La Paloma Restaurante and Bar

Stepping into La Paloma restaurant in Palma's old town is like stepping back in time, but with modern convenience. The 500 year old building oozes character and history from it's massive stone walls which have been left exposed to show the alterations and additions of five centuries. If there are any ghosts here, they are surely friendly, because this is a warm and happy place, staffed by warm, friendly and helpful people.

The furnishings in La Paloma have been assembled with careful regard to the building's character - we particularly noticed the chairs in the restaurant. These are comfortable, classic dining chairs, very few of which match except for being generically similar in style and period. These must be very inconvenient for La Paloma to handle and move around, but they are great for the customer, and that tells you a lot about this restaurant - they care about their customers.

That caring attitude extends to the menu, which surely offers enough choice to satisfy any taste. There is a range of more than twenty tapas, both hot and cold, to choose from, as well as steak, lamb, sparerib and other meat dishes, a selection of salads, and, of course, fresh fish dishes according to availability. The cuisine at La Paloma is Mediterranean - International and makes use of fresh, high quality products. We should also mention the extensive wine list, which features wines from around the world, with Spanish wine being well represented.

La Paloma hosts a salon noble or private dining room on the first floor which can cater for all sizes of groups up to about 70 persons depending on the menu chosen. It's the perfect venue for weddings, business meals and meetings, presentations, or any other special occasion. This is a splendid room on what would have been the first living area of the old house. It has some lovely old stonework, plenty of windows and a high beamed ceiling which gives it a luxuriously airy and spacious feel. There's a separate lounge/smoking area and the private toilets make this a truly self-contained unit.

The lovely old building and the appropriate furnishings and lighting, plus the relaxed and friendly service, plus the delicious food all combined to work their magic, and induced a comfortable and mellow state of mind. We were reluctant to leave - you will be too!