Friday evening in Port Sóller. The four of us, at our usual table right on the harbour, outside under a bright sky that still has an hour of daylight to give away. Es Passeig is one of those addresses you always find your way back to, because it does not need to explain itself.
We begin with a rosé cava to toast, pink, sparkling, the glass misting over. The boats in the harbour rock quietly, the staff move between the tables without hurrying.
Here, we order several small dishes and share them. First the aubergine tartare with creamy mozzarella and a bundle of young rocket on top. Smoky, quiet, a starter that has nothing to prove.
Then sushi rice with wagyu beef. Two pieces on a long plate, the meat seared on the outside, pink inside, with small glossy pearls of caviar as an accent. Not loud, but very precise.
For the main course, we had tuna tataki. It was perfect. One wine stays with us through the whole evening: Can Axartell Rosé, a Mallorcan rosé, wonderfully fruity, very easy to drink in that warm hour when the sun changes its angle.
The Can Axartell in the glass, the ALANA ring in yellow by KMO Paris on my finger, the boats in the harbour behind.
Crissi was happy to see us. That is why we keep coming back.
We stay at the table until the boats turn darker than the water. Port Sóller in summer, the harbour still, the glass empty, the evening long.
Back in September 2026
In September we were there again, this time on a Saturday evening. We had spent the morning at the market in Sóller, and in the evening we took the tram down to the harbour.
When we arrived the promenade was still almost empty. Palm trees, a long stone bench, the houses at the water opposite and the mountain above them. That was not going to last.
A Can Axartell in the glass again, so cold that it misted over straight away. The harbour behind it.
And Crissi was there again too. It is exactly that familiarity that keeps bringing us back.
To start, a small plate came from the kitchen: toasted bread with tomato, three dots of pale cream on top and chives.
Then the tartare of smoked aubergine with parmesan foam, capers, tomato and rocket. The same dish as in June, and again exactly right.
With it, potatoes with a creamy accompaniment and fine herbs. Meant for sharing, and nothing was left of them.
After that the scampi tempura, crisply fried, with a light cream, white and black sesame and delicate greens. Served small, as they do here.
The harbour becomes a stage
Towards the evening the light grows softer. The boats lie still in the water, behind them the town and the slope of the Tramuntana.
And then the harbour itself became a stage. At the Trobada d'Havaneres, singers stood on a boat and sang their songs out across the water. Shortly afterwards a group of men playing bagpipes came past along the promenade. And then three aerial acrobats showed their skills. We sat at Crissi’s place at Es Passeig, drank Can Axartell, and in the middle of it all something new kept happening.
More from this trip: an evening at the Nautilus in Port de Sóller.
Es Passeig · Passeig de la Platja · 07108 Port de Sóller · Mallorca · right on the harbour · booking recommended
If you would like to know how this Mallorca week began: arriving at Portixol.
Warm wishes from Hamburg
