Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated July 10, 2013. (I deleted inactive/selected links on November 28, 2021.)

I’ve already published several articles about my spring vacation on the island of Menorca, Spain, and here’s another one (more to follow). Not so much a restaurant recommendation, but a true survival tip.

We arrived at Mahon airport in the early afternoon on Sunday, April 21, 2013. The only airline with any kind of useful connecting flights from Vienna to Mahon (via Palma de Mallorca) in April (before the high season starts in May) was Air Berlin, and – just like most (all ?) other airlines – whatever food is served on board is not vegan. By the time we arrived at Apartamentos Royal, I was positively starving.

We set out on foot towards the city centre at about 5:30 PM, in search of a restaurant. The city was deserted. We were literally the only people on the streets. In most Southern European countries,  siesta is an essential part of the day: all the shops close, and people go home to eat lunch, take a nap, or do – whatever, really. Point is, they go home, and stay home, and city life shuts down completely. As Spain is predominantly a catholic country, Sunday is a day of rest, and most shops don’t open at all. In addition, the Spanish eat dinner late, at about 8:00 PM.

So there we were, the only people out and about on a Sunday afternoon, starving.

It only took us 15 minutes to reach the city center, where we descended the many steps of Costa de Ses Voltes to reach Baixamar, the harbour district. All the cruise ships dock at the Costa de Ses Voltes, when they reach the port, and all the tourists debark to buy overpriced souvenirs at the bottom of the stairs. The area is quite pretty. But on a Sunday afternoon, shortly before 6:00 PM, it is completely deserted. It’s very strange, really, to stroll through a city – Menorca’s capital, no less – whithout being surrounded by any other people.

At the bottom of the stairs, we turned right (east), and walked along Moll de Llevant, the Eastern Quay, which is lined with shops and restaurants – all closed.

And then we reached Rock & Beer.

It was open. More importantly, the restaurant’s kitchen was also open.

We were saved.

Rock & Beer is not a restaurant I would normally recommend to vegans. It turned out that the only vegan items on the menu were a mixed salad and Pa amb oli (toasted white bread, topped with garlic and olive oil). But Rock & Beer was open on a Sunday, at 6:00 PM, and that’s all that mattered.

I didn’t even care that at Rock & Beer all the tables, which are placed outside the restaurant on the sidewalk, are enclosed on all sides by a plastic “curtain.” The sea is only a few metres away, but there you are, sitting in a plastic bubble. Apparently, this is quite common at restaurants in the Mahon harbour. (As if a little sea breeze ever hurt anyone, especially in the spring or summer. Go figure. ) As Rock & Beer is also a smoking-restaurant – and the smoke can’t escape due to the plastic curtains – you’re exposed to second-hand smoke as well. (As I said, this is not so much a recommendation, but a survival tip.) On the other hand, it’s also a music venue (hence the “rock”).

The Pa amb oli – my first – was a fitting introduction to vegan Menorcan cuisine, even though I didn’t realize it at the time. During the days that followed, I ate a lot of white toasted bread with garlic and olive oil — it would often be the only vegan food on a restaurant’s menu. On that particular Sunday evening, I didn’t care. It was delicious. (Two pieces of Pa amb oli cost 2.50 Euros, incl. tax).

The salad (6.50 Euros, incl. tax) was quite substantial: olives, corn, red onions, carrots, tomatoes, radicchio, and various green salads. It was served without a dressing, but with olive oil & vinegar, and salt & pepper on the side. (This is common in most Southern European countries.)

Starved as I was, I also ordered nachos and guacamole from the starters menu (5.50 Euros, incl. tax). As soon as the waitress brought the dish, I knew I’d made a mistake. The nachos were not plain, but chili nachos. And those – as any vegan will tell you – are almost never vegan (unless they’re organic). At home, I only buy a certain brand of plain organic nachos, which are vegan. Starved and tired as I was, I let down my guard, not considering that even mass-produced non-organic plain nachos aren’t necessarily vegan.

