Flanigan’s is situated towards the end of Puerto Portals; a busy trendy marina in Mallorca’s southwest which was launched in the late 1980s. It’s a lively spot, with lots of restaurants, cafes and bars catering to higher end clientele. In 1987, owner Miguel Arias was tasked with converting the original “Bar del Puerto” into a new and exciting eatery; this has developed over the years into this busy harbour front restaurant and indeed, an established and recognized brand.
It’s an interesting layout, previously the bar area was larger but in recent times it has been reduced to accommodate more seating for the restaurant side. We visited during winter time; the outside space was enclosed with a cosy gas fire in the corner keeping us all warm but in the summer it’s all open air. The big seller is the view; the front section of the restaurant is directly in front of the water’s edge so diners can enjoy some thoroughly entertaining people and watercraft watching any time of the year. Reservation is essential as this is a very popular venue in the port.
The menu is attractive and modern, and has a big focus on tapas, indeed when asked for recommendations the waiting staff pointed us straight to those items. Well, it’s Spain, and who doesn’t love a good tapa? The menu boasts solid Spanish favourites like pimientos de padron, a range of croquetas, Mallorquin frito and so on, plus a few twists on old favourites like huevos roto with shaved truffles, white tuna in pickled sauce, and a lobster salad. For those seeking a larger meal there are some great paella and rice dishes available too, including a lobster fideua, plus steaks and fresh fish and seafood dishes which I understand is locally sourced where possible. Our tapas were all in all pretty standard, but very well presented – the waiters changed our plates and cutlery twice whilst we shared five plates of tapas which was a rather nice touch. One strong recommendation from them and also from me, is to go for the apple pie… you have to order it when you have your main course as it takes a while to prepare it. It’s superb, a lovely crispy flaky hot tart which is light, airy and definitely not too heavy after all those tapas. Go on, treat yourself. Rude not to…
The wine list was impressive and lengthy with something to suit everyone, we went for a cheeky house red which was a fantastic easy drinking Crianza from 2014. I’ve never found a house wine as drinkable, I’d definitely recommend it.
The staff was excellent for us from start to finish. We ambled into the small bar area before eating to have a little aperitivo and were greeted warmly by two members of staff. The barman was super polite with a lovely sense of humour too, and when we were taken to our table everyone was more than accommodating. Happy to offer recommendations then check up on us afterwards, we were definitely spoilt.
The prices were comparable to other places in the marina area; Portals is not a cheap eats destination and as such the menu did reflect that. If you’re looking for cheap tapas you won’t find them here, but then again you wouldn’t get such a beautiful view in the budget tapas places either.
Flanigan’s was warm, welcoming and had a lovely buzz about it, definitely a great place to take visitors to our lovely island.
