IBIZA - SANT ANTONI DE PORTMANY - LA RELIGIOSA VERMUTERÍA

LA RELIGIOSA VERMUTERÍA Permanently closed 1/8/2024 ?

This is the first vermuteria in Sant Antoni, the only other one in Ibiza is in Eivissa (Ibiza Town).

They have around 20 different brands of vermut (vermouth) as well as wines and beers etc. When we went in late September 2023, they had been open for around two months.

Once settled in we studied the menu.

and started with two Spanish conservas (tinned seafood). They were on the other page!

Berberechos Espinale (tinned cockles)

Anchoas de Cantabrico (anchovies)

Other appetisers include tarta de tortilla.

Tarta de sobresada.

We then stayed with the starters and continued with,

Tartar de Langostinos, gazpacho verde, aguacate y helado de albahaca (prawn tartar, green gazpacho, avocado and basil ice cream).

This was easily the best dish of the night, all three of us at the restaurant agreed.

The first vermouth I had was, Noilly Prat Rosso - 29 different herbs and spices are sourced all around the world. Among them are sweet oranges from Spain, Cinnamon from Sri Lanka, Cinchona bark from Ecuador, cloves from Madagascar, and Cocoa beans from Venezuela.

Gambas rojas al ajillo, con chile serrano y el jugo de sus cabezaz (red prawns with garlic, with serrano chili and the juice of their heads).

The second vermouth was,

Can Rich Premium Vermouth - A combination of carefully selected Can Rich vines from Ibiza and natural aromatic herbs from the island.

Gildas XL de atun marinado, cebolleta francesa, tomate y salsa de piparras (gildas XL with marinated tuna, French onion, tomato and pepper sauce).

Lámina de Picaña curada, tomate y almendras (cured picaña steak, tomato and almonds).

The third vermouth was,

Belsazar Red Vermouth – made using wines made in the Baden region of Germany, fortified with fruit eau de vie from legendary producer Schladerer, and flavored with herbs including wormwood. This was my least favourite.

The wine with the meal was, Paco y Lola Albariño 2021, Rias Baixas

For dessert, we had tarta de queso vasca de Idiazabal y frutos de mango (Basque Cheesecake from Idiazabal and mango fruits).

We had popped in the previous evening and tried the excellent La Quintinye Vermouth Royal (this is made from Pineau des Charentes and infusions of twenty-seven plants and was awarded the best red vermouth in the world in 2016.

The excellent chef comes from Columbia and at the end of the meal, explained how a few of the dishes were made. All the staff were very informative and helpful, especially the young lady serving us and the barman picking the vermouths for me.