In one of my previous articles – Vegan Survival Tips for Menorca, Spain – I advise you to be specific, when you order your food, and to ask a lot of questions. This is one of the reasons why. At home, I know what to look out for at the restaurants I frequent, but here I was in a different country, unfamiliar with the local cuisine, and not vigilant enough. As a result, I ended up with non-vegan nachos.

If you’re reading this and are not a vegan (or just became a vegan), you might not know that most mass-produced processed snacks (potato chips, nachos, etc.) are not vegan. They often contain sweet whey powder, lactose, natural flavouring (which may be animal-derived), milk protein, and various emulsifiers (many of which are not vegan, either). Consider yourself warned.

Did I eat the nachos? Yes, I did. As a vegan, you’ll occasionally find yourself in similar situations. It just can’t be helped. One simply cannot keep up one’s guard all the time.  Each vegan reacts differently in such situations. While I would never eat meat or fish, I have in the past drunk coffe with milk (ordered without, but mistakenly served with milk), eaten egg-fried rice (ordered simply as fried vegetable rice – I wasn’t specific enough, and should have told them that eggs aren’t vegetables), and similar dishes. My attitude is to be as vigilant as I can when ordering food, but when I make a mistake (or the restaurant makes it) – if the damage is done, so to speak – I eat/drink the food. It doesn’t happen often, maybe once or twice a year, but we live in a non-vegan world and it’s almost impossible not to make mistakes on occasion.

So that was Rock & Beer. Good guacamole, a great salad, and toasted bread.
Skip the nachos.

Address: Moll de Llevant 148, 07702 Maó, Menorca

Opening hours: sorry, I failed to check; I was tired after a day of travelling.

Phone: 0034 – 971 – 355 953

Website: They don’t have their own site, but they’re on Facebook

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated July 10, 2013. (I deleted inactive/selected links on November 28, 2021.)

I mostly publish reviews of vegetarian and vegan restaurants on this website, but there are no vegetarian restaurants on the island of Menorca. The reviews of several non-vegetarian restaurants located on this Spanish island are meant primarily as survival tips, as no vegan comes to Menorca for the food.

Dining out during our vacation was always a challenge. We had to pass on many restaurants, as they didn’t have even a single vegan dish on the menu. We chose to eat at Restaurante Pizzeria Roma, as all Italian restaurants offer at least one vegan dish: Spaghetti aglio et olio (spaghetti with oil and garlic). Add a mixed salad, and you have a proper meal.

Restaurante Pizzeria Roma does indeed offer garlic spaghetti with chili peppers (6.00 Euros including tax), and a mixed salad (5.80 Euros), although I didn’t order either. There aren’t many (possibly) vegan items on the menu (garlic bread, bruschetta, grilled vegetables, grilled mushrooms – hopefully all prepared with oil, not lard -, and fruit), but as a vegan you learn to keep your expectations low when dining out at non-vegetarian restaurants.

However, at Restaurante Pizzeria Roma we got lucky. They offer a wide selection of pizze, which they make fresh on site. I was told they even make their own dough. They also don’t mind if you order your pizza without the cheese.

If this doesn’t sound as if it’s a big deal, it actually is! We had dinner a few days later at another Italian restaurant, and I could not order pizza without cheese. I’m not sure why that was not possible. My best guess would be that they prepare the pizze in advance at that restaurant, freeze them, and then just pop them in the oven when someone orders a pizza. Not all Italian restaurants on Menorca give you the option to order pizza without cheese. Check with the waiter and make sure that this is actually an option, so you won’t end up eating (once again) pa amb oli –  or bruschetta in Italian restaurants.

I ordered a Pizza Capricciosa with tomatoes, oregano, onions, capers, mushrooms, olives, and artichokes (9.50 Euros, incl. tax). The pizza dough was great – thin and cripsy – and all in all, I quite liked the pizza. The onions were pre-boiled, though, which was rather unusual and something I could have done without. Onions taste so much better, if they are put on a pizza raw and then baked with the rest of the vegetables. I also could’ve done without the capers. It’s not that I don’t like them, there were just too many different flavours on the pizza for my taste. But that’s an individual preference. I could have ordered any pizza on the menu that I wanted – minus the cheese – so there were many vegan options available to me. That’s rare for a Menorcan restaurant.

