In the centre of picturesque village San Jose, between the La Caixa bank (main street) and Papeleria (stationery shop) around the corner, can be found the gem of a restaurant that is Es Galliner.
Finding plenty of free parking on the streets outside Es Galliner, we arrived quite early for our lunch-time menu del dia (or set menu) but this gave us the opportunity to take a good look around the place.
The cobbled floor inside Es Galliner gives it a very rustic feel, and the huge cabinets displaying ornaments of hens (Es Galliner translates as ‘hen coop'!) and bottles of wine give you the sense of being in a homely farmhouse. There is plenty of room in the spacious restaurant for comfortable dining during the winter months, but as we were visiting on a sunny October day, we chose to eat on the large, canopied terrace outside.
The menu del dia offered a choice of five dishes each for the first and second courses, plus dessert or coffee. Being a traditional Ibicenco restaurant, the menu was published only in Catalan and Castellano, but our waitress was happy to translate anything that we could not understand, and brought us bread, olives and nuts to nibble on whilst we were making our minds up from the wonderfully varied options.
I decided to start with Roquefort and walnut salad, whilst my companion opted for lentil and chorizo stew, the beautiful presentation of both dishes pleasing us before we even tasted the food. The boat-shaped lettuce leaves of my salad were filled with a delicate, but quite tangy Roquefort sauce and there was a cluster of deliciously crunchy walnut salad in the centre. Refreshing, light and utterly delectable. My friend was equally as happy with her choice, assuring me that the stew was as hearty and tasty as it looked in the dish.
Next, it was hake in piquillo pepper sauce for me, and chicken in beer for my companion. The fish was cooked to tender perfection, and the sweet flavour of the cheerfully colourful piquillo sauce complemented it beautifully. My friend described the chicken as moist, succulent and (surprisingly for Ibiza) not over-salted
Now, we are both long-time Ibiza residents and have eaten our fair share of menus del dia over the years, but what struck us particularly about Es Galliner is that this hardly felt like a set menu. Indeed our accompanying vegetables were both completely different; boiled potatoes with parsley, baby carrots, spinach and green beans with the fish, whilst the chicken was served with roast potatoes and home-made salsa sauce. Clearly, the chef had put a lot of thought into his creations, and the result was a set menu which felt more like a full menu.
The portions being very generous, I opted for coffee to finish my meal, whilst my friend was given three choices of dessert and selected "cheese pudding". Her feedback?
"It's not what I expected, but boy is it good!"
In conclusion, for a typical warm and friendly Ibiza welcome and vibe, together with excellent, freshly prepared food in comfortable and tasteful surroundings, you really could not do much better than Es Galliner. And at €10 per head, this has got to be the best value menu del dia I have ever enjoyed.
Quick Facts
What Es Galliner
Where San Jose
When 13.00 hrs to 16.00 hrs every day except Sunday. Closed during the month of November but re-opens in December.
Why Great value typical Ibiza lunch time menu del dia.
Average spend per head €10 per head, plus drinks.
Veggie Options Somewhat restricted.
Disabled Facilities Regrettably not.
Room for Improvement Maybe for the menu del dia to be published in English, but the staff are able to translate.
Top Tips If the waitress offers you "cheese pudding", bite her hand off and accept!
Buen Provecho!
