What's the food scene like?
While Ibiza is known for its all-night parties, Formentera is firmly the domain of the long, luxuriating lunch. Platja de Migjorn is dotted with relaxed chiringuitos (beach bars), such as Piratabus, a wooden shack dishing out light bites and ice-cold caipirinhas to a laid-back crowd. Further along Platja de Migjorn, Gecko Beach Club offers more sophisticated dining. Set just back from the beach along a vegetation-strewn boardwalk, the whitewashed restaurant serves up steaming bowls of coconut-milk mussels and plates of zingy ceviche.
In the little fishing village of Es Caló de Sant Agustí, family-owned Can Rafalet has perfected the relaxed lunch. Nestled in a shallow rock-and-sand cove – the perfect place for a post-meal dip – the restaurant has near-wrap-round views of the sea and the scattering of fishing huts lining the bay. The food is local cuisine at its best, from ensalada payesa – a typical dish of tomatoes, crunchy croutons and strips of salty, dried ray – to frita de pulpo, a finely diced mix of octopus, garlic, tomatoes and onions.
Further inland, Casbah Restaurant also focuses on locally sourced produce, with bottles of silky Formentera olive oil and perfectly grilled, meaty slices of octopus – all enjoyed in a pine-shaded garden or from the sleek glass-wrapped dining room. In Sant Francesc Xavier don't miss the restaurant at the hotel Es Marès, where the dining room opens out onto a leafy shaded terrace. This is the place for beautifully presented tapas from lightly fried, gooey-centered béchamel and ibérico ham croquettes, to smoky burratina sprinkled with tiny balls of olive oil caviar.