The waiter also brought me a bottle of chili oil to drizzle on the pizza, which was very thoughtful. Cheese means fat, and fat always enhances flavours. It would’ve never occurred to me to spice up my pizza with flavoured vegetable oils, but I’ve quite taken to this idea, and now add a little bit of oil whenever I make vegan pizza at home. Beware: that chili oil was very hot.

The waiter at the restaurant spoke German, which was nice, as I was able to explain to him what it actually means to be a vegan. Not many Spaniards speak English well (few speak German), and that can lead to problems when ordering food at restaurants. I always felt a lot more at ease at restaurants where the waiter spoke English well, or some German.

Something else was nice at Restaurante Pizzeria Roma. Unlike many other restaurants on Moll de Llevant in the harbour district, they don’t wall off their tables on the sidewalk with “plastic curtains.” At this restaurant, you’re actually able to enjoy the fresh air – you’ll sit only a few feet away from the Mediterranean sea – and that is wonderful.

Restaurante Pizzeria Roma has its own website (an English version is available). You can download the menu (also in English) from their site, and check out the food and drinks (1/2 litre of mineral water was 2.30 Euros, incl. tax) in advance.

Address: Moll de Llevant 295, 07702 Maó, Menorca

Opening hours: daily 12:30 PM to midnight.

Phone: +34 – 971 – 353 777

Website: This website is no longer active – the restaurant may have gone out of business.

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated June 10, 2013. (I deleted inactive/selected links on November 28, 2021.)

Ciutadella is Menorca’s “second city.”  It was the island’s capital until 1722, when the British – who seized Menorca in 1708 – chose Maó as their capital due to its superior deep-water harbour. Today, approximately 21.000 people live in Ciutadella.

The town’s historic centre is its main attraction for tourists and a single day-trip should suffice to see all the major sights.

We took a bus from Maó’s central bus station on Plaça de L’Esplanada. Here’s a link to the island’s bus routes and timetables in English. The journey lasts about 70 minutes. There are express buses, which don’t stop in the towns in between Maó and Ciutadella (Alaior, es Mercadal, Ferreries), and the bus fare is the same (5 Euros one-way during the off-season in April 2013), so check the time-tables. In Ciutadella, the buses stop at Plaça Menorca, only a five-minute walk from the city centre.

Unfortunately, we had bad luck in terms of weather. It rained all day and as a result, we spent considerably less time in Ciutadella than we’d originally planned.

It started to rain shortly after we got off the bus in Ciutadella, so we decided to start the day with a coffee break. We chose Gelateria Es Pins simply because it was the first coffee shop we passed. It’s on Plaça dels Pins. I had a cup of tea (1.40 Euros) and pa amb tomàquet (toasted white bread, topped with garlic, olive oil, and crushed tomatoes), which was rather big and only cost 1.70 Euros. I was hungry, and as usual, pa amb oli – or a version thereof – was the only vegan food on offer. But it was actually quite good, and I was happy to be out of the rain.

Afterwards, we spent about two hours walking through the city centre and saw all the major sights, most of which – like the Palau Salort or the Museu Diocesà – were still closed during the off-season (they open in May). We were only able to get into the Catedral de Santa Maria and the Museu Municipal, which is located in the Bastió de Sa Font. If you haven’t bought a guidebook yet, Berlitz’s Menorca pocket guide lists all the major sights. We also bought two German-language guidebooks, Marco Polo’s Menorca, and Robert Zsolnay’s Menorca, published by Michael Müller Verlag. The latter is definitely the best of them all, but unfortunately it’s not available in English.

