Coffee break and shopping at Rialto Living

Rialto Living is a store and coffee bar in the city of Palma de Mallorca. On the same place there used to be a theatre called the Theatre Rialto and the store is named after the theatre. Klas Käll who has a history at Gant is one of the founders of Rialto Living. The store sells a wide range of interior design, clothes, accessories, gifts etc. The concept of Rialto Living reminds me of Moko market in Helsinki, Finland – both of the stores have a really nice coffee bar integrated in the store. During my resent trip to Palma I paid a visit to Rialto Living. I enjoyed their coffee bar and ended up doing some shopping at the store as well. The place is on a side street from Passeig del Born which is one of the shopping streets in Palma. From Passeig del Born you will find for example Louis Vuitton, Zara and Uterqüe. By the way if you are not familiar with Uterqüe I highly recommend it for those who like to shop at stores like Zara and Massimo Dutti.

Coffee break at Rialto Living

Rialto Living

Carrer Sant Feliu 3C

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Ca’n Molinas bakes the famous coca de patata in Valldemossa

Coca de patata is a delicious soft potato bun, a typical sweet of Mallorca. It is considered that the best coca de patata are produced in Valldemosa, a village on the west side of the island of Mallorca. These sweet buns are made of sweet potato and dusted with sugar powder. Mashed potatoes, eggs, sugar, oil or cooking fat are traditional ingredients for these round buns but there are also other variations. This dessert is usually accompanied with hot chocolate. I tasted a coca de patata with a cortado at the garden terrace of Ca’n Molinas bakery and café in Valldemossa. Ca’n Molinas is an old and traditional bakery, founded in 1920 by Miguel Cañellas Nadal and María Estrades. The bakery and café was very charming and the coca de patata was silky soft and tasted delicious.

Perfect coca de patata and coffee

Scenery around Valldemossa

In addition to those sweet buns, Valldemossa is famous for the Charterhouse of Valldemossa built at the beginning of the 14th century. The Valldemossa Charterhouse is a former Carthusian monastery. Two famous visitors of the monastry were composer Frédéric Chopin and French writer George Sand (who wrote a notable account of A Winter in Majorca, describing their visit and praising the island's natural beauty) who spent their winter in 1838 and 1839 in Valldemossa. Valldemossa and its surroundings is also loved by many today’s celebrities - Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Eva Longoria and Claudia Schiffer are told to spend their vacations in Valldemossa and its surroundings. Michael Douglas has even sponsored a cultural centre in Valldemossa.

Valldemossa is only about a half an hour by car from Palma, in the middle of the valley of Sierra de Tratamunta, 400 kilometres above sea level. Part of the village goes up into the mountain slope, creating steep streets and beautiful natural miradors.  For me the best in Valldemossa were those cocas de patata and the spectacular scenery in the area.

I took a local bus from the bus station of Palma and after stopping in Valdemossa continued to the villages of Deià and Sóller located on the same side of the island. The mountains of this area dive into the ocean and the road between the villages is like serpentine. Olive and almond trees grow along the route with breath taking views to the Mediterranean Sea.

Panaderia y pasteleria Ca'n Molinas

Valldemossa, Mallorca, Spain

Pomar – artisan bakery in Palma de Mallorca since 1902

This summer I travelled in Mallorca which belongs to the Balearic Islands, Spain.  In the heart of the capital Palma de Mallorca is located Pastisseries Pomar – an artisan bakery with long tradition beginning from 1902. I had read about the bakery beforehand and understood that it is especially popular among locals. This is the place people go to get bread, cakes and everything else sweet and delicious.

Pomar has three stores in Mallorca, two in the city of Palma and one in Campos. I visited the one on Calle Manacor in Palma after doing some shopping at the El Corte Inglés department store located nearby.  I guess most people go to the bakery to get what they want and take it with them. There is a coffee bar in the store also and I got a nice corner table and stayed for coffee and cake. All the cakes looked very nice and I had difficulties in choosing which one to have. Too often it happens that I go to a café and there is not a single piece of cake that looks good to me. In Pomar the situation was delightfully the opposite. I then ended up having two different types of cake and both of them tasted excellent. But this was not enough. When I was finishing my coffee the baker appeared from the kitchen carrying new warm from the oven croissants de chocolate and other mouth watering baked goods. There I was again at the desk ordering for more – of course I had to, there were new options to choose from!

There are many nice cafes and bakeries in Palma but I have to say for me there was something special in Pomar. I highly recommend it if you are in Palma and want to enjoy some coffee and cake.

Pastisseries Pomar

Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain

Campos, Mallorca, Spain