The Best Beaches, Restaurants, and Experiences in Menorca, Spain

For more of my destination guides, check out my favorite spots in Paris, Montreal, Newport, Tucson, Rio de Janeiro, and Antwerp.

Menorca is an odd island. It has little of the majesty of Mallorca. It is hilly rather than mountainous. It has a handful of compact towns but none as large as Palma or as cinematic as Valldemossa or Deià. Ibiza is a world-famous nightlife destination (although it offers much more). Menorca is sleepy. But that sleepiness doesn’t translate into the bohemian flavor that Formentera delivers.

Instead, this historically overlooked island is refreshingly unpretentious and full of laid-back wonder. In my month there with family and friends, I gradually fell under Menorca’s spell. When I left, I had little desire to give up my $4 glasses of wine at low-slung huts overlooking sapphire-blue waters. Whether you’re headed there this summer or farther in the future, I’m jealous. I hope this guide helps your trip be as fulfilling as mine.

FIRST, SOME BACKGROUND

Menorca is the easternmost of the Balearic Islands, a chain of islands in the Mediterranean belonging to Spain. The largest is Mallorca, which has a direct flight from New York on United. Menorca is the next largest, then Ibiza, then tiny Formentera. Menorca has direct flights from most major European cities as well as a short ferry from Mallorca and longer ones, roughly eight hours, from mainland Spain. The airport is modern, clean, easy to navigate, and close to the island’s capital, Mahon (Maó in Catalan, the island’s native language).

Mahon is on the eastern side. The southern coast is where most of the more famous calas (coves) are located, and it’s generally the less windy side. On the western edge is Ciutadella, the island’s largest city and its capital before it was moved to Mahon. The north of the island (where we stayed) is more rugged, with jagged landscapes harshly carved by the wind. In the middle of the northern coast is Fornells, a charming town with great food on a long bay separated by a giant hill from its beach. In the center of the island, there are several historic small towns that you will grow tired of criss-crossing–Es Mercadal, Alaior, Ferreries, and Sant Climent. Wrapping around the island is the Camí de Cavalls, an ancient 186-kilometer trail you can hike or mountain bike.x

Menorca is famous for its cheese, sobrassada (cured sausage), gin (the island belonged to the British for a while), and wind. Yes, wind. Some days can be windy, which means that if you wake up and the wind is nuts where you’ve planned to go, rip up your plans and go to the other side.

Oh, and beaches. Menorca has more miles of beach than Mallorca and Ibiza combined.

GENERAL TIPS

-Do a boat rental. I promise it’s worth it. So many coves are a pain to access by car or foot, and the ones that are easier to access fill up quickly. (The most famous are full by 9:30 a.m.) Not only are the coves easier to access by boat, but you can also access ones without tons of crowds or ones that can only be reached from the water.

-Make reservations. Spanish restaurants aren’t into fitting as many covers in one night as possible. You might show up to a place at 7:30 or 8, and it’s empty, but they won’t seat you because the table is reserved at 9 or 9:30. Book in advance.

-Rent a car. It will make your life easier, and if you drive stick, it’s pretty cheap.

EATING

Generally speaking, you will eat very well in Menorca and at reasonable prices if you’re a foreigner. That said, not everywhere you roll up to off the beach will be good, and even at some of the more famed places, certain dishes are worth avoiding. If a traditional restaurant is known for certain types of food or even specific dishes, stick to those.

Traditional

Sa Llagosta

Fornells has a number of great restaurants, and this is probably its most famous, with good reason. It’s also probably the most expensive Menorcan eatery on the island. You’ve got to have the lobster.

Es Cranc

Also located in Fornells, this is considered the second-best spot for lobster, but I’m hard-pressed to tell which is better. Very good service and one of the lightest, melt-in-your-mouth cheesecakes you’ll ever have.

