The last evening in Sóller, before we fly back to Hamburg tomorrow. There were four of us: my husband, our friends from Bremen and me. Looking for a quiet Italian place in the old town we walked up the Carrer de la Victòria and stopped at Ca’n Llimona.
The lane in the old town
Fabric butterflies fluttered above us in the wind, strung between the sandstone houses. In summer Sóller always has these small decorations that you almost miss if you do not look up. We waited a moment, took photographs, then went in.
Personal, with a touch of concept store
The interior won us over immediately. It is small and very personal, and next to the restaurant area stand white cabinets and shelves with things you can buy: Italian olive oil, pasta specialities, a few handmade bowls. I like it when a restaurant is not only a restaurant but also a small shop with a story. Exactly that mixture that I like in my own concept store in Hamburg.
The chef: Claudia, Argentinian and long established in Sóller
The head chef Claudia is Argentinian and has been cooking on Mallorca for many years. The pasta is made in the house, the produce comes from Italy and from Mallorca, combined with whatever the island has to offer at the time. On the website, she writes that the recipes were all created in her own kitchen. That feels just as personal as the restaurant itself.
What we ate
My starter was a salad that the house calls the “Salad Ca’n Llimona”: tomato, lemon, basil, apple, marinated cheese, green leaves, with a pesto and small bowls of olives and olive oil. The tomato tartare in the middle was firm and fresh at the same time, with exactly the right acidity.
For the main course, the house recommendation: summer pasta with rocket and Sóller lemons, tagliatelle made in the house, a mound of rocket on top, fine strips of lemon zest, cherry tomatoes, parmesan. If you have ever tasted a pasta that really tastes of Sóller, it is this one. Sóller lemons have a distinctive acidity that you come to recognise if you spend time here.
The wine: Toni Gelabert “Vinya Son Fangos rosat”
With it a rosé by Toni Gelabert from Manacor. The bodega works organically and the label is illustrated like a small picture book. The wine itself: pale, clear, not too sweet. Exactly the right glass for twenty-nine degrees and a long evening.
Beside it lay my Doubleice reading glasses “Diva” in fuchsia, with the KMO ring “Nika natural” and a dress by Interdee. Sometimes the small things on the table are almost as important as the food around them.
Tiramisu with strawberry and blueberry
At the end a house tiramisu, dusted with cocoa, a few strips of lemon zest on top, half a strawberry and four blueberries. Creamy, rich and Italian in the best sense. Everything lovely, from beginning to end.
What stays
Ca’n Llimona was for me the loveliest way to close these days in Sóller. Small, personal, quiet, a head chef who really cooks rather than delegates, and a rosé that I will take home with me next time.
For anyone looking for an Italian evening in Sóller without a tourist menu and without any rush: in the Carrer de la Victòria 12, opposite the sandstone houses, behind the fabric butterflies.
Against the midday heat in the old town, by the way, a hand fan helps, and the shop carries handmade ones.
Warm wishes from Hamburg
