Cantina — Restaurant in Maó

This place? Breathtaking! Food? Delicious! Ambience? Exceptional!

Cantina deserves more love! The moment we entered the reception area (and the souvenir shop of Ilia del Rey), we were greeted by oversized plants and maximalist decors that were already a treat. It was when we went outside to see the whole restaurant that our breath was taken away. It felt like stepping into an independent European summer film because of how effortlessly beautiful the set-up is. Just little nautical details here and there coupled with a saturated hue of blue from the sea and just an energy of life and fun.

The food also deserves some praise. The mains were generous in its portions and could honestly be shared by two people too. We thought we won’t be filled since majority of the menu items are vegetables-based but we were so stuffed.

The croquetas were so creamy in the inside but breaded and fried to perfection. The contrast in textures was amazing!

The paella negra was said to be for two but it was for 4! And wow, flavorful in every bite.

The eggplant and sweet potato were HUGE. And they looked so normal in the photos but they were packed with so much flavor. Very well seasoned and roasted. The sauce on the potato and the toppings on the eggplant complemented the dishes so every bite needed a smear of these.

The squid seemed like a giant squid by its enormous size but wow was it so soft. Not an ounce of chewiness. And the beans and the sauce were soo good by itself too. It matched the squid so well.

The leche frita with cinnamon ice cream was another highlight. It tasted like a French toast but better. The caramelized coating was not sweet but was a perfect coating for the soft, soaked milk inside.

I think the only room for improvement was the service as it got slower towards the end despite the fact that a lot of tables have gone. And the waiter had forgotten 2 orders (served when majority of the group had finished).

Ilia del Rey felt like a place you’d just see once even though it was really beautiful but would definitely visit again if I’d want to enjoy the food and ambience of...

Garden and bar area is lovely with lovely views and shade.

We decided not to reserve as it wasn't busy. However, while it was not busy you must reserve to be allowed to eat.

Staff were really quite rude, ignored us while we tried to work out if you needed to be seated or just to sit. Then when we decided to head to a table after hovering awkwardly for a bit. We were told you need to ask X if you want to sit down. So we walked off to find X. X said with no facial expressions 'if you haven't reserved you can only sit in the bar area.'

So we walked back to where we were previously. We ordered drinks from a waitress who was surly with an almost teenage attidue, who snatched away the menus and walked off before we'd finished ordering drinks. Then told us we needed to ask X if we were allowed to eat....

We couldn't be bothered to get up and walk around again as we have mobility issues and it was the hottest part of the day. (aka lunch time.) So ourselves and the others in the bar area all just had drinks. When I think otherwise we would have all ordered food. - There was only one party allowed in the garden area and were allowed to eat.

An odd and hostile way to run a resturant. Almost like they didn't want people to eat or order anything. It was an inconvience to their day us being there....

Very poor experience at Cantina - we were very disappointed and it ruined the trip to the island. I originally booked a table for 5 people for 12th September but this was cancelled 10 minutes before we were due to set off because they didn’t have a table available (?!). We were not able to get a refund for, or reschedule, our ferry tickets. I rebooked a table for the following week and bought more ferry tickets. We arrived at Cantina just after 4pm, the time I had booked online, to be told I was late for my 3:30pm table (I wasn’t) and the that kitchen was closed. I showed my booking confirmation email for 4pm and they realised their mistake but never apologised and only allowed us to have cold plates/starters despite another large party still being served. We felt rushed to place our order and felt the food itself was ok but nothing special compared to other restaurants local in Maó. Overall it was a disappointing experience with pretty rude service. Such a shame because we had been looking forward to our visit and it was such a lovely setting.

The island itself is beautiful and well worth a visit but I wouldn’t attend...