Restaurant Ses Salines

Ses Salines is a little village just outside Fornells, and this restaurant has the area’s best view. It’s reminiscent of Marshall Store outside San Francisco–looking over a tranquil bay surrounded by rocky hills. The dish to stick to here is the mussels–truly one of the most delicious I’ve had in years.

Cap Roig

This eatery is perched on a promontory overlooking Cala Mesquida, so it pairs well with a day spent at that beach. The food here is not commensurate with the setting, but the lightly fried squid is a must, and I’d generally stick to seafood. Oh, and get a T-shirt, the logo is fantastic.

Es Moli de Foc

This is a special restaurant tucked away in the small village of San Climent behind the airport. We loved everything that came out of this kitchen, although it is considered to have the best paella. The appetizer of labneh, falafel, and pickled onions on lettuce is one I still crave. Oh, and the logo is superb.

Restaurant es Moli d’es Raco

Found in an ancient flour mill, this eatery came recommended by the New York Times, so I figured we might as well check it out. Disappointing in every way except the service.

Mestre d’Aixa

Located on the wharfside of Mahon, this restaurant has more “fine dining” type of food but in a low-key setting with dim lighting and old wooden beam rafters. The food was all great.

Tapas

Sa Botiga

Just in front of the main church in Mahon, this little nook is great for tapas. The patatas bravas, tuna tartar, and burrata are all standouts.

Contemporary Beach Spots

I’m so used to the tradeoff when it comes to restaurants between great view and crappy food. That’s not the case in Menorca. Some of the best meals you’ll have from creative new chefs are at little beach outposts. Our three favorites were all on the north side, and in two of their cases, you have to ignore their ratings online because they were recently sold and reopened with new chefs.

Viva la Pepa

Our house was a close walk to the Arenal beach right in front of Viva la Pepa, so we went a couple of times a week. The menu is sort of Spain meets modern American–fresh, light, and plenty of dishes with greens. Our favorites: the green salad, the sea bass, patatas bravas, fried chicken, and the lemon pie.

Xiringuito Es Po

The chef here is really creative–a tomato salad with Mahon cheese ice cream, dogfish with black garlic and yuzu, and more. The beef shoulder carpaccio is divine, as are the ribs. If you get fries, order a side of their squid ink aioli. To. Die. For. The restaurant is in a sort of beach shack at the corner of the Arenal de Son Saura beach.

Xiringuito Tirant

Wedged into the hillside with views of the red-sand Playa de Fornells is this new spot. This is a great option if you want a bit of a break from strictly Spanish food, as they have items like a chicken Caesar sandwich. Do order the artichokes, though.

Contemporary Upscale

Most of the new “fancy” options are in the luxury hotels, but here are some of the ones we tried. However, they are some of the few places you can get a good cocktail, as most Menorcan places will only do beer, wine, and pomadas (a sort of lemonade with gin that can come frozen). I’d steer clear of the paellas at these places, though.

Menorca Experimental

At the very least, go for a drink as the setting here, with the white-washed villa, is picturesque and the cocktails are great. The food is generally tasty, especially the grilled chicken with Moroccan lemon, harissa, and labneh.

Cantina

This is the restaurant attached to the Hauser & Wirth gallery on Illa del Rei, and it’s surprisingly good! Set amongst a grove of trees overlooking the harbor, it’s hard to beat the ambiance.

Vestige Son Vell

The dinner restaurant is held in one of the outbuildings of the villa, and you’re glassed in with elevator jazz music playing, so I’d go for lunch or drinks so you can be seated outside in the breathtaking gardens. If you want to know more about the hotel, I covered it a few months ago.

Oysters Menorca

Up in the hills of Mahon is this small but chic oyster bar. An easy spot for a glass of wine and some appetizers, or you can splurge and get the caviar spaghetti.

BEACHES

Go early, or go late. If you’re going in peak season from mid-June through early September, the beaches fill up fast and are packed until lunchtime. If you don’t want to spend money on a boat and don’t feel like getting up early to try to grab a parking spot for one of the iconic calas, there are several large sandy beaches with large parking lots that also make for a great beach day. Below are the calas we experienced out of the literal dozens you can try, as well as some of the larger beaches we liked.

