Published: January 17 2009 01:19 | Last updated: January 17 2009 01:19

Mallorca rarely seems to get the coverage it deserves. Far too many column inches are devoted to the relatively small area given over to the tourist resorts, neglecting the rest of the island, which is far more beautiful.

Its food, too, has a reputation for being reasonably good but not too varied. But this judgment overlooks its most distinctive quality: perhaps nowhere else can offer such stunning and very different locations in which to enjoy good food and the local wine – vastly improved since my last visit nine years ago – in such close proximity.

This advantage was obvious during a few days spent at the turn of the year around Palma and in the mountains near Sóller, Fornalutx and Deià. The weather played its part. Torrential rain had left the valleys looking unusually verdant. This was followed by a very heavy, and equally rare, snowfall that left the Tramuntana mountain-tops looking distinctly Swiss, while in the valleys below the groves of trees were heavily laden with oranges and lemons.

The constant drizzle we walked through on the way to eat at Ca N’Antuna in Fornalutx (justifiably considered one of the prettiest villages in Spain) reminded me more of a Scottish glen. We felt in need of warming comfort food.

We started with sopa mallorquin, a thick stew served all over the island. Another successful first course was a spicier than normal rendition of sobrasada, the ubiquitous sausage, here served more like a chorizo. Best of all our main courses was a vast pile of simply grilled lamb cutlets. With wine, dessert and considerate service from the owner and his family, the bill came to €25 per person.

From there it was barely a 15-minute drive down to the broad bay of Port Sóller, home to a large number of tapas bars, restaurants and hotels including the Hotel Los Geranios at the southern end of the bay and its restaurant, S’Atic.

The contrast between here and Ca N’Antuna could not have been greater. Here we were perched looking out across the bay; instead of a Mallorcan menu we had a series of enticing and unusual combinations more reminiscent of modern Catalan cuisine,. Our waitress was a perky young American who was full of enthusiasm. So charming did she prove, in fact, that she managed after taking our order to explain the 14 different types of salt on offer (including several they mix themselves, one of which incorporates gold flakes) without making this performance appear either too ridiculous or pretentious. In this she was helped by the fact that what S’Atic offers is commendably all of a piece.

The food we ate was first class. Creamy rice with octopus and scallops, and lobster claws with a soup of young almonds were two excellent starters. They were matched by main courses of roasted lobster with homemade spaghettini; thick slices of Iberian pork with glazed shallots; and glazed oxtail with braised endives and cauliflower.

Equally modern was the wine list, which included several of the island’s top wines from its best producers. With a bottle of Torre des Canonge 2007 Mallorcan white and the second wine of Anima Negra red, the bill came to €60 a person. This was unquestionably the best meal of our stay and a restaurant I would eagerly return to when it re-opens in early March.

This may seem a somewhat controversial comment given that dinner the following evening was in the Bacchus restaurant at Read’s Hotel, set just north of Palma in the open countryside outside Santa Maria del Camí, where chef Marc Fosh is considered by many, with some justification on the basis of what we ate, to be the finest on the island.

Yet an excellent meal has to be more than a sequence of good dishes. Our dinner was well executed, and included an almost translucent rectangle of salt cod covered in the thinnest skin of beetroot followed by two plump fillets of hare with rice and quince purée. But Fosh’s kitchen was let down by the hotel management. A strict note in our room informed us that to ensure a smooth service in the restaurant, guests must be at their table at the time of their reservation and that if a pre-dinner drink were required then they had to come to the bar at least 30 minutes in advance. This stricture is reminiscent of British boarding houses of yore.

It was certainly not in keeping with the restaurant’s own attempts at providing smooth service. No sooner had we placed our order at 8.30pm than the restaurant manager, who had initially taken our order, was back to apologise. The kitchen had just run out of the only first course on the set dinner menu (otherwise good value at €36 per person) and we would have to re-order. This was not a calamity but in a restaurant where the lighting could be more friendly and the wine list far more exciting and less rapaciously priced, there were enough reasons not to recall this meal with too much pleasure.

Descending into Palma, we discovered the ideal seaside location for lunch. The suburb of Portixol is home to a hotel and a string of bars and restaurants facing its sandy beach and a front that attracts many local cyclists, runners and skateboarders.

We ate there twice, a tapas lunch at Enco, which describes itself as serving “gastronomy with love”, and then a more Asian meal at Bar.Co, which occupies a splendid corner site. Both were fun and good value, the former €20 a head, the latter €25.

These four settings – high up in Fornalutx, overlooking Port Sóller, gazing at Santa Maria del Camí and down by the sea at Portixol – are separated by a drive of no more than 45 minutes.

nicholas.lander@ft.com

More columns at www.ft.com/lander
............

Details

Ca N’Antuna, Fornalutx, tel: +34 971-633 068 S’Atic, Hotel Los Geranios, Port Sóller, closed until early March, www.hotel-losgeranios.com
Read’s Hotel and Restaurant www.readshotel.com
Enco, Portixol, www.enco.eu.com
Bar.Co, Portixol, www.grupo-barco.com

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009