Horreo Veinti3 Restaurant Review, Santa Catalina, Palma

Several friends had mentioned that it was definitely worth a visit, so we headed over one evening last week to see for ourselves what they had to offer.

Wholeheartedly ignoring the Spanish way of life, we had been working all day without a break or siesta, and so arrived, famished, at Horreo at the very British dining time of 8pm. Needless to say, the restaurant - and indeed the entire street - was virtually empty. Not requiring an audience, this was no problem for us, and neither did it pose any issues for Horreo who welcomed us and offered us a choice of (all the) tables.

An extensive menu, filled with predominantly simple dishes ranging from single-mouthful tapas up to more substantial main courses, was exactly what we were hoping to find. Our waitress (who we think was also the owner) was very happy to explain to us the size and style of various dishes, and we eventually narrowed our choice down and sat back to watch the world go by as we waited.

Carrer Fabrica busied up gradually over the next hour, as more and more tables were filled up and down the various eateries and the crescendo of chitter-chatter took over.

Not that we paid too much attention to the chitter-chatter - our focus was solely on the food as the various dishes appeared one by one, as and when they were ready. We opened with shrimp-filled croquetas - marginally overdone on the outside if one was being picky, but otherwise full of flavour - and also a scallop served in its own shell, baked in tomatoes with a breadcrumb crust - again, perhaps a tiny bit over-eager on the outside, but a perfectly-cooked scallop to be found on the inside, sitting rather smugly in a rich tomato sauce.

Having declared those dishes our 'pre-starters' in advance - we moved on to some bigger tapas: prawns cooked in chilli and garlic (like the croquetas - always a good indication of whether a chef knows his tapas), and a tuna tartare. The prawns were tremendous - succulent, nicely seared and just the right weight of chilli and garlic in the sauce; and the tuna was even better - kept simple and delicious, as tuna should be.

Not wanting to turn back now - we pressed on with the main courses: grilled octopus (the one dish we'd been told not to miss) and 'crunchy' shrimp ravioli (which intrigued us to the point of having to order it - well done to the menu-writer). The grilled octopus was served as an entire, chunky tentacle resting on a bed of potatoes and spinach - hard to master at the best of times, we were hugely impressed at how evenly-cooked the octopus was, with all its varying girth. The ravioli itself was indeed crunchy (and not filled with a crunchy filling as we had thought might be the case), and dressed in a mouth-watering creamy sauce - and the only reason I didn’t quite clear my plate was due to my belly being marginally smaller than my eyes.

There is an array of restaurants and bars on Carrer Fabrica - and countless more dotted around the streets of Santa Catalina, so you will never have to venture too far before finding a tempting spot. We’d definitely recommend trying to pencil in an evening at Horreo Veinti3 though, where the warm, friendly service (which admittedly might need a busier night to be tested to the full!) is mirrored impressively with a menu which combines classic tapas with a modern touch.