Deciding what to eat in Ibiza it’s easy: you have a lot of choices! In addition to local specialties and Spanish kitchen, you can find dishes from French, Indian cuisine, lots of Italian, Japanese, Thai and other “international” menus, as well as fusions derived from cultural and culinary mixes. But what about the real local dishes?
The typical dishes are few and usually prepared in rather informal family-run establishments. These recipes are homemade, with long preparations, always cooked for family reunions; not easy to find in restaurants, but you can still look for them in the menu 😉

To have “Ibiza in your plate” you can go for the traditional plates. Sofrit pagès is the peasant stew that used to be cooked during the Christmas holidays: it is made with lamb, potatoes, zafferano and local sausage, all first boiled in a pot, then passed into a pan where they are left to simmer garlic, Sobrassada (pork sausage with paprika) and butifarra (pork sausage with anise seeds); French fries are also added at the bottom and everything is left to cook for a little longer. Heavy but tasty!
Guisat de peix is a delicious fish stew usually served in two courses: first the fish with boiled potatoes and alioli sauce (with mayonnaise and garlic, lots of garlic, it is often served as an appetizer with bread and green olives) and then the fish soup.
Also based on fish is the famous bullit de peix, another fish stew served with rice boiled in fish stock. Another option is the arroz a la marinera, a hot fisherman’s dish cooked with small rock fish, with which a concentrated and tasty fumet is produced, which serves as a base for the preparation of rice. It is served with cuttlefish, shellfish and sometimes clams and fish cubes.

Paella can be found on almost every menu; the saffron risotto is cooked in a large metal pot to which vegetables and fish are then added; a mixed variant is available on request, with the addition of meat, or even just vegetarian, to adapt to trends.
The pajes salad is another typical dish, nothing incredible but excellent for a light lunch: boiled potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers, onion and olives; in some there is also the egg. As in the rest of Spain, also in Ibiza the well-known tortilla is often used, filled with potatoes and with or without onion, in the form of tapas or complete dish.
There are also two typical desserts that can be found everywhere: the flaó, a cheese and mint cake with a shortcrust pastry base, usually cooked at Easter, but which can now be found all year round; and the greixonera, a lemon and cinnamon pudding with a base of croissants or brioches from the day before.

To taste this real typical dishes with the flavour of the grandma’s kitchen, better try them in local restaurant and bars, run by Ibizans and possibly with a local lady in the kitchen. The more places are less fancy, the better you eat real ibiza’s dishes!