Morgan Freeman just loves Sandro restaurant in Palma. He returned there for dinner on Tuesday night catching staff and the chasing media pack off guard!
The Hollywood super-star is filming the U.S. series Lioness on the island at the moment and us believed to be staying at a Palma hotel.
This week we sent our restaurant reviewer Mia Naprta to discover the delights of the restaurant. Here is her review.
If it´s good enough for Morgan Freeman…
As news broke on Monday morning that a Hollywood star – the one we know as much for his voice as for his fantastic roles – dined in Palma, at Sandro, my plan for the week changed. I summoned a friend who was free at short notice and we came to check what the fuss was about.
The place appeared more casual than I expected. Some tables were covered with classic white table cloths while others were stylishly set up with place mats made out of palm leaves. I liked the contrasting plain white and mat granite walls with a huge clock behnd the bar. An antique cupboard with glass top reminded me of grandmas´ kitchens in the times gone by. At first there was no music, we thought it was quite rare but enjoyed it. The staff was not uniformed; they wore stylish plain clothes and trainers. Again unusual in Palma, but it felt casual and familiar, like we were dining at a friend´s house.
Working on a million deadlines this week, I did not want alcohol to interfere with my writing, so we both stuck with water, which was served in beautiful, thick crystal glasses. The waiter, who I later found out was in fact the owner Sandro, recited the menu del dia options and we decided to take one each, to try as much of the food that attracted Mr Freeman to choose Sandro as we can.
Large green olives tasted quite spicy, thanks to the addition of sliced green chilli peppers into the mix. I don´t eat them, so this is an observation by my friend.
For starters we had couple of bruschettas and a spinach tart in a cream and parmesan sauce. Both were excellent! The bruschetta bread - very crispy on the outside, soft and fresh on the inside – was topped with a generous heap of very finely cubed fresh tomatoes, wonderful smelling herbs and a flavourful olive oil. The spinach tart, no crust, was melting in our mouths and the sauce tasted lighter than it looked.
We chose a pasta and a rice dish for our mains. Rigatoni were cooked al dente; they were possibly a bit on a hard side, but I love them like that. The pasta was covered in a rich tomato sauce with thick chunks of aubergine. Friend´s rice dish was made with a creamy sauce containing small flakes of sea bass and pulverized broccoli. An interesting combination that worked well, but I did wonder whether it would like it more with pasta instead of rice.
Something that was common to all four dishes we tried so far was their super intense flavour. They were not spicy, not “too much”, but definitely intense – in a nice way. As we got chatting with Sandro, we found out that both him and the chef were from Puglia, the “heal” of the Italian “boot”, so their dishes were clearly inspired by the region they came from.
To round up the day, we ordered a tiramisu to share. It was served in a cute iron cast pot, with a generous dusting of chocolate and a crumbled amaretto cookie. It tasted – no surprise – intense! My stomach was smiling with delight. My friend, a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to this Italian treat, proclaimed that this was up there with the best tiramisus she has tried so far!
We concluded that we had a great impromptu lunch at this unpretentious restaurant. Sandro and the other staff were friendly and the food was excellent. We are definitely coming back to try the Bolognese that Morgan proclaimed was “the best he had in his life”.
The Place:
Sandro Restaurante
Carrer de Ramon y Cajal 9, Palma
Tel: 971 96 23 11
Instagram: @sandropalma_restaurante
The Price:
Menu del dia 18.50 euros
The Times:
Thu-Mon Lunch and dinner
Tue - closed
Wed - dinner only