I was recently invited to the Park Hyatt Mallorca to experience some of their Christmas festivities. As expected, the resort was truly beautiful, but what I didn’t know before I arrived was that it was also home to Voro – Mallorca’s latest Michelin star restaurant under executive chef Álvaro Salazar and his team. When I learnt about this, naturally I booked myself in for their tasting menu the very same night I arrived. So, without further ado, here is my full review of Voro Restaurant Mallorca, located at one of the most beautiful hotels in Canyamel – and possibly on the island.
Mallorca Fine Dining
When we visited Voro, the restaurant had just reopened for the two-week festive period following a brief break after the end of the busy summer period and ahead of its hibernation until the following March. We were informed on our arrival that this was a special time in the gastronomy history of this resort – Voro had just received its first Michelin star, awarded earlier in the month. For the foodies out there, Álvaro Salazar is a young bright star of the Spanish and Catalan culinary pantheons, having trained at several Michelin starred restaurants, including Oriol Castro (ex-El Bulli). Expectations were definitely high.
Voro Restaurant Mallorca
The restaurant itself sits at the very heart of the Park Hyatt Mallorca resort in Canyamel, overlooking the main reception building and adjacent plaza. The building mimics the rustic laid-back Spanish architecture of the rest of the hotel, and whilst dimly lit and intimate with just a handful of tables (only 36-covers), the high ceilings give a sense of grandeur. The restaurant floor is manned by a knowledgeable team of staff including maître d’ and host Mario Wolgast and an expert sommelier.
We were told that the chefs start their days early, preparing various meats and vegetables in the Josper grill in the main dining room, slowly cooking the items for several hours and leaving the scent of food hanging in the air.
The cuisine itself follows the growing trend of elevating excellent local produce, reinterpreting classic local dishes, and pairing with stunning wines. When one bears in mind the quality and sheer number of dishes the price was actually very good value, with only small adjustments to the main menu to suit our dietary requirements.
As most of my regular readers probably know, I do not eat meat, dairy or gluten and I can appreciate that this is every chef’s worst nightmare. At Voro though, this was not a problem at all. They were able to make small tweaks to the menu to ensure that my dietary requirements were met. To the chef’s advantage though, I hadn’t yet gone vegan – which I have done at the start of 2020.
Voro offers two tasting menus to suit different levels of appetite. The Voro tasting menu topped out at 11 dishes, whilst the Devoro menu hits an astonishing fifteen items. Both menus evolve constantly to keep guests intrigued at their offering. Here is what you can expect from each of the two menus.
Menu Devoro | Menu Voro |
5 snacks | 4 snacks |
3 cold starters | 2 cold starters |
3 warm starters | 1 warm starter |
3 main courses | 2 main courses |
3 desserts | 2 desserts |
I also include a PDF of the menu that we indulged in during our visit in December.
As I wrote earlier – the menu offered exceptional produce, prepared simply and well. Chef Álvaro’s team delivers fresh vegetables from the gardens and nearby fields and fish sourced within miles of the final plate. Each ingredient celebrated traditional dishes, and was paired with an appropriate wine. More on that shortly. In particular though, the octopus really grabbed our attention. Whilst I am proud to say that I have gone vegan, it would be a lie to say that I would not miss flavours like that of a well-cooked octopus.
Voro also offers a wine list with 200 national and international options for the private sommeliers that live within all of us – I have yet to meet a person that does not love a fine glass of wine! As I get older, I start to appreciate the detail more and more.
It’s not just about the food, but the quality of the basic things such as the table wear. I couldn’t help but notice the Schott Zwiesel glasses, which to me are always noticeable thanks to their elegance and sensual feel. And from those glasses, we sampled three local wines: Raventos Blanc de Nit Espumoso – a delicious rose sparkling wine made in the style of cava, Sa Vall (Miquel Gelabert) – a balanced Malloran white, and Dolc Savall (Miquel Gelabert) – a sweet Mallorcan wine made from overripe Muscatel grapes.
My husband and I decided to go for the 11 course Voro tasting menu and by the end of it, our bellies were full and our hearts content. Whenever I write these restaurant reviews, I always believe that a picture will do these tasting events so much more justice than me describing everything. And so, throughout this article, I have included an image of each and every single plate that we enjoyed. The order in which you see these images in the article is the order in which we enjoyed them.
For those readers travelling to Mallorca this year, I would put a reservation at Voro at the top of your to-do list. It’s the delightful welcome to the flavours of the island, and will start your Mallorcan holiday the right way. For an extra special Mallorcan trip, I would also highly recommend staying at the Park Hyatt Mallorca.
Built high up in the Canyamel Valley, the Park Hyatt Mallorca is its own little village offering travellers a little piece of paradise. It’s also worth noting that aside from Voro, the Park Hyatt Mallorca is also home to three other restaurants including Balearic, Asia and Tapas. Whilst not Michelin-starred like Voro, the quality was excellent nonetheless. Between the world class hospitality and the delicious food we had the pleasure of eating, this was the Christmas weekend break of dreams.
BOOK YOUR STAY AT THE PARK HYATT MALLORCA
If you are considering travelling to Mallorca, I’ve written a longer review on the Park Hyatt Mallorca and why it’s the best place to stay on the island. If you’re intrigued about how I get to travel the world and how you can travel more too, then I’ve linked that article too.
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Sarah is a syndicated freelance writer and editor of Dukes Avenue. She founded Dukes Avenue in 2018 as a creative outlet while working at a London hedge fund. What initially started as a small blog has become a widely read luxury lifestyle online publication targeted at the modern woman, with content curated to inspire readers to live their best and most fulfilled lives. Sarah has lived in London, Malta, and, most recently, the United Arab Emirates and uses her travels and experiences to inspire much of the content.
- Sarah Borg Barthethttps://dukesavenue.com/author/sarah-borg-barthet/
- Sarah Borg Barthethttps://dukesavenue.com/author/sarah-borg-barthet/
- Sarah Borg Barthethttps://dukesavenue.com/author/sarah-borg-barthet/
- Sarah Borg Barthethttps://dukesavenue.com/author/sarah-borg-barthet/