Helios - Secret Ibiza

The End's Bar Manager and native Ibizencan gives us an islander's viewpoint on its best bits...

Comidas Bar San Juan
C/ Montgrí, 8 - Ibiza - Tel: +34971311603

In this late 40s restaurant, located on one of the small side streets of the old harbour, you don’t sit at a table, you just fill up empty sharing spaces of a little cozy dining room with eight different sized tables. Open all year, there are some tables outside for the hot summer evenings. Always busy, you’ll probably have to wait a few minutes before you can take a seat. Home made cooking; anything you choose from the menu will taste like grandma’s recipe. Never forget to check the fish of the day...And one of the best things is that prices are still from the 50s!

Kumharas
C/ Lugo, 2 - Cala de Bou, San José, Ibiza
www.kumharas.org

Anyone who’s heard about Café del Mar sunsets, this is the alternative place without all the commercial side and the hundreds of “guiris” (tourists) going there just because it’s Café del Mar. Located exactly on the other side of San Antonio’s bay, Kumharas is a sunset bar experience where you can enjoy the beach, relax on the pillow sofas at the sunset terrace, have a nice dinner at the restaurant, there’s a small hippie market, you can smoke a Shisha while seeing the performances under the last rays of sun and listen to different music styles including reggae, ambient, lounge, dub, ethnic… Anything fits if it’s chilled out. Don’t miss Sunday’s “Kumharas Sessions”, organized by Space Teepee Music.

Punta Galera
Sant Antoni to Cala Salada Road, no number (look out for the signs)

This beach is located around 6km away from San Antonio, on the north side of the island. Not really overcrowded, with difficult walking access, it’s not a beach for families. First of all there’s no sand, the place itself consists of different levels of stone terraces, and you need to jump into the sea and climb up to get out of the water. It will be really appreciated by those seeking sunbathing without marks on the skin, you can also rub your body with natural clay and leave it dry for smoother skin, or go snorkelling around the little corners of the coast.

Restaurante 'El Bigotes' - Cala Mastella

From Sant Carles town, on the way to Pou des Lleó, take the detour following the handmade signs with the name of the beach/restaurant. Another tiny little beach, but in a beautiful cove close to Cala Llenya in the Sant Carles area. The water here is crystal clear and the snorkelling almost unmatched. There is a little portacabin at the end of the beach serving cold drinks and across the rocks to the left, but out of sight, a remarkable little restaurant which has to be the most 'typical' Ibicenco restaurant on the island. Guests must make a reservation in person, in advance, before being allowed the privilege of eating the only course El Bigotes ("The Moustache") serves. The only menu available consists of fish, caught that day, stewed in fish soup with potatoes as starter, and rice with squid as a main course. They don't have a telephone...It is said that the King of Spain, having heard of El Bigotes by virtue of its international reputation, dropped by to eat one day in his yacht. His request for a table was turned down as he had not made a reservation the day before, in person.

Circo Loco @ DC10 Mondays morning, from 8am til…
Km1, Salinas road
www.circoloco.com

The first time I went to this place, I was about 14 and it was an open air terrace café with a small aircraft model attached to the roof. DC10 is an aircraft model, and the place is built in just at the end of the airport lane. Every single plane that is going to land you feel as though you can touch the wheels. I came back a few years later just to discover that this venue is my favourite playground in the world. There are no rules at Circo Loco, just put on your weirdest costume with the most bizarre wig and release yourself amongst the happy people with biggest smiles on a Monday morning.

Published: 6/11/2007

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