Santosha

Full belly, happy heart

Santosha is the name of a restaurant that invites us to enter because of its menu proposal, exposed in vegetarian code.

Author: Joan Ramis Boscana

The interiors take on a capital importance when Palma is already getting colder. The winter is knocking at our door to ally itself with the humidity, a climatic combination that makes itself noticeable. Coats flood the store windows, people swarm through the streets wrapped in scarves and lights spread over the asphalt. That is what we perceive when we leave an exhibition at the Casal Solleric, a center that always promises cultural plans that exceed expectations. We walk along Jaume III under its arcades and look for a place to eat. We turn down Carrer del Metge Matas and a black banner flashes before us: Santosha is the name of a restaurant that invites us to enter because of its menu, displayed in vegetarian code at the entrance of the establishment. How can we say no?

We choose a table next to the door. We enjoy a view of the restaurant that is almost panoramic, allowing us to observe closely the eclectic decor of the place: exposed stone walls with hanging plants, paintings with marine motifs that stain the space with blue and wooden beams that match well with the parquet. A maroon-painted Bonneville electric bike - a zero-emissions marvel - guards an archway that invites you to step into another room. This is where the Santosha bar is located, facing a bench built into the wall with a pile of cushions. The ambience of this restaurant is the result of the travels that Ruth and Eran, its owners, made over the years. Both traveled the world and in 2016 decided to create a space that would concentrate the summary of their journey. A wish more than fulfilled.

For compliments there is also its menu, which is proof of the heterogeneity of those trips reflecting directly on its cuisine. Its menu won us over since we saw it written on a blackboard, an offer that includes a glass of wine, two dishes and a dessert that will please our stomach with a healthy spirit. We have to repress our desire to drink some beer brewed in Mallorca - Toutatis, Broll, Llop - because the menu does not include them in its proposal. A pending task that we will have to tackle the day we return to Santosha, which hides a room located at the back that can be reserved for private events. A multifunctional space that exudes intimacy where to celebrate parties, lunches or dinners. What more can you ask for? 

Well, the food, that's what. A first course of a warm “spoon” dish which is ideal for this cold November. A cream of carrot and lentil soup accompanied by two pieces of bread. An elaboration with a powerful flavor, less thick than we expected. It emanates a comforting warmth and is topped with a touch of parsley. The music of the place, based on hits of the sixties, accompanies our spoonfuls and transports us to a time when the hippie movement was already concerned about food in their diet. But if we talk about hits, we cannot overlook the second dish: a warm salad in which bulgur, feta and tahini fool around with roasted pumpkin. An impressive little trick that also leaves room for sliced almonds and some green sprouts. Despite its light appearance, the dish is very filling. The origin of the bulgur makes us fly to the Middle East, a trip to which Eran and Ruth through taste push us to feel in another place. 

After a while, a slice of banana cake puts the icing on a menu that makes us realize how Palma, with the passage of time, is becoming a city with a healthy gastronomy. The Santosha knows how to make its contribution to that purpose. If its meaning in Sanskrit is equivalent to being happy with the moment, that is exactly how we feel.