During our stroll through the city centre we passed a supermarket and went inside to check it out. The store’s quite big, but unfortunately it doesn’t offer much for vegans. They did sell Provamel soy milk with added calcium, pre-cooked beans in glass jars, and an assortment of nuts, but no soy yoghurts, tofu, hummus or any other staples of a vegan diet.

The supermarket Hnos Salord is located at Carrer del Portal D’Artrutx, 5. Listed opening hours were Monday-Friday 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM, and 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM. Saturday 8:00 – 2:30 PM. The supermarket is also accessible from Con Sant Onofre, 12.

We walked through Carrer de Josep Maria Quadrado, also known as Ses Voltes (arcades). The arcades are very beautiful (see photo), but unfortunately almost all the stores are tourist traps. They sell all kinds of souvenirs, including many leather-sandals (Menorca is famous for the production of leather goods, especially for the production of abarcas, flat sandals.) All those souvenir shops really ruined the experience of walking through century-old arcades.

Anyway, when you walk through Ses Voltes, towards Plaça de la Catedral, you’ll pass a Pizzeria on the right. The restaurant was still closed when we walked by mid-morning, and the menu didn’t really list many vegan options, but still – if you don’t want to eat pa amb oli once again, this restaurant might be an option. Unfortunately, they don’t have outdoor seating.

After we finished our sightseeing tour through Ciutadella, we ended up at Cercle Artistic on Plaça Born 19, which is actually listed in most of the guidebooks due to its history – it was once home to an artist’s association. Today, it is just a café, with some sort of gambling/slot machine inside, and it was quite disappointing. We sat at a table in the back – with good views of the harbour – , and I ordered the only vegan dishes on the menu: pa amb tomàquet (2.25 Euros), and a bowl of olives (1.25 Euros). As a vegan, you’ll live cheaply on Menorca. We chose this cafe simply because it had started to rain heavily again, and it was the nearest restaurant/cafe that was open.

Due to the bad weather, we didn’t see as much of the city as we’d hoped, and I’m sure there are much better dining options for vegans in Ciutadella. For example, we never even made it down to the harbour, where the quays are lined with shops and restaurants. If you have any recommendations, please add them in the comments section, so vegan tourists will find more helpful tips here than I am able to provide.

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated July 28, 2013.

I spent my most recent vacation – 11 days in April 2013 – on the island of Menorca, Spain. We rented an apartment, and cooked many meals ourselves, as Menorca isn’t really famous for her vegan cuisine. I’ve already written several articles about it, you can find them all here.

Today, I want to give you a few tips about vegan food shopping in Maó (Mahon), the island’s capital.

Make sure to stop by Tot Bio, a small organic store. As far as I know, it’s the only organic store in Maó, even though approximately 29.000 people live there. In Austria, about 20 % of all agricultural land is farmed organically, and it came as quite a shock to realize that Menorca seems to have missed the organic revolution. It’s like travelling back in time – Menorca (all of Spain ?) seems to be rooted firmly in the 20^th century in terms of agriculture, animal welfare, and nutrition.

So buy something at Tot Bio, this small store deserves to be supported.

Here’s what you’ll find: a small selection of cosmetics, including vegan shampoo; various plant-based milks (almond, rice, soy), both in 1-litre containers and in smaller sizes. They sell several vegan bread spreads, chilled tofu, Seitan, and vegan burger meats; various grains, beans, and power bars. The usual stuff really.

You can also purchase organic chamomile here – grown on the island – which is practically the only vegan “souvenir” you can buy on Menorca (you can also buy gin, which I believe is vegan, but I’m not 100% sure). All other “souvenirs,” for which the island is famous, are non-vegan: leather shoes, cheese, and various pastries.

I forgot to write down Tot Bio‘s opening hours, which aren’t listed on their website either, but they close down for a lengthy siesta each day.

Contact information for Tot Bio:
Carrer Bonaire, 18
07701 Maó
E-mail: info@totbio.es
Phone: 971 363 861
Website: http://www.totbio.es/

Your best bet to stock up on all kinds of supplies is definitely the Binipreu supermarket in the basement of Claustre del Carme on Sa Placa.

