IBIZA - SANT ANTONI DE PORTMANY

SA CAPELLA

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2024

Like quite a few venues in San Antonio, Sa Capella has been taken over by Grupo Mambo. It is still a fantastic venue but now trendy Boho rather than Monks in Robes style.

The menu has changed and is much more expensive, including the wine list, so if you want to go, check the menu before you go.

The food is much more international now than Ibicencan. For example, Australian wagyu costs €41 for 100g, and the cheapest bottle of wine is €70—Vega Sicilia costs €800.

The four above photos @BesosdeIbiza

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Often described by people in the know and the many celebrities who visit the Island, the Restaurant Sa Capella is their favourite in Sant Antoni de Portmany (San Antonio). It's not actually in the lively and much-maligned town itself, but a few km outside, on the way to Cala Salada and Santa Agnés, in the lovely Ibicencan countryside.

It is one of the most delightful restaurants on the Island, with lavish décor and fantastic ambience; it is situated in a converted late 16th-century chapel. Inside are small booths around the main cavernous room, with low lighting and candles.

It also has soft classical or Ibizan chillout music playing in the background.

Due to its high roof and thick stone walls, you never seem to feel the heat, even during the boiling hot Ibiza summer. However, if you think about it, have you ever felt hot in a church?

The well-informed, long-serving waiters are dressed in traditional white monk robes with red belts.

All around you, there are stunning artefacts.

But you are here to eat, so try,

Expertly carved Jamón Ibérico de Bellota.

Carpaccio de atún era queso de cabra y salsa de fresa (tuna carpaccio, goat's cheese, strawberry sauce).

Carpaccio de buey (ox carpaccio).

Gambas al ajo y aceite de oliva (garlic prawns).

Gambas a la plancha con sal (prawns grilled).

Pimientos verdes asados al fuego (green peppers).

Foie gras con mermelada de sabores caseros (foie gras with homemade marmalades).

Lubina a la sal (sea bass baked in salt)

Cochinillo (suckling pig)

Sa Capella's signature dish is the filete de buey (ox steak). The meat is thinly sliced and brought to the table raw, you then cook it yourself on a hot stone, topped by a bed of salt.

There are excellent desserts, like,

Flambé crepes

Sopa de chocolate blanco con fresas (white chocolate soup with strawberries)

Vanilla milk cocktail

An extensive wine list concentrates mainly on the many excellent Spanish wines.

At the end of each meal, every table is presented with a bottle of Sa Capella's homemade hierbas. (The famous Ibicencan herb liqueur can be potent, so be careful!)