Bacán Pizzas

Pizzas that defy the imagination

This is no place for prejudiced foodies: chorizo criollo, meatballs, beans, meat chilli and Mallorcan butifarrón coexist here with ingredients commonly found in Italian recipes.

Author: Aina Coll

Photographer: Jaume Oliver

It is the first days of March and it seems that the winter arrives, untimely perhaps, to the island. It is very cold and the body asks for some indulgence and few things raise our spirits like a good pizza and an interesting conversation. With this objective we go to Campanet: Bacán Pizzas de Autor has been recommended to us a thousand times, and today seems to be the perfect day to discover its gastronomic proposal.

Arriving at Plaça Son Bordoy, a little wooden terrace invites us to watch the sunset -we are going to have dinner at a typical European time and this is one of the advantages-, so we contemplate the spectacle for a few minutes before entering the restaurant. The views from here are absolutely privileged: tree terraces crowned by a row of typical Mallorcan houses and, in the background, the Serra de Tramuntana. We feel obliged to admire this beauty and fully enjoy this moment.

As soon as we enter, we are surprised by the size of the place -small, but very cozy-, although we soon discover that on the lower floor there is another, larger room, which will be filling up with diners, mostly foreigners, all throughout the evening.

Bacan's aesthetics are surprising: the tables and chairs are of different colors, the ceiling is dressed with garlands of little lights and over each table there is a psychedelic lamp hanging that makes the atmosphere magical and cozy, while under a dim and warm light. In addition, it smells particularly good thanks to the scent - which we could not decipher - given off by a stick of incense.

With the wonderful views that we have enjoyed from outside as a backdrop -an open window frames them- and a soft house music as a soundtrack, we explore the menu of this pizza place that also offers a large selection of empanadillas (ham, shrimp and cuttlefish, sobrasada and dates and even a vegan option), nachos, garlic bread, potatoes, tacos and salads.

The problem - blessed problem - comes when we are faced with the pizza menu. They are many, all different and extraordinary, so we must admit that it had been a long time since we had taken so long to choose a dish. The waiter, very friendly, makes it even more difficult for us: at Bacan they elaborate three types of doughs -fine, whole wheat thin or focaccia-, and gives us a warning: the pizzas with fattier ingredients combine better with the focaccia dough and the lighter ingredients with the thin ones.

Bacan's pizzas defy the ordinary. This is no place for prejudiced foodies: chorizo criollo, meatballs, beans, meat chilli and Mallorcan butifarrón coexist here with common Italian ingredients such as cheese, prosciutto ham or tomato. If you are looking for a pizzeria that runs away from the typical offer, this is your place.

We finally decided to order a Brunella, with thin dough, white base, aioli, zucchini, capers, tartar sauce, smoked salmon, brie cheese, egg and fennel. A brutal explosion of flavors in which the salmon claims its prominence against the delicious capers and the particular touch of the aioli. A very good choice that, without a doubt, we would recommend.

In addition, we ordered a Demetrio with whole wheat dough, an option with fewer ingredients but a delicacy for any cheese lover: mozzarella, brie, ricotta and goat cheese intermingle in harmony, layer by layer. The amalgam of flavors make up a four-cheese pizza with its own personality, rounded off with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil leaves.

Bold, different, transgressive and with a high dose of character. These are Bacan's signature pizzas. If someone assures that in the pizza universe there is no room for novelty it is because they have never been in Campanet. We will definitely come back.