After the successes booked with their Gran Folies Beach Club, the Folies Group is expanding into a different gastronomical experience in a very different environment.
Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and valet service.
Something is happening in Cala Mayor Mallorca. Just outside the walls of the Kings’ summer palace Marivent, the area is being graced by new businesses, restaurants and bars that are raising the profile of the neighbourhood. Restaurant El Sótano is one of these places and they do so with conviction! They are starting a new trend for restaurants in Palma with the valet service they offer. Not only does this take away the pain of having to find a parking space, it creates an expectation. “This is a place where we will be looked after!”
A comfortable a nicely decorated flight of stairs takes you to El Sótano which translates as ‘the basement’. The entrance has a set of large windows, which helps to soon make you forget you are sitting in an actual basement. All the staff greeted us as we entered, and they were all-smiles throughout the evening. They were chatty and elaborated with enthusiasm on the menu.
We kicked off with a selection of cocktails. And a kick we got! The Mezcal Mama is served with Spicy Tequila and whoever came up with the name didn’t have to think long!
The waiter guided us through the food menu and encouraged us to share different dishes. We started off with a selection of three different style oysters; watermelon and melon, Yuzu Sonomo and salmon roe, and Lemongrass with Thai basil Aguachile. Despite being fans of an oyster’s natural taste, we were very pleasantly surprised by these unique flavours. I’m going back for more of the Thai basil Aguachile oysters very soon!
And I also know what I’ll order next. Despite insisting that we’d share our dishes, I ordered the matured T-bone just for myself. Jens doesn’t share! I tried the lobster and Balinese style marinated seabass and prawns thought that my wife and friends ordered. The matured T-bone is simply a good quality cut and chef Alex Arquero, rightfully so, doesn’t feel the need to mess with that. The seafood dishes were, just like the oysters, uniquely flavoured. With pride, the waiters explained how their chef has brought the influences of his travels to Asia and South America back to his home turf.
The lobster is grilled and served with sundried tomato butter, basil and lemon, fried onion and ‘escalivada’ emulsion. The name escalivada comes from the Catalan verb escalivar, ‘to cook in ashes’, referencing the dish’s traditional preparation in the embers of a wood fire. Needless to say, there is a lot going on for the palate. And the Balinese style marinated seabass and prawns is a Ceviche dish.
Chef Alex Arquero is an active guy who clearly thrives on the immediate feedback of his guests. He spent probably as much time in the dining area as he did in the kitchen. In a flamboyant manner, he constructs certain dishes right at your table. The waiters have been trained by him to serve certain cocktails using liquid nitrogen to ‘cook’ ingredients in a seemingly magical smoking bowl. One cocktail that I will make sure to try on my next visit was being smoked under a small glass dome using a device to burn oak shavings. The spectacle alone makes it worth ordering.
However, the biggest spectacle started after we ordered the ‘Death by chocolate: Willy Wonka style’. As proclaimed on the menu: ‘Chocolate madness, we will play with textures and temperatures as if we were in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory’. It would spoil the fun if I revealed what happened next. You’ll have to go and see for yourself.
El Sotano is the latest edition to the establishments of the Gran Folies Group. It’s located at Av. Joan Miró, 250, 07015 Palma, Illes Balears
For opening hours and bookings, visit www.elsotanobyfolies.com
