TaPalma, Mallorca's best tapas festival

This gastronomic festival fills the streets of Palma every autumn. Organised by local bar and restaurant associations, this event attracts a whole host of people looking to taste the best traditional and contemporary tapas in Mallorca. Dozens of venues have signed up this year, all offering tapas and cocktails created especially for the occasion. This year, 17 of these restaurants will take part in the tapas contest, while four will be battling for the title of best cocktail.

The TaPalma organisation have devised seven routes that will take foodies around the city and its outskirts from November 28th. The largest one is also the easiest to follow, as it takes place inside Mercat 1930 Gastronomic Market. Having quickly become one of the trendiest spots in the city for great food, this market is located right in front of the seafront and encompasses a number of stalls that will participate in TaPalma including Txapeldun (Basque pintxos), Takesushi, omelette-specialists Eggsquisitas, Burger Doze and Thai joint bdkitchen.

Within the centre of the city, TaPalma will take Palma's old town by storm. Firm favourites like the Bruselas Steakhouse, Manto Negro and Ombu are unmissable stops in this area while Pesquero, on the seafront will offer marine-inspired tapas. Palma's sea promenade, the Paseo Martítimo, will be the hotspot for cocktails.

Palma's gastronomic district, Santa Catalina, holds a special place in this festival with a few restaurants participating in TaPalma. The remaining routes will take diners to Genova, a quiet district on the south-west outskirts of Palma, Marratxí and Playa de Palma.

Based on our experiences in previous years, you can expect anything tapas-wise from TaPalma 2018. Traditional nibbles like croquetas and Serrano ham will feature, alongside some contemporary and adventurous creations. This year, we are looking forward to the introduction of options for coeliacs, as several locations are offering tapas without gluten. If this type of food appeals to you, then be sure to stop by at Bon Lloc or Vegan and Raw. And the best bit about this whole event is that Tapalma can't cost more than €2.50 per tapas, so you have no excuse not to get involved!

Last year, the winner was Rodrigo Vallejo, chef of the Shamrock restaurant, with two golds in the tapas category: Tapa Tapama 'Picnic' and top themed tapa 'Quelypizza marinera'. We are excited to find out who will be climbing to the top this year.

Cocktail bars in Palma raise the bar for this event, and it is worth noting that the Paseo Maritimo is a hot spot for cocktail lovers over the course of the week. Famous bars and nightclubs like La Bolsa del Martítimo or Mira Blau will serve special cocktails. In 2017, bartender Víctor Abal of MG Little Italy stole the crown with his creation 'Deseo de otoño', which won the best cocktail prize. We expect mixologists will be coming up with some pretty interesting concoctions to win over the judges this year.

Two days before the official opening of the gastronomic routes of TaPalma, on November 26th, the awards ceremony will be held at the Palau de Congresso. Along with various tapas prizes, there will also be a best cocktail prize. To get a free invitation to the event, just send an email to tapalma@agencia.com.

If you're looking for last minute accommodation, Palma has some of the best boutique hotels in Europe with TaPalma routes on its doorstep.