EATING OUT IN MALLORCA EMILIO INNOBAR PALMA
A fusion of Asian, Mexican and Mediterranean flavours
Years ago, I heard about Emilio Innobar, described as a fine dining spot tucked away on C/ de la Concepció. Then I heard a story that the place is so popular that, once, even the insanely wealthy businessman from Dubai would not have gotten a table there, had it not been for Shane
Fisher from Connected Mallorca, who can literally get you a table anywhere in the Southwest Mallorca. Good job then, that I knew Shane, which meant I could finally dine at Emilio Innobar too!
On arrival, I was greeted by Sabine, a friendly front-of-house lady who has been at Emilio Innobar “for so long, it feels like her own place”. For the next couple of hours, she was juggling talking to me, answering her phone every couple of minutes and doing some urgent work on her laptop in a
rather chaotic, but totally endearing manner. One could tell that she really ran the place like her own, so I felt comfortable letting her choose the dishes I would try.
I started with a selection of
sashimi: paper thin, feather light slices of raw fish served with wasabi, fish sauce for the white fish and soy sauce for the blue fish. I particularly liked the one that was sprinkled with lime rind and soaked in lime juice.
Next up, I was offered a bowl of prawn ceviche, featuring finely diced tomatoes, avocado, red onion and prawns. The dressing was citrusy, as usual, but I could not quite figure out one ingredient. I expected lime, maybe lemon, but was surprised when Sabine revealed that orange was used as well. Together with the obligatory cilantro and chilli this tasted fresh, zesty and ever so slightly sweet. Homemade tortilla chips added a nice crunch to this delicious starter.
As the waiters moved their wooden menu board between tables filling up with newly arriving guests – mostly well healed Germans – I noticed that there were only about a dozen of dishes on it. I loved the idea of offering a small selection of dishes and executing them exceptionally well.
My third dish to try was Emilio’s fish. Apparently this changes depending on the seasonal availability. I got some melt in your mouth soft croak fish mixed with corn and leeks, wrapped up in a couple of millimetres thick pancake, and covered in slightly spicy, turmeric based sauce. This was an unusual combination – I would have certainly not thought of combining fish with corn – but it worked brilliantly! What a great example of this quirky fusion, mixing Mediterranean, Mexican and Asian flavours! Sabine told me that Emilio was Mexican and lived in Japan, so this was the root of his influences.
Last but not least, I had some Korean beef, the only dish I said
I really wanted to try, as I love it. Again, this as an excellent mixture of thinly sliced beef, red, green and yellow peppers, aubergine, mushrooms, carrots, onions, red chilies and probably some other vegetables I forgot to mention, covered in thick, slightly sweet and super rich sauce, and sprinkled with sesame seeds for an added crunch. It was accompanied by a bowl of perfectly cooked plain white rice, not to take anything away from this divine main meal.
As I was enjoying this final rhapsody of flavours, Emilio’s son, Marcus Cardoso, came out to introduce himself. He was the Head Chef responsible for this feast and everything else that comes out of their kitchen. We chatted briefly about their bar, just around a corner, and agreed to meet there one day, so that I can try some of their equally innovative cocktails.
By the time I finished my last savoury plate, I had to rush off to another meeting, so I had no time to try the dessert – a disappointing realisation that almost brought tears to my eyes. But, I guess, this would be my perfect excuse to come to Emilio Innobar at least one more time!