The Claustre del Carme is an old cloister and one of the sights to see on Menorca. It’s right in the centre, very conveniently located, and today the cloister is the city market.

We shopped at this supermarket on the first day of our vacation and stocked up on all essentials, including soy milk, pre-cooked beans in a glass jar, Seitan, and canned baked beans. You’ll notice that I shopped for protein & calcium. You won’t find any restaurants on Menorca, which prepare balanced vegan meals, and protein & calcium especially is something that’s missing from most vegan dishes.

There are five Binipreu supermarkets on the island. I’ve provided the link to their Website. You’ll find locations and opening hours there. We also shopped at the Bellavista branch, which is only a couple of blocks away from Apartamentos Royal, where we stayed. The selection there is much smaller (soy milk, pre-cooked beans in jars).

Two Binipreu branches are open on Sundays, the one at the airport, and Binipreu Via Ronda. We didn’t shop there, but the one on Via Ronda looks like it’s the biggest branch of them all (with a car park, we drove past it).

Caustre del Carme is located on Sa Placa
Binipreu Sa Placa 0pening hours: Monday – Saturday 9:00 – 9:00 PM, closed on Sundays and holidays
Website for all Binipreu supermarkets, with opening hours

On the ground floor of the Claustre del Carme, in the arcades, are various small shops, including several greengrocers.

I found that Fruits Andreu had the best selection of vegetables and fruit, and they also sell a small selection of organic and/or vegan foods, grains mostly, but also tofu.

If you choose to stay at Apartamentos Royal, in addition to the Binipreu supermarket on Ctra. Bellavista (at the corner of Carrer Sant Sebastia) there’s a Tres Pans bakery right around the corner, on Av. Fort de L’Eau. I forgot to write down the opening hours (as usual), but if I remember correctly, they open early, at 6:00 AM (check!). There’s also a Spar Express (very small, we didn’t actually shop there) on Av. Fort de L’Eau (close to the corner of Cami des Castell), which is open on Sundays.

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated July 28, 2013.

Update, July 28, 2013: Vegan Food Shopping in Maó (Mahon), Menorca – this blog entry lists stores in the vicinity of Apartamentos Royal.

Original blog entry:

In one of my recent blog entries, Vegan Survival Tips for Menorca, Spain, I advised readers to rent an apartment and not to stay at a hotel. Here’s where I stayed during my recent vacation:

Apartamentos Royal is located in Maó (Mahon), near the harbour. Its location is one of its best features. You can have dinner at a restaurant in the harbour (and a few drinks) and then walk back to your apartment. No need to drive. Apartamentos Royal is situated one block from a bus stop that is serviced by two of the four major bus routes. The number 11 bus circles the city, and part of its route leads through the harbour and up a very steep road – the apartment block is at the top of the hill, the bus stop is across the road.

The city is situated on a hill. The harbour district – down by the water – is called Baixamar. The rest of the city is located up on the hill.

Prepare yourself mentally to climb many, many steps. The photo on the right shows some of the steps that lead from the harbour to the top of the hill, near the Apartamentos Royal.

Another bus route, which stops one block from the apartment block – the number 15 bus – leads right through the city’s centre. All buses stop at the city’s bus terminal, where you can change buses, e.g. to take the number 10 bus, which stops at the airport, or to catch one of the many buses that service the other cities and villages on the island of Menorca.

During our stay we used buses for the first few days, then rented a car, as most of the major cultural sights can’t be reached by bus.  I usually drove through the harbour whenever we left the city or came back from our sightseeing trips, as the ME1 – the highway, which connects east and west – starts right at the harbour’s end. (Maó is located in the east of Menorca.) I didn’t have to drive through the city, and it was a great way to avoid rush hour.

It’s also so much more pleasant to drive along a beautiful Mediterranean port than through city traffic. Whether you drive north, west, or south, Apartamentos Royal’s location close to the harbour is one of its best features, as you can avoid city traffic whenever you want to leave Maó.

