05 Sep Es Torrent: 37 years offering the cuisine of Ibiza’s fishermen

How time flies! We face the final stretch of the 2023 season and, looking back, we discover that we have been offering seafood recipes for 37 years in this idyllic cove in the south of Ibiza.

We opened our doors in the summer of 1986, on what was then a completely isolated and unknown shore, which went unnoticed by tourists and residents themselves. In previous years, Xico Sala, the promoter of Es Torrent, had worked at the Balneario restaurant in Cala Carbó, where he learned everything he needed to know about running a hospitality establishment dedicated to seafood cuisine. There he also made friends with numerous clients, who already then pursued authentic places without stress.

After opening his first business in the town of Sant Josep, he found himself missing the sea almost immediately. One day, he heard about a lonely corner called Es Torrent, which he did not know and immediately came to see it. As soon as he was there and observed those cliffs and the sea of islets, he knew that this enclave was the right place to start a new adventure.

Surprisingly, in such an inhospitable place, there was the possibility of accessing a hammock concession and, in the cove next door, sa Caixota, a kiosk could also be installed on the shore, which until now no one had ever claimed. Xico asked the City Council to transfer this concession to Es Torrent and this is how the history of the restaurant begins.

The first staff consisted of a cook, a waiter behind the bar and Xico, who attended a dozen tables on the terrace. Then they were much closer to the water, in the current spa area. On the menu, baked fish, rice and even meats. At the end of the season, the kiosk was completely dismantled. One of the great challenges at that time was to obtain fresh fish and Xico had no alternative but to show up at the market at six in the morning, to be the first to arrive, since the fishmongers immediately kept the genre for veteran restaurateurs.

Eight years later, the current restaurant could be built on land acquired next to the beach, but no one wanted to forget the old kiosk. The solution was to integrate the bar and the cold room inside the premises, where they still remain. From the initial three people, it has grown to about 25 and each summer around 14 tons of fish are cooked, which is enjoyed by more than 25,000 customers. And although we have evolved and grown, we still have the soul of a beach bar, a peaceful and quiet place to enjoy the other side of Ibiza.