
The Club Royal is the main restaurant at the
Hotel Villa Italia, which enjoys amazing panoramic views of the harbour and approaches of Port de Andratx in south west Mallorca. The restaurant is open to both residents and non-residents, which is very good news for anyone who enjoys dining well in quiet, relaxed, well-appointed surroundings, with those stunning views as a backdrop.
Naturally, as Club Royal is part of a five star hotel, a full à la carte menu is available with a fine selection of dishes based on International cuisine - the list is somewhat shorter in winter, but still has enough variety to satisfy most people. In addition, a number of set menus are on offer and these are definitely worth a second look. We visited Club Royal on a Sunday lunchtime and had no hesitation in choosing from the €25 menu which offered a choice of 2 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts. Apart from the traditional Sunday lunch menu, there's a special lunchtime menu during the week also, and an evening menu at €35 - all these menus change from week to week.
The whole experience at Club Royal was extremely pleasant and enjoyable. The views mellow the mood, the furniture is comfortable, the linen and tableware are of good quality, the service is friendly and efficient, and the food is excellent. My soup of fresh tomatoes was outstanding and our other starter, an avocado and prawn salad was a delight to the eye and the mouth. Perhaps because it is not a dish you see every day in Mallorca, we both went for the same main course - roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, baked potato, and fresh vegetables. The beef was tender, perfectly cooked, as were the vegetables, and the port wine sauce served with it was outstanding.
For dessert, I chose what turned out to be one of the best apple tarts I can remember - the combination of the apples and the crumbly, almond flavoured pastry was memorable. Equally as exciting was the crema catalana selected by the other half of the team. These can often be heavy and disappointing, but the Club Royal version is a delight, with the thinnest caramelised topping imaginable covering a light, fluffy custard.
Our visit was on a beautiful but chilly day in December and dining was in the warm, glass walled restaurant. In summer, the glass walls are folded back to create an open terrace, but for us, the lower level shaded terraces next to the fountains are the best place to sit and dine while listening to the waves breaking on the rocks below.