We vacationed on Menorca in April, and the tourist season doesn’t start until May 1^st. This means that we always immediately found a parking space on the street close to the apartment building. I can’t say how it’ll be during the high season.

You can also walk to the city’s centre from the apartment building. It takes about 15 minutes, if you walk slowly. You’ll simply have to walk along Carrer Carme, and it’ll take you right to the centre. There’s a supermarket on Sa Plaça (the centre), which sells vegan staples like tofu, pre-cooked beans, soy milk, and various organic products. I’ll write a separate article about the supermarkets near the Apartamentos Royal in a few days, and then I’ll link to this post. There’s another supermarket near the apartment block, plus a small grocery store that’s open on Sundays (a rarity, believe me). There’s also a bakery across the street, which opens early. I’ll provide more information about these stores in a few days.

We – two people – stayed for eleven nights in a one-bedroom apartment, and it cost 450 Euros in April including tax. I thought that was a good deal. The apartments are very basic, but not tiny. There were tiled floors throughout, which I loved, as that’s so much more hygienic than carpets. What can I say – I like it clean. You get (cheap, synthetic – vegan) blankets for your beds, but everything’s clean. The bathroom’s shower was great – very hot water, high water pressure. The living room opened up to a terrace big enough for sunbathing, and there’s a small kitchenette: two hot plates, a coffee maker, a toaster, and enough pots and pans to cook simple dishes for two people. The walls are quite thin, though. In the summer, when the apartments are all rented out, you’ll probably hear a certain amount of noise through the walls. There’s a pool, situated between the two buildings, which make up the apartment complex.

We cooked dinner five or six times during our stay – mostly simple meals that included beans or Seitan or other vegan staples, and this was one of the reasons why we chose to rent an apartment in the first place. You’ll be able to get some vegan food at most restaurants, but very often your only choice will be salad and toasted white bread with garlic or bits of tomatoes. Being able to cook nutritious and balanced meals, which include protein, calcium, iron, etc., and which you simply can’t get at most Menorcan restaurants as a vegan, was very important to me. We packed sandwiches most days for lunch, too. Eleven days is simply too long to live without proper nutrition.

Apartamentos Royal consists of two blocks with 17 apartments each. There are photos and descriptions on their website. There’s also a restaurant on site, but it was closed in April. Don’t hold you breath, though. I very much doubt that they offer vegan dishes. But it can’t hurt to ask them to put vegan dishes on the menu when you book an apartment for your vacation. The more people ask, the more likely it is that they will change the menu.

There’s also a café on site, which is actually quite popular with the locals who stop by in the mornings for a coffee on their way to work or for a drink afterwards (including the local police). There’s a big TV screen in the café, and it’s always tuned to the sports channel. Lots of guys of all ages sit there and watch sports. I spent quite some time at the café, as there was no WIFI in my room. I freelance as a journalist, and I had to check my Emails every day and do some research on the Internet. Most days, I spent an hour or two at the café, which is why I got to watch the locals up close. There’s nothing to eat for vegans in the cafe except potato crisps. There’s no soy milk for your coffee at the café, either.

When you book your room, make sure to insist that they check if the WIFI actually works in your room. All the rooms are supposed to have WIFI, but it doesn’t work in room number 5.

All in all, I was quite satisfied with the apartment, which I found over the Internet. I’d stay there again, if I went back to Menorca for another vacation.

Website: http://www.apartamentosroyal.com/
Address: Carrer Carme, 131 Mahon, Menorca, Spain
Phone: 0034 – 971 – 36 95 34
Email : info@apartamentosroyal.com

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated May 13, 2013.

You won’t find a single vegetarian restaurant anywhere on the island of Menorca. Many restaurants don’t even offer a single vegan dish, and tuna is often listed as an ingredient in “vegetarian” dishes. (I recommend that you also read Vegan Survival Tips for Menorca, Spain.)

