Best Tapas in Palma de Mallorca: 7 Bars You Can't Miss

Palma has great tapas, and the best are in a mix of a few famous central spots and the local bars off the strip. This guide covers the best tapas in Palma de Mallorca, from a century-old La Lonja classic to a Michelin-listed creative spot, and what to order at each. My favorite is listed last, the lively local bar where we had our best night of the trip. Go around 8pm, start with a vermut, and share everything.

Best Classic Tapas in La Lonja: La Bóveda

La Bóveda is one of the oldest and best-known tapas bars on the island, tucked into the La Lonja district near the old merchants’ exchange. Inside there are stone floors, old wine bottles on the walls, and live guitar in the evenings. The menu is traditional tapas and regional Mallorcan wines, and the veteran waiters are part of the fun. It’s busy and loud, in a good way.

What to Order: Patatas bravas, grilled prawns, and a glass of Mallorcan red, with whatever the waiter steers you toward.
Best If: You want the classic, lively La Lonja tapas experience with a bit of history and live music.
Skip If: You want a quiet, intimate dinner. It’s cramped and boisterous at peak times.

Best Vermutería in Palma: La Rosa Vermutería

La Rosa at Plaça Weyler is the benchmark vermutería in Palma, credited as the first bar in the Balearics built around vermouth when it opened in 2015. The interior is vintage and comfortable. Order the house vermut poured over ice, with ham carved by hand and a plate of good conservas (tinned seafood, which is taken seriously in Spain). They also do grilled octopus, croquettes, and prawns in garlic.

What to Order: The house vermut, hand-carved ham, and a plate of conservas, then the grilled octopus.
Best If: You want to experience the Spanish vermut ritual done properly, in the spot that started Palma’s vermouth revival.
Skip If: You’re in a rush. Tables fill up and people stay a while, so book ahead.

Best Tapas Terrace in Palma: Café La Lonja

Café La Lonja welcomes you with bright orange awnings in the heart of the La Lonja district, a longtime meeting point with a terrace on the square. It’s a relaxed, all-day spot for a drink and a plate, and the tapas are mostly traditional. We stopped in for a spread of jamón y queso, cured Spanish ham and local cheeses over tomato-rubbed bread, with olives and guindilla peppers on the side. It’s simple, honest food and a good spot to sit and people-watch on the square.

What to Order: A jamón y queso with olives and guindillas, and a cold beer or a glass of white.
Best If: You want a laid-back terrace in the middle of the Old Town for casual tapas.
Skip If: You’re after ambitious, contemporary cooking. This is classic, unfussy tapas done well.

Best Tapas Counter in Palma: El Camino

El Camino, in the Born, was founded by Eddie Hart of London’s Barrafina and Fino, and it shows. I stayed right next Barrafina in London at Mimi’s Hotel, so I was excited to check out El Camino. It’s a narrow bar built around an open kitchen, the longest counter you’ve seen, and a line out the door most nights. The tapas are fresh, seasonal, and stylish, plated for people who care about how a dish looks as much as how it tastes. It fills up fast and it’s best for two, since a big group won’t fit comfortably at the bar.

What to Order: Whatever’s on the daily specials board, plus the seasonal seafood plates.
Best If: You want inventive, sharing-style tapas at a lively counter and you don’t mind waiting.
Skip If: You’re a large group, or you want a table. This is bar-stool dining, and the queue is long.

Best Creative Tapas in Palma: Stagier Bar

Stagier Bar in Santa Catalina is Michelin-listed with roughly seven tables, run by a Chilean-Peruvian couple. Chef Joel Baeza trained in more than 20 renowned restaurants, many of them Michelin-starred, before opening his own. The menu is a bold mix of Latin and Mediterranean flavors in refined small plates, including ceviche with rocoto tiger’s milk and lomo saltado gyozas. It’s the best choice when you want creative tapas beyond the traditional.

What to Order: The ceviche and the lomo saltado gyozas, and let the small kitchen surprise you.
Best If: You want creative, chef-driven tapas with Latin American flavors in an intimate setting.
Skip If: You want traditional Spanish tapas. This is a fusion menu, and the tables are few, so book ahead.

Best Tapas With a Tortilla: Vi Vermell

Vi Vermell, whose name means red wine and whose tagline is “ses nostres tapes” (our tapas), has a warm, trendy rustic interior with exposed bulbs and craft decor that does casual Mallorcan tapas and larger plates. We came for the vermut and stayed for the food. I recommend the tomato-braised fish and a paprika-dusted Spanish tortilla (a traditional Spanish egg and potato omelets) that was thick and just-set in the middle, the way it should be. It’s an easy, unpretentious spot for a relaxed tapas dinner with wine.

What to Order: The Spanish tortilla, the tomato-braised fish, and a glass of the house red.
Best If: You want a relaxed, wine-friendly tapas dinner with hearty, traditional plates.
Skip If: You want a quick snack. This one’s better for a sit-down meal.

