Andana

Last station: gastronomic tradition

Andana's cuisine does not invent anything because it does not need to. Its vision -which pays homage to our gastronomic culture and our landscape- is an ode to local produce, that which we have recognized, cultivated and savored for centuries on this Mediterranean island.

Author: Aina Coll

Photographer: Jaume Oliver

When spring arrives, the normality that beats in the heart of the city is transformed. It is Monday afternoon and workers leave their offices to go out for lunch, but now they mingle with the influx of tourists, despite it being a rainy working day. People come and go from the intermodal station, which leads to the Plaça d'Espanya, and right next to it is Andana, the restaurant located in the old station, the 0 KM of the island.

Entering it is like entering an unexpected refuge. The warm tones that decorate it, the marés walls and the wooden beams are reminiscent of the Mediterranean architecture of yesteryear, which coexists with a long marble bar and wood floors. Beautiful, cozy and tastefully decorated, the restaurant - which opened its doors in 2020 - offers dishes with typical Mallorcan ingredients - Mallorcan cocas, kamado vegetables, meats, fish and stew dishes - that are nourished with products from their own vegetable garden.

Willing to taste different dishes, we decided to choose a succulent variety of proposals. For starters, we opted for the spinach coca de na Joana, a crunchy dough with vegetables such as chard, leeks, tomato, garlic and parsley, topped with smoked sardines and seasoned with cortí tap, and two varieties of croquettes -huge, served individually- from the Garden-with stewed veal, poultry and spices- and one with vegetables. They are extremely creamy and tasty so kicked off to a triumphant start.

Among the main courses, we decided to taste the cheeks cannelloni. No diner should expect the traditional cannelloni because they have nothing to do with them - neither in taste nor in appearance - but absolutely nothing to envy either: the red wine sauce gives them a unique and surprising touch that dazzles our palate.

Surrendered to the cuisine directed by de Castro, while the restaurant is filling up with locals and visitors, it's time for the farm eggs with fried potatoes and homemade sobrasada. Broken and scrambled, the combination of all the ingredients is simply marvelous. You have to call a spade a spade.

Up to this point the experience is wonderful, but it is rounded off -and how so- by two toasts of bread with steak tartare that arrive at our table as a courtesy of the house. The kind waiter -the attention throughout the service is exquisite- wanted to give us a taste of this delicacy when we were undecided whether to order the dish or not. The meat is soft and fresh, with a slight spicy touch, which makes  us recommend it. Doubt cleared.

Satiated but sweet-toothed, the icing on the cake is a torrija of potato coca, an original and very successful revision of the classic of Valldemossa. A bomb of sweetness, without being cloying, that combines textures in a masterly way.

Andana's cuisine does not invent anything because it does not need to. Its vision -which pays homage to our culinary culture and our landscape- is an ode to local produce, that which we have recognized, cultivated and savored for centuries on this Mediterranean island. It feeds from our origins and, rather than reinterpreting them, it's cooked with high doses of good taste, care and the right touch of creativity that avant-garde cuisine demands.

In the heart of the city, in the epicenter from where the trains that run through the entrails of Mallorca come and go, Andana, oblivious to trends, sets its sights on the Balearic gastronomic tradition and embraces the flavor of each season in a luminous and harmonious space. Book your ticket. You won't want to miss this train.