At Restaurante Varadero, there are only three vegan items on the menu: bread (1.75 Euros plus 10% tax), green salad (7.50 Euros plus 10% tax), and vegetable paella (14.50 Euros per person plus 10% tax, at least two people must order this dish). So you don’t really have a lot of choices. I recommend this restaurant anyway, at least if you’re travelling with someone else. If you travel by yourself, you’re stuck with bread and salad (or have to eat paella for two).

So why do I recommend it, even though there are so few vegan choices? How many restaurants do you know (anywhere), which serve vegan paella?

Paella is a national dish in Spain, and consider yourself warned: the Spanish don’t like it at all, if you try to compare it to Italian Risotto.

I never had paella before, as I’ve been a vegetarian for 31 years, and this dish is usually prepared with fish. So this was a great opportunity.

I asked the waitress many questions about the preparation of this dish, but she assured me that the restaurant didn’t use any animal ingredients to prepare it. They do use food colouring to achieve the typical yellow colouring of the paella – which I only found out after I’d eaten it – but I did some research on the Internet afterwards, and neither E102 nor E110, which are both yellow food colourings, seem to be deprived from animal ingredients. (If you know different, please let me know!  –  Traditionally, paella is made with saffron, but it’s very expensive and these days many restaurants use food colouring instead.).

I quite liked the paella, and am glad I got to try a vegan version of this national dish during my vacation in Spain, but it didn’t come cheap. Restaurante Varadero is situated right on the water in the port of Maó, and you pay for the view. A bread basket for two, one salad to share, vegetable paella for two and a bottle of water came to 45.65 Euros (plus tip). We did get free appetizers (not vegan), and a small plate with olives for free, but I don’t usually spend that much for lunch.

Still, I enjoyed the vegan paella, it does taste quite different than risotto, and I plan to try and cook it myself now that I’m back in Vienna (with saffron instead of food colouring).

Address: Moll de Llevante 4, Port de Maó, Menorca

Opening hours: daily 10:00 AM t0 11:00 PM.

Phone: +34 – 971 – 352074

Website: they don’t have website, but they’re on Facebook.

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated May 12, 2013.

Even though this blog is called The Vegan Tourist, I haven’t done much travelling lately. I finally did manage to take a vacation in April, and spent 11 days on the island of Menorca, Spain.

Menorca is the second largest island of the Balearic Islands, but nevertheless quite small. It’s approximately 50 km east to west, and about 25 km north to south. About 40 % of the island is classified as a Biosphere Reserve.

For vegan travellers, a trip to Menorca requires a bit of forward planning. The Spanish aren’t known for their vegan cuisine. In Spain, it’s all about meat and fish.

So here are 10 vegan survival tips for Menorca:

1) Visit after May 1^st – this is when the tourist season starts on the island. We arrived on April 21^st and left on May 1^st, and during our stay, many restaurants were still closed. Menorca pretty much closes down during the off-season, we even saw a supermarket that was still closed in April and set to open May 2^nd (May 1^st is a holiday in Spain). As a vegan, your choices in restaurants are limited anyway, and before May you’ll have even fewer choices.

2) Stay in Maó (also called Mahon), Menorca’s capital. It’s the island’s largest city (29.000 inhabitants), and its port – which is approximately 5 km long and one of the largest natural deep-water ports in the world – is lovely. There are many restaurants, and even as a vegan you’ll have several choices. Menorca’s second largest city, Ciutadella, offers far fewer dining options for vegans, and you can just about forget about most of the other cities and villages.

3) Rent an apartment, don’t stay at a hotel. Menorcans have only a very vague idea of what it means to be a vegetarian – I’ve seen many dishes advertised as vegetarian which contained fish -, and they don’t seem to know the meaning of the word “vegan.” There are many restaurants, which offer no vegan dishes at all. Breakfast at many hotels usually includes meat, fish, cheese, butter, milk, yoghurt, etc. As a vegan, you’ll be stuck with bread and fruit, and there’ll be no soy/rice/almond/oat milk for your coffee – it’s depressing. You’ll have to pay for a full breakfast, even though there’s nothing for you to eat. So rent an apartment, and you’ll be able to prepare yourself a proper vegan breakfast as well as sandwiches for lunch (you’ll need them, trust me).

