Sa Torre’s old wine cellar with its impressive 8-metre high ceilings is now
a restaurant where aged rustic barrels form an impressive backdrop. “We
specialise in Mediterranean food mixed with a Mallorcan influence and use
locally sourced produce as much as possible,” says Pedro as he serves our
appetiser. “Once a week, Victoriano and myself visit Palma’s Olivar market
and base the coming week’s menu on what’s available and affordable.”
Sa Torre’s 5-course menu consists of: cava and appetiser, starter, fish course,
meat course and dessert all for around 40 euros. It’s excellent value and the
setting and service adds immensely to the unique dining experience. Several
local wines are also available including Sa Torre’s own labels made from
grapes in the surrounding vineyards.
The Final Round
On the last morning before flying out, we tee it up at our final course. Since
opening in 2007, Son Gual has quickly gained a reputation as not only a
Mallorca ‘must play’ but also one of Europe’s top golf destinations. What
was once 156 hectares of flat non-descript agricultural land on the outskirts
of Palma, has been transformed by three-time German Amateur Champion
and course designer Thomas Himmel, into a polished layout that winds
its way through a landscape of gently rolling hills, 1000 mature olive trees,
fields of wild flowers, pockets of vineyards and water features all overlooked
by an early 20th- century Mallorcan manor house.
Adding to the club’s growing reputation is the fact that Son Gual has hosted
a European Seniors Tour event, the 2009 Mallorca PGA Seniors Open, when
former Ryder Cup captain Mark James defeated Irishman Eamonn Darcy in a
play-off to claim the title.
The 66 bunkers of Augusta-like sand are a major feature of Son Gual
and some are so extensive, they make the ones on most others look like
children’s sand pits. ‘If’ or more likely ‘when’ you go in one it’s easy to clean
up your tracks -there’s more rakes in the bunkers than at your local garden
centre.
Many other things will stick in the memory long after playing this
fantastically manicured course – the resident greenkeeper and falconer with
his eagle, one of the finest collection of par-3s to be found anywhere and
the par-5 18th - a serious contender for the best finishing hole in Spain.
Some of the island’s local produce inside
Santa Olivar market, Palma.
Had time allowed, we would have liked to play at Son Antem Golf. The
Marriott Son Antem Golf Resort Spa offers golfers the chance to stay at one
of Europe’s top hotels and at the same time play golf on two of Mallorca’s
leading golf courses, as well as enjoy the other sporting facilities on offer
at this purpose built sporting complex. The East Course opened in 1994
and is a championship course measuring 6,274 metres. It is laid out on what
used to be hunting ground, and for that reason you will come across a wide
variety of animals and birds during your round. A well designed golf course,
the wide and long fairways allow the high-handicap player to recover from
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