With so much choice of places to eat, it can be difficult to know where to pick for top quality food with a laid back vibe and where you can let loose by taking to the surf or pumping a bit of iron. If it sounds like an improbable proposition to have all this on one place, you'd be very wrong. Surf Lounge Ibiza is doing all of the above and this year has upgraded its food offering. As well as the excellent snack food it offers, you now have a gourmet Mediterranean food menu with an Asian overlay of taste. There are set menus for groups of six or more and a new a la carte menu on offer and our mission was to try one of the menus for groups. It makes for an easy life, as the choosing is all done for you - you just sit back and wait for the food to arrive.
The venue, in its third season, has matured fast in a relatively short time. This year, it changed its name from Surf House to Surf Lounge to reflect what this place is – a cool hangout where you could easily while away the whole day. From the beginning the idea was to create a multi-purpose venue where you can choose to relax or take to the artificial wave machine for a bit of surf practice. This is the beauty of the place: there's a pool, live singers, DJs, a boutique selling surf gear and this year a gym has been installed - all you could want to do or not do is here.
Cool atmosphere
Then, there's cool atmosphere and the feeling of being in a little oasis – almost your own little world just of the beach promenade in San Antonio. The Flowrider artificial wave machine is the star activity attraction (hence the name of the place) and can be hired for a half hour, an hour or longer dependent on how long you want to practice. You have well trained instructors to take you from absolute beginner to surfing natural and all that try it, young and not so young, walk away with huge grins on their faces.
Gastro delights
To the food: we chose the medium-priced €35 (per head) set gastro menu for groups, to get an aperçu of this fine new food offering. We were curious to see if the new dishes could possibly match the original snack food menu, which as you'll see in our review of the entire place last year, was pretty exceptional. The starter dishes are for sharing: the first to arrive at our table was a delicious chicken and vegetable gyoza, the Japanese pan-fried filled dumplings. Let's just say that that plate was wiped clean. Next a caramelised wedge of goat's cheese with salad, red fruits and sunflower seeds came for us all to dig into; the tart berries and unctuous warmed cheese created for us the perfect balance of taste.
More sharing plates came in the shape of rolled salmon, cream cheese and dill. The salmon was soft, tender and flavoursome and clearly there was a romance with the cheese and herbs stuffed inside. Steamed mussels came next: these were simply cooked with red onion and a touch of lemon to flavour up the huge tabs of orange flesh in the shell. To finish the first wave of dishes were some mini tortillas topped with prawns and a curry sauce, perfect for popping whole in the mouth if you are greedy person like me.
Perfect doneness
You then have a choice of mains – we took all three so we could tell you about everything. A tender curry and honey duck tataki came next; a roll of duck breast cut into small chunks, cooked a perfect medium rare with a succulent sauce to dip into. Their new slow baked salmon is definitely worth a try coming with a tasty chalaca sauce and cassava chips. Then came some steak with some delicious baked and sliced potatoes; the tenderness and perfect doneness of the meat combining to make a superb plate.
Delectable desserts
Finally some desserts – which thankfully we had room for. A yummy chocolate fondant was pure melt in the mouth with delicate and yummy vanilla ice cream. Then there was a red fruit cheesecake to die for folowed by a tangerine ice cream. It truly was a sweet finish.
We left, relaxed with full tummies planning our next trip. This place is really rather special and you will have a great time here and you will eat well. Go, go, go!
Quick facts
What? Surf Lounge Restaurant
Where? Cami des Moli, San Antonio
When? 12pm to 12am
Why? A California-style chilled out venue with gourmet menus and its superb wave machine for surfers everywhere
Average spend per head? Gastro set menus are priced per person at €25, €35 or €50 and include a bottle of wine and a bottle of water, plus the €50 menu includes a bottle of Cava. The Surf Menu (snack food) is priced at €18 ahead and includes either a beer of soft drink.
Veggie Options? Pizzas, nachos, a quinoa burger and salads from the snack food menu
Disabled Facilities? Yes
Top tips? Go for a long lazy lunch and then take to the surf later on - it's a great place to let time slip by
Room for Improvement? This place is an experience and the new food adds to it.
WORDS | Julian Heathcote PHOTOGRAPHY | Peter Young
