Opio Restaurant Review, Palma

And in fact, it wasn't too difficult to think of several places in Palma that may fit that description. We wanted somewhere with atmosphere to get the evening going, so one obvious choice was the Opio Bar & Restaurant in Puro Hotel, smack in the middle of the gothic quarter of Palma de Mallorca.

We had been in the bar before, and had been impressed with the cocktails, DJ's and fashionable Euro-crowd. The restaurant seemed like the perfect place to start the evening with our French friends, with its pre-bar, pre-club environment where we could line the stomachs with Mediterranean - Asian cuisine and enjoy a selection of cocktails whilst we were at it. Opio feels like a very cool urban club, with its white interior and chic designer furniture. There is a languid luxuriousness to the place, as if it has been plucked from the shores of south east Asia directly into Majorca - a mere two hours from London and the rest of Europe. The whole vibe is one of sexy-cool.

After enjoying an excellent mojito at the bar, we took our seats in the already busy dining room. With clubby chill-out music in the background (which was well judged to allow both conversation and privacy) spacious tables and comfortable chairs, we settled in. The menu has a great selection of Asian-fusion, ranging from interesting salads, to tempura, and grilled meat & fish. The starters looked a little pricey, at around the €15 mark, but believe me, the portions are very generous. Easily big enough to share, or to satisfy a healthy appetite. Needless to say, we ordered one each.

We were served crudities with a cream cheese dip, and freshly baked bread (white, onion, sunflower seed and wholemeal) with a very good peppery olive oil. As we chomped our way through these nibbles, we ordered the only Mallorcan red wine on the wine list (most of the wines were from Argentina but we are on a mission to support local producers and reduce our carbon-footprints). Our waiter told us that more and more clients were requesting local Majorcan wine, and that they hoped to increase their stock over the coming months. Our bottle of Binigrau montenegro blend was smooth and rich, and slipped down an absolute treat - a great example to go-loco!

As we were four, our starters pretty much allowed us to sample the whole menu. Our guests had chosen asparagus with cured ham (perfectly cooked) and Carpaccio of beef (loads of thickly sliced beef), and The Frenchman had opted for seafood tempura (excellent crispiness, it was reported). My marinated beef salad was meant for a main course, but I had greedily chosen it as a starter as I couldn't resist the combination of rare beef strips, avocado, slices of grapefruit, cashew nuts and chilli sauce. All my favourite things on the one plate, and extremely satisfying it was too.

The adjoining bar was beginning to fill up as we were served our main courses. My linguine with lobster came in a sweet seafood sauce and two fat pieces of lobster. The Frenchman had gone for the seared tuna, with a salad of leaves, fried potatoes, quail eggs, tomatoes and avocado. His tuna had been thickly sliced to reveal pink juicy flesh, which he declared, was ‘bloody lovely'. The other mains to grace the table were the entrecote of beef and duck with BBQ sauce - both were beautifully presented and seemed to meet approval from the other French contingent.

The main courses were of a more manageable portion size so we were able to contemplate dessert, deciding that one-between-two would be more than adequate to fill the remaining gaps in our bellys. An apple tarte tartin and chocolate mousse were soon winging their way to us. The apple tart had a delightful sourness to it, which we found very refreshing at the end of a meal. The chocolate mousse was described as ‘very chocolaty' and disappeared even more quickly that the apple tart.

As we sat back to aid the digestion of our rather large meal, we took a moment to check out our fellow diners. It was a real mixed crowd - a large-ish group of British guys on a weekend break, some local creative types, a table of suave men who we decided must be yacht owners - it made for interesting people watching. The buzz of the place had increased since the DJ had started his live session on the decks, and the lively atmosphere ensured that it felt like we were only just beginning our night, rather than nearing the end.

We really enjoyed our dinner at Opio. Friendly service, sexy surroundings and decent food meant it ticked alot of our boxes. You can expect to pay around €40 per head (without drinks) for a three course dinner, and we thought that was pretty darned good for a place like this, right in the centre of Palma. Opio try to use fresh local and organic produce in their dishes and the food is a refreshing change from the tapas bars you will find in La Llonja. And with a vibrant and modern bar attached, you won't need to go through the where-shall-we-go-next routine, great cocktails are just a couple of steps away. If you're planning a weekend break in Majorca, or simply want a night out in Palma, and want to experience the more cosmopolitan side of Mallorca's capital city, then we would recommend you put Puro on your itinerary. The bar hosts guest DJ's on a regular basis - check their website for details.