Best Tapas Bar in Palma de Mallorca for Vibes: Moltabarra

Moltabarra is on Carrer del Pes de la Farina in Sa Gerreria, the maze of streets behind Plaça Santa Eulàlia where there’s the highest concentration of local bars in the city. It’s a café-viatjoteca with a funky, cluttered, lived-in interior and a crowd that’s mostly Mallorcans on a night out. It’s also part of the Ruta Martiana, the Tuesday circuit where participating bars serve a tapa and a drink at a set low price.

🏆 My Personal Pick

Moltabarra was my favorite spot of the trip, and it wasn’t close. The atmosphere is funky and lively, packed with locals and buzzing from the moment it opens. The pinchos are traditional and generous. We had a loaded plate of them with shrimp, chorizo, morcilla, roasted peppers, patatas, each skewered on bread, with a vermut over ice alongside. They’re traditional and generous, and the prices are a fraction of what the tourist-strip bars charge. Come early, since it fills fast and stays full, and try to make it on a Tuesday for the Ruta Martiana.

What to Order: A plate of pinchos, whatever looks good at the bar, with a vermut.
Best If: You want the liveliest, most authentic local tapas night in Palma, away from the tourist strip.
Skip If: You want a calm, sit-down dinner. This is a shoulder-to-shoulder kind of place, which is part of the appeal.

Best Tapas in Palma de Mallorca: What to Know Before You Go

A few things make a tapas night in Palma go smoothly:

In addition to the hotspots, seek out a few local bars around Plaça Santa Eulàlia, Sa Gerreria, and La Lonja. The further from the tourist strip you get, the more local it gets.
Go on a Tuesday for the Ruta Martiana, when participating bars serve a tapa and a drink at a set low price, which is a cheap, social way to bar-hop.
Eat late, since Spanish kitchens operate past most visitors’ expectations and the bars don’t fill up until around 8 or 9pm.
Start with a vermut, since the vermut hour is the local ritual and the vermuterías pour it properly over ice with an orange slice.

Best Tapas in Palma de Mallorca: FAQs

What is the best area for tapas in Palma?

Your find excellent tapas bars mainly in three areas: La Lonja (the old merchants’ district, with classic sit-down spots), Sa Gerreria and Plaça Santa Eulàlia (the highest concentration of local bars in the smallest area), and Santa Catalina (the trendier, more creative scene).

What tapas should I order in Palma?

Start with the Palma de Mallorca food classics: patatas bravas, grilled octopus, croquettes, prawns in garlic, jamón and local cheese, and a Spanish tortilla (egg and potato omelet). At the vermuterías, order the house vermut with conservas (quality tinned seafood). Many bars also serve pinchos, small bites skewered on bread that you grab from the counter.

When do tapas bars open in Palma?

Later than most visitors expect. Kitchens generally get going in the evening and bars don’t fill up until around 8 or 9pm. Some vermuterías, like La Rosa, open through the day, which makes them useful in the quiet late-afternoon stretch when other places are closed. Tuesdays draw crowds for the Ruta Martiana tapas bar-hopping event.

Where to Stay in Palma: My Top Picks

Hotel Nakar is a sleek design hotel on Avenida Jaume III. It’s central and walkable to the Old Town and the tapas districts. The rooftop Sky Bar looks out over the city to the cathedral, and it’s an easy, stylish base right in the middle of everything.
Hotel Hostal Cuba is a 4-star boutique hotel in Santa Catalina, in a 120-year-old building with a well-known rooftop Sky Bar and sea-and-city views. It puts you in the heart of the trendiest food-and-drink district, though the Santa Catalina nightlife means it can be noisy late on weekends, so ask for a quieter room.
Hotel Saratoga is an iconic 4-star superior hotel on Passeig de Mallorca, family-run since 1962, with three pools including a rooftop pool and a seventh-floor Sky Bar restaurant with cathedral and port views. It’s central, comfortable, and a step up for a stay with a bit of polish. Can you tell I love a Sky Bar? Palma has plenty with fantastic views.

🍪 Final Bite

Approach tapas in Palma de Mallorca as a bar-hop, not a single meal, and these are the seven spots to build your trip around:

Start at La Bóveda for classic La Lonja tapas with live guitar.
Settle in at La Rosa Vermutería for the vermut ritual done properly.
Grab a terrace table at Café La Lonja for a jamón y queso spread.
Queue for the counter at El Camino for inventive, Barrafina-style sharing plates.
Book Stagier Bar for creative Latin-Mediterranean small plates.
Sit down at Vi Vermell for a tortilla and a tomato-braised fish.
Save Moltabarra in Sa Gerreria for the liveliest local night of the trip, my favorite tapas bar in Palma.

Been to Palma and found a tapas bar I should add? Tell me in the comments, I’m always adding to the list before the next trip.

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