Gastrobar Na Petra

Homemade taste in front of the sea

As Na Petra's motto says, 'Sharing is living', the concept of its cuisine is designed to be shared and its proposals are based on local products.

Author: Aina Coll

Photographer: Jaume Oliver

A renovated stone house with Mallorcan shutters hides a terrace with spectacular views. It is Na Petra Gastrobar, a restaurant located in the first line of the promenade of Porto Petro, a small fishing village that belongs to Santanyí. The architecture of its facade, where the front entrance is located, reminds us of the typical island houses, essentially Mediterranean. Inside, green windows, rope chairs, stone stairs, wooden tables and jute lamps make us feel at home because, for us, Mediterranean means home.

We enter through Cristòfol Colom and the interior of this former home converted into a unique restaurant surprises us: with different heights, each of them hosts tables for diners who want to enjoy a gastronomic experience that looks really good.

The other entrance - perhaps the secondary, but by all accounts spectacular - is at the back, on Passeig des Port, and houses a terrace full of tables for those who cannot, like us, give up the pleasure of eating in front of the sea. Standing outside Na Petra, we discovered a huge menu of cocktails -some of which are classics, others originally innovative, designed by the restaurant's bartender-, fruit juices, smoothies and milkshakes. The wine selection brings together wineries from here and there, and we are delighted to discover that we can taste the fresh rosé from Can Axartell.

As Na Petra's motto says, 'Sharing is living', the concept of its cuisine is designed to be shared and in its elaborations the local product is the priority but without renouncing to a particular and very modern culinary touch. The menu, in fact, leaves no room for doubt: ses patates de Sa Padrina -with potatoes from s'Horta and eggs from free-range hens-, cheese board with homemade truffle chutney, glass bread with ramellet tomato... make up its varied proposal of starters.

For the main courses, three options to suit all palates: a raw food menu -with shrimp carpaccio and lime dressing, tuna tataki with wakame seaweed and tomato confit salad, burrata and arugula, among others-, a fish menu -grilled filleted sea bass with seasonal vegetables and creamy rice with seafood stew are just two of its appetizing options- and a meat menu -composed of suggestions such as filleted Mallorcan veal entrecôte, duck magret with red fruit sauce, sautéed mushrooms and patató, and homemade veal and sobrasada meatballs in a smoked tomato and red wine sauce that, if not today, we will have to taste someday.

To whet our appetite, we start with bread with alioli -a classic among summer traditional options- and continue with a fish proposal. Our choice is very local and with the house seal: Na Petra Mallorcan-style cod. An essential dish in the traditional recipe book of the island that is made with vegetables -chard is non negotiable-, tomato, pine nuts and raisins.

With just the first bite we are already captivated by the texture -smooth, soft and with the perfect amount of oil- of the cod, which rests on a bed of potatoes and vegetables in a curious little casserole. It confirms what we felt as soon as we arrived: we are definitely at home, as this is, without a doubt, a dish that could have been prepared by our grandmother, and that is indeed fascinating.

To end the lunch, we are tempted to try a dessert. With a recognized predilection for homemade sweets, we choose the cheesecake with red berries. A real delight with a balanced flavor that, far from cloying us, fits as the perfect culmination to our visit to Na Petra Gastrobar.