La C Bayet

I found La C Bayet in the historic La Lonja area of Palma as I wandered about in the afternoon, and looked forward to returning that evening... The restaurant decor is elegant and hip with white walls and white leather benches, black leather and chrome chairs, mirrors in the antique arched doorways expanding the space and adding sparkle to the walls of abstact art. The lighting punctuates the room with dragon-blood orange red paper shades and a single red flower in a chemist´s measuring tube.

The music is contemporary jazz and vocals. Patrons are streaming in and I´ve begun to order. I remember the review I read about the roasted marrow so I order this as a starter. The plate arrives and looks amazing, like a mini stonehenge, a prehistoric architecture of roasted bones surrounding greens with the loveliest French vinagrette. The waiter brings a dish of coarse grey salt to spoon onto the freshly crisped bagette crackers and roasted marrow. Very rich and well set off with a red I asked chef Alexis to choose for me. Next the salt Cod arrives with truffle cream all in black, white and silver, and black truffled rice on a square sparkly white plate with oval slices of carrot and tiny spinkles of herb like the farthest stars in the galaxy...it is a stunning composition and one bite and you are in love. Everyone in the room is smiling as we glance at each other.

I found out that the German couple to my left has already been here the night before.

For dessert, I chose lemon sorbet with Cava (spanish sparkling) which the waiter pours over the sorbet housed in a martini glass. The cava is smokey on the sorbet and is a perfectly surprising and a refreshing finish as is everything about La C Bayet.