4) The Spanish lead a very strange life. Lunch starts at around 1:30 PM and lasts until late afternoon. All the shops close for an extended siesta, which lasts from around 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Restaurants open relatively late in the evening for dinner (earlier in Maó). My daily rhythm is completely different, and I’m ready to eat lunch sometime between noon and 1:00 PM, and dinner way before 8:00 PM; hence the sandwiches.

5) Rent a car. We used buses during the first few days of our stay, but rented a car for the remaining five days, as many of the major sights can’t be reached by public transportation. You’ll also be able to dine at more restaurants, if you have a car. As the island is so small, we drove to Es Mercadal to eat lunch at the Molí d’es Racó and to Alaior for a “Sunday Roast” at The Cobblers Garden Restaurant (reviews to follow). Both Alaior and Es Mercadal can be reached by bus, of course, but it takes considerably longer to get there by bus than by car.

6) Do you like some soy/rice/almond/oat milk with your coffee or tea? Too bad. You’ll have to make do without or take some vegan milk with you wherever you go – which is what I did. Just pour some vegan milk into a small plastic bottle and bring it along. None of the restaurants or cafes that I visited had vegan milk. You can buy soy or rice milk at most supermarkets and health food stores in various cities and villages in Menorca (reviews to follow) .

7) At restaurants, be specific when you order your food. Don’t just tell them you are a vegan. Make sure to ask if your food contains meat, fish, milk, butter, cheese, or yoghurt. Ask if they use chicken or beef broth to prepare your vegetables, and ask about the oils they use. There’s a good chance they’ll use lard instead of vegetable oils, so watch out for that. I told a waiter at a restaurant that I was a vegan and inquired in detail about my toasted bread with eggplant (the only option available to me). I then ordered and was served a “mixed salad” in addition to my bread: lots of fresh veggies – with an egg on top.

Many Menorcans don’t speak English very well, which made it difficult to explain what it means to be a vegan. I often felt anxious when I ordered food – unsure, if the waiter really understood what I meant (see above – egg salad…). My best dining experiences were at The Cobblers Garden Restaurant in Alaior, which is owned by an Englishman, and at the Restaurante Pizzeria Roma in Maó, where the waiter spoke German (my native language).

8) Learn these words: Pa amb oli. This is practically a “national dish” on Menorca, a snack – which luckily happens to be vegan. Pa amb oli is toasted white bread, topped with garlic and olive oil. A variation of this dish – pa amb tomàquet, topped with garlic, olive oil, and crushed tomatoes – is almost always available, too. I’ve also had toasted bread with garlic, olive oil, and eggplant at another restaurant, so there are several variations available. However, this dish will often be your only choice (plus a salad), and after ten days of eating mostly pa amb oli, I was quite sick of it.

9) If you rent an apartment and prepare (some) of your own food, you’ll find that most supermarkets will offer a variety of vegan foods. Menorcans are quite fond of beans, for example, which are sold pre-cooked in glass jars. Most supermarkets offer at least half a dozen different varieties. There are also small organic shops in some of the bigger cities, which sell tofu, seitan, textured soy meat, vegan bread spreads, etc. Almost all supermarkets sell vegan milk, although most don’t sell vegan yoghurts. (And good luck finding hummus, a vegan staple; I tried in vain for eleven days.) I’ll publish addresses of supermarkets and organic shops in a later post, so you’ll be able to plan ahead.

10) Relax. Menorca is an amazing island – almost half the island is a Biosphere Reserve, there are great beaches, and numerous historic sights. You’ll have a great time – as long as you don’t come to Menorca for the food. But if you’re willing to compromise for a few days (and eat a lot of toasted white bread), you’ll enjoy your stay.