Calas

Macarella/Macarelleta

It very much lives up to the hype–water so clear you can see the shadows of the anchored boats on the sand below. It’s surrounded by gray cliffs topped by pines on the southern coast. There is the main beach of Macarella and then the smaller Macarelleta, reached by another 10-minute hike. We parked in the town of Serpentona, which is arrestingly sited in the nook of giant cliffs and has its own big public beach.

Cala Pregonda

This was my personal favorite. It’s a series of rusty-red beaches set within ochre-and-white rocks on the island’s northern coast. Even though there are a lot of people, as there is plenty of parking, because it has so many beaches–including ones you can only swim to–it didn’t feel overwhelming. Bring your snorkel, as this is one of the better places on the island to do it.

Cala Binidali

Cala Binidali is found on the southern coast of Menorca, and while it’s always on all of the “must-see” lists, I found it underwhelming. The sandy part is teeny tiny, and I just am not European enough to spend half a day lying on a rock. Plus, that little sliver of sand was covered in seaweed every time we went during our stay.

Cala Morts

If you love to snorkel or dive, this is one of the best spots on the island. The rock island in the middle of this emerald-green cove is pocketed like Swiss cheese, and marine life is plenty.

Beaches

Arenal

Don’t let the ugly hotels and developments they allowed to be built around it over the last few decades deter you. We spent a couple of days a week at this family-friendly beach because it’s arguably the most protected of all the big beaches in Menorca. So even on days when the wind was howling and waves smashing against the cliffs at the mouth of the cove, inside at the beach was always calm. Plus, you have Viva La Pepa as a lunch or drinks option.

Son Bou

I was recommended Son Bou by multiple cool European friends, and wow, it’s special. It stretches for miles on the southern coast with water so clear you can see right through the waves like they’re glass. It also has a large parking lot, so it’s less stressful trying to get access.

Fornells

You can walk out into the water for meters no problem at the Fornells beach, and best of all, it has quick access to a handful of the island’s best restaurants.

CULTURE

Ciutadella and Mahon

Okay, this might be controversial, but if you’re there for a short period, I think you can skip Ciutadella. Yes, it’s beautiful, but it’s mostly tourist crap in the shops and the whole town has that Dubrovnik-type vibe of a set. Plus, it’s incredibly far if you’re staying on the eastern half of the island. Mahon, however, I found charming and loved walking up its winding streets. For a good bakery, pop into Pigalle. Also in Mahon is the Museum of Menorca, which traces this island’s long history of flitting in and out of relevance for thousands of years.

Hauser & Wirth

What a genius move by the famed gallerists–they’re the attraction in Mahon and so even people who would never go to a contemporary art gallery in, say, Chelsea, will come out here. You need to reserve ferry tickets in advance. One tip–go to lunch first at Cantina and then go to the galleries. Everybody goes to the galleries first when they get off the boat, so they’re jam-packed. But if you go later, you’ll be in there alone.

Lithica

We almost didn’t go because it seemed a bit gimmicky–walk around a former quarry turned into a maze. In reality, it’s an awe-inspiring complex of gardens that smells incredible and is well worth going to about an hour or so before sunset.

WHERE TO STAY?

This depends on what you’re looking for. Across the island, there’s a range of options, from rural fincas to towering mega-hotels on the beach. There are several boutique luxury hotels. Vestige Son Vell, Torralbenc, Hotel Cap Menorca, to name a few. Two properties from the owners of Vestige Son Vell will open this summer, Son Ermità and Binidufà. We did a house rental just outside Arenal because we were staying for a long time and wanted to be right on the water. What I would think about first is what kind of trip you want to have and how much driving you want to do. If you don’t mind driving every day, 30 minutes to an hour each way, you can stay wherever. But if you have specific things you want to do, stay near those.