Vandal in Palma's hip Santa Catalina district is one of the city's most distinctive restaurants – a fusion tapas room at Plaça del Progrés 15 where cuisine, cocktails, wine and service are conceived as a single experience. It was opened in 2017 by Argentine chef Bernabé Caravotta and sommelier Sebastián Pérez.
What makes Vandal stand out
Caravotta shaped his style on the road: stints at the multi-starred Mirazur, with René Redzepi at Noma in Copenhagen and at the Blue Elephant cooking school in Thailand before settling on Mallorca. His partner Pérez gained experience in New York, among other places. The result is a "cuisine that travels the world". In its opening year the Balearic food press named Vandal Revelation Restaurant of 2017, and it later made El Tenedor's list of the 100 best restaurants in Spain. Today it sits alongside sister venues Santa (Palma) and Momiji Atelier (Valencia) under Grupo Vandal.
Kitchen & menu
The plates are small, globetrotting tapas, roughly 5 to 11 euros each: Latin American and Asian flavours meeting a Mediterranean hand. For every dish the menu lists its country of origin and even the right eating tool – hand, fork or spoon. Many tapas come with a suggested drink, often a specially composed signature cocktail such as the Vino Sour 2.0 or the Gastro Margarita.
Playful classics show how textures and surprises are handled here: the ceviche cone with coconut foam, the corn croquette with Iberian pork and huitlacoche, the spider-crab taco, the Pisco Bloody Mary oyster or the Patagonian hake. The best approach is to order several small dishes to share – and to save room for a dessert like "Childhood feelings".
Atmosphere & location
The interior leans into raw industrial charm: graffiti beside wavy corrugated metal, a green-tiled bar counter and a semi-open kitchen where you can watch the chefs. In the evening the room is moodily lit, loud and sociable. Santa Catalina, west of the centre, is Palma's liveliest going-out district – at weekends guests pour in from all over the island.
Who Vandal is for
Vandal is built for evenings with friends where plates keep travelling across the table – not for a hushed tasting menu. If you want creative fusion food, good cocktails and urban energy, this is the place. It opens evenings only; booking is worthwhile and, at weekends, essential.
