El Olivo — Restaurant in Deià

BEWARE!!! My wife and I were really looking forward to dining here (we ate here in June 2025), but our experience couldn’t have been more disappointing. We arrived at least an hour early, hoping to enjoy the terrace, which was mostly empty (there were at least 20 free two-person tables), yet the host refused our request to sit outside and seated us inside with no view and were rather cold to us even though we had a reservation at the adjacent restaurant (same entity). Around 15 minutes before our reservation, we decided to just move ourselves to an open table outside so we could at least enjoy the view for a little while - no one said anything so that was good I guess. We did not wait too long on our reservation (maybe 5 minutes so that was good). It was a 200 euro per person set menu and the minimum bottle of wine was also about 70 euros per bottle, which was on the higher end compared to other restaurants we experienced in Spain and Mallorca. This would all have been fine (the not sitting us outside when we got there was a little annoying but whatever) and we have had more expensive dinners that we loved so that wasn't an issue; however, the food was just bad. 3/5 of the dishes served were fish and they were extremely fishy (two that I remember were tuna and cuttlefish, which neither should be fishy when fresh). This was not terribly surprising as they were parading all of the raw fish (entire slabs of each) table to table out in the heat (meaning it was sitting outside unrefrigerated for extended periods of time, which probably contributed to the non-freshness and fishiness and may even be a health concern). The lamb dish was fine but not particularly good. Dessert was the best out of the dishes but was not anything special (it is also hard to mess up dessert). Having traveled the world and eaten both raw fish and lamb countless times in many countries, we’ve never before encountered such poor quality of either until we ate here. By the next morning, both of us were sick on our stomach, and my wife was throwing up all night, which ruined our next day. Not necessarily the fault of the restaurant but we waited an hour to get a cab and we had to share it with another couple going to a different location, when there was supposed to be one ready for us - the restaurant could give a little more thought into this. We ate at countless cheap tapas bars and also even more expensive restaurants on our two week trip through Spain and I would rather eat at any one of them over this one. On google notice that only the people with "local guide" under their names have given it good reviews - so this is rather suspect. Supposedly over 300 reviews with 4.4 stars and most of the other real reviews (actual comments but not "local guides") did not view this restaurant favorably. It was so bad, this is my first google review I have ever written in my life - I just feel like I have to warn other people from making the same mistake. When we reached out to management the next day, all we got was a bland “we’ll let the team know,” with no real apology or offer to make things right. This was hands-down the low point of our trip. We recommend saving your time, money, and health and eating somewhere else,...

When you hear the Belmond name attached to a location or property, there is an altered expectation that you have no issue with in paying for the experience. These are moments to enjoy something exceptional that you may never return to. 6 of us, excited at the prospect of having a beautiful meal and experience was quickly shot down with a cocktail server who when we spoke to in Spanish (our preferred language to communicate in, and obviously because we are in Spain, after all), could not understand us and respond, making us switch to English. This is completely unacceptable. Imagine being in your own city/country and heading to a 5 star restaurant/hotel and they don’t understand or speak the native language and force you to speak in another language?

Later at dinner, service was friendly and attentive. Dinner, on the other hand, had to be the worst I’ve had in years. The “aubergine” starter had zero flavour and left me wondering if they knew what an actual aubergine was, because it was M.I.A from the dish. Insipid. Ultimately didn’t finish it. For the main, beef cheeks…. Tough, boring and a a disservice to the poor animal that died and ended up in the hands of a careless chef who has obviously lost his sense of honouring his ingredients. I stopped there. Didn’t want to order dessert or even a coffee. Lost my appetite. The bill was spectacular!! 1200 euros for 6.

I’ll mention the finer points. Wine suggested by the sommelier, was on point. Local and delicious. Service was great. Apologies abundant for the disaster in the kitchen. Poor servers, having to deal with such mediocrity. Hire and actual chef. Get someone who knows what their doing and has a passion for the craft. It’s such a beautiful place to have such a butcher in the kitchen. I would have posted more photos of the dishes, but honestly, I gave up after the starters.

*Edit: the restaurants response to this review mentions that they replaced the dishes I didn’t like with something new. They did not. They may have offered,...

You guys.. I was so skeptical about going to my reservation due to the most recent reviews. Plus I’m not really a tasting type of gal so I was nervous LOL. But when I tell you guys that it was just a phenomenal experience it truly was. Let’s start with the food first.. yes it’s not for everyone. I personally thought two of the dishes were a little too fishy for my tastebuds. I wasn’t going to say anything about it I just chose now to eat them but the server noticed and wanted to make sure I ate something I enjoyed so we went through some options of what I like and ended up having the lobster which was great. I love that! Most places doesn’t really care if you eat or not. Also at the end they asked me if I wanted to repeat any of the plates which I think is great because again it’s a tasting menu, I’ve never been anywhere where they offer to repeat a course. Atmosphere was obviously a 10. It was a non alcoholic night for me but they did have some sparkling wine that ended up being really good. Still made me feel good that I had some bubbly. Now service, I found the service pretty good! Do I think they can be better. Yes. But on very minor things like bringing lemon for my water. Other than that it was superb. One of the servers noticed that I was sitting with my bag behind my back on the chair and he brought over a table for it so I could sit more comfortably. I also liked how personable it was. They referred to me by my last name which is a very nice touch. They also offered me additional bread as well which isn’t part of the tasting again (well it is but just for that one meal). I get that bread may not important to many but when you’re not really into tasting menus that much and are a picky eater ima eat as much bread as I can LOL. Overall, the experience, ambiance, food were superb. So don’t be scared! Book that table and be vocal about what you may or may not like. I will certainly be back. Thanks so...