day.
