5 Best Restaurants in Ibiza and the Balearic Islands, Spain

On an island known for its excellent paellas, fresh fish and seafood, Ca Na Marga is famed for its top-quality steak, served with a choice of sauce, including green peppercorn or Mahón cheese sauce. Balearic specialties such as lamb shank with thyme and grilled rabbit are also a good bet.

This popular restaurant serves huge, tasty portions of tapas and inexpensive platters such as chicken or ham croquetas, grilled cod, garlic shrimp, and revueltos de ajos con morcilla (scrambled eggs with garlic and black sausage). Within hailing distance of the Llotja, the tables in the back are always at a premium (they're cooler on summer days), but there's additional seating at the counter or on stools around upended wine barrels. The traditional tapas are nothing fancy but they are very good. A sister restaurant, La Taberna de la Bóveda (Paseo Sagrera 3), has a terrace with views of the marina.

This charming little port-side Italian restaurant has just 12 tables inside, softly lit with candles and track lighting. The kitchen prides itself on hard-to-find fresh ingredients flown in from Italy. The linguine with jumbo shrimp, saffron, and zucchini or with bottarga (dried and salted mullet roe from Sardinia) is wonderful. In summer, the seating expands to an interior patio and tables on the sidewalk—and the service can get more than a bit ragged.

On Sóller's busy central square, this friendly and informal restaurant specializes in traditional local cooking, with a nod to touristic expectations. Skip the inevitable paella, and opt instead for the sopas mallorquines, thick vegetable soups served over thin slices of bread, or the Mallorcan pork loin, stuffed with nuts and raisins. Sa Cova has great people-watching: the tram to Port de Sóller passes right in front of its outside tables. In the summer high season, service can be spotty.