801

There's more to the name 801 than you could ever imagine - as Maria Ballester and José Guardiola's stylish restaurant was once a bank - somewhere safe to keep precious possessions and an institution where people took care of your financial affairs. The only feature that has remained is the fact that they can still assure you, not about keeping your prized assets out of harm's way, but of enjoying a dining experience that would qualify among the best in Palma.

The elegantly refurbished dining room is where the safety deposit boxes used to be situated and the name, 801, was the number of a box. The old spaces have tastefully been incorporated into the restaurant. 

The owners have always been aficionados of travel and gastronomy and at 801 they ensure customers get to sample some of the best market cuisine at reasonable prices, and the hidden treasures of the bank are now open for all to taste and enjoy. Well presented traditional dishes that are given an appealing modern twist appear on the sleek tables. The chefs visit the nearby Olivar Market to select their fresh ingredients, which are then devotedly prepared in the open kitchen.

A cafeteria menu focuses on a range of tapas such as salads of warm chicken or goats' cheese, rocket, cherry tomatoes and basil oil, and other choices could include octopus with steamed potatoes, stuffed quail legs, succulent pieces of barbequed shrimp in soya or vegetables with fresh cheese; Iberico ham with mushrooms and Emmental cheese gratin on toast, and tempura of red pepper stuffed with shellfish in squid ink.

The main menu offers wonderful starters of foie gras terrine with toasted corn and sun dried apricot puree or vegetable tempura with salmon tartar. Mains of lamb chops appear on potato gratin with mint sauce and beef is cooked in red wine and accompanied by 801's special mashed potatoes. Fish lovers will delight in candied cod with garlic and spring onion, and red tuna served with Thai style sautéed vegetables.

Their helpful staff will provide advice on what to choose from a list of sinful desserts such as banana cooked in vanilla with chocolate ice cream, their version of Toblerone, and Idiazábal cheese and quince roll with 'Tolosa cigarettes'. A carefully chosen list of wines includes popular as well as innovative numbers that support the food very well.