Where to eat in Formentera: a guide to local food

Formentera is not just about beaches: it also has a cuisine of its own, simple and closely tied to the sea and the land. In this guide we tell you which traditional dishes to try, which local products to look out for and some restaurants where you can eat well on the island.

What is Formentera’s cuisine like?

Formentera’s traditional cooking was born of necessity: a dry, isolated island where people had to make the most of what the sea and the land provided. That is why its most typical dishes are based on fish, potatoes, garden vegetables and preserved foods such as peix sec, fish dried in the sun and wind, which is the island’s most iconic product.

Traditional dishes you have to try

• Ensalada payesa: the island’s most typical dish. It is made with boiled potato, pepper, onion, tomato, hard-boiled egg, toasted bread (bescuit) and peix sec, dressed with olive oil.
• Bullit de peix: a fish and potato stew. Its broth is then used to make arròs a banda (rice cooked in fish stock).
• Frit de polp: octopus sautéed with potatoes and vegetables.
• Sofrit pagès: a stew of meat, cured sausages and potatoes.
• Calamars a la bruta: squid stewed in its own ink.
• Desserts: flaó (a fresh cheese and mint tart), orelletes (fried aniseed pastries) and greixonera (a pudding made with ensaïmada).

Local products

As well as peix sec, look out for salt from ses Salines, honey, dried figs, fresh cheese and bescuit bread. A herb liqueur is made with island herbs. And Formentera also has wine: two wineries, Terramoll and Cap de Barbaria, make reds, whites and rosés from vines that survived phylloxera.

A good place to buy local produce is the Mercat Pagès in Sant Francesc, at the Antoni Tur “Gabrielet” centre, where island fruit, vegetables, meat and fish are sold all year round.

Where to eat in Formentera

Traditional cooking

• Can Rafalet (es Caló de Sant Agustí): a historic guesthouse and restaurant by the little harbour, known for its rice dishes and its “pan con cosas” breakfast (bread with assorted toppings).
• Sa Platgeta (Migjorn beach): traditional cooking since 1978, with fish, seafood, ensalada payesa and fish and seafood paella.
• Fonda Pepe (Sant Ferran): opened in 1953, it is one of the island’s most legendary venues, with simple cooking by day and a bar atmosphere at night.

Seafront restaurants

• Es Molí de Sal (ses Illetes): in an old salt mill, with fresh fish, Mediterranean cooking and sunsets.
• Es Còdol Foradat (Migjorn beach): chef Nandu Jubany’s “formal beach bar”, with charcoal grilling, rice dishes and island produce.
• Sol (Cala Saona): set among the rocks of the cove, with produce-led Mediterranean cooking.

Cafés and bakeries

For breakfast or an afternoon snack, look for the traditional sweets (flaó, orelletes, greixonera) in the village bakeries and cafés.

Food experiences in Formentera

• Food festivals: in May and October, participating restaurants offer special weekend menus featuring island produce. It is a good excuse to visit outside the high season.
• The “De Formentera amb molt de gust” label: it identifies restaurants and producers that work with local produce.
• Eating on a boat: with boat hire in Formentera you can spend the day sailing and have a pre-lunch drink on board in a cove. Some restaurants, such as Es Molí de Sal and Sol, serve customers whose boats are anchored offshore. Remember that the navigation licence only allows daytime sailing (to watch the sunset from the sea, go out with a skipper) and that anchoring on posidonia is prohibited in the Balearics.

Tips for eating well in Formentera

• Order the traditional dishes: ensalada payesa with peix sec and bullit de peix are a must.
• Try the island’s products: Formentera wine, fresh cheese, honey and herb liqueur.
• Book well in advance at the best-known restaurants, especially in July and August.
• Choose places that work with island produce: it is the best way to support the local economy and look after Formentera.