Retroway

The cuisine of the future comes from the past

Retro Way, which opened its doors in 2019 under the command of Pepe Costa, invites you to relax, reconnect, take care of yourself... and enjoy a simple meal.

Author: Aina Coll

Photographer: Jaume Oliver

At Retroway they define themselves as lovers of "healthy, real, homemade food, without preservatives, additives or added sugars". If you know us a little (or if you are a regular of our culinary adventures) you must already sense that we could not resist a temptation like this. Tasting it, for us, became an obligation. 

Very close to the center of Santanyí is a restaurant that oozes taste and tact, and serves dishes full of color. Clearly modern and detail-oriented, the wood that covers the walls and the plaster effect that dresses the tables and chairs live up to its name. But the retro aesthetic is only the letter of introduction of this place, because its treasure (very coveted) is hidden beyond a long corridor that we walk along with curiosity: at the end, an outdoor terrace full of plants leaves us speechless. As expected, all the tables are already taken, so we will have to make do -with pleasure- with sitting inside. 

Retroway's gastronomic proposal is simple, but delicious. Based on the flexitarian diet, we find vegan and vegetarian dishes, but also some dishes with meat and fish. The magic is in the mix of its recipes, a compilation made with typical dishes from the Mediterranean, Mexico and Asia. A culinary journey thought out and prepared conscientiously, as their philosophy states, with fresh, local and seasonal products. It doesn't look bad at all. 

To shake off the heat while we study the menu, we order a fresh lemonade with a sweet touch that suits us wonderfully. The menu is faithful to the essence of the restaurant: a huge variety of colorful and tempting salads and starters at this time of the year (we see the watermelon tataki salad, seaweed, cucumber, radish, sesame and red curry vinaigrette and our mouths start watering) and up to eight main courses that make it difficult for us to choose: marinated salmon poke bowl, tacos al pastor, beef and falafel burgers, shitake mushroom meatballs, shrimp red curry and chicken and shrimp pad Thai. The latter is our choice. 

When it arrives at the table, we can't help but smile. With a base of rice, carrot, tender garlic, egg, peanut, tamarind sauce, a touch of coriander, and seasoned with lime, the combination of textures is ideal and the mix of flavors is perfectly balanced, so that we can appreciate each ingredient separately and enjoy all its nuances. Just the way  it should be! After this delicious dish, we go for something sweet: a brownie -gluten-free- with vanilla ice cream that we savor to our heart's content. 

As curiosity is innate in us, we investigate a little more and we are surprised by the amount of freshly squeezed juices (available to take away in 100 % biodegradable cups) offered, the wide range of proposals suitable for celiacs and the options to treat yourself to a tasty and healthy breakfast or brunch. A perfect plan we can think of for our next visit here, to round off a market morning (if you can, get lost on a Wednesday among the stalls of the Santanyí market: you will not regret it) or on a getaway looking for coves in the region of Migjorn.  

Retroway, which opened its doors in 2019 under the leadership of Pepe Costa, invites you to relax, to reconnect, to take care of yourself... and to enjoy simple, local and nutrient-rich food that takes into account the health of people and works with respect for the environment. Its dishes say it, but also its menu, which welcomes diners with an inspiring message that we now also hold on to, because now we can be sure that it honestly defines what is offered here:  

"This cuisine is not so different from that of our grandparents 80 years ago, in which meat and fish were not abundant, so it was eaten occasionally. It is a diet for everyone, which adapts, without dogmas, but with hundreds of benefits, both nutritional and environmental or economic (...) We firmly believe that it is the diet of the future, but that it comes directly from our past". We like the idea. We love the taste.