A Table At
Ca’s Patró March
The rail, the blue glasses and about three metres of air between you and the water.
G
THE VISIT
Visited
Paid Or Hosted
Updated
The short answer
At a glance
The rail, the blue glasses and about three metres of air between you and the water.
You don’t stumble on this place. Ca’s Patró March is at the bottom of Cala Deià, a rocky cove below the village, and you get there either by walking down through the olive terraces for about forty minutes, by boat, or by driving a narrow lane to a small car park above the cove, which is five euros for the day and fills early.
We parked, had a coffee at the café bar at the bottom, which opens at eleven, and sat looking at the water for an hour until the restaurant opened at noon. I’d do that again deliberately, and I’d tell you to do the same. The hour before it opens is lovely: the light is still coming in low across the cove, the staff are setting up, and there’s nobody in the water yet.
The building is a converted fisherman’s hut and it hasn’t been smartened up one bit. Wooden rails, plastic chairs on the lower terrace, paper on the tables, and the sea perhaps three metres below you. If there’s swell, you’ll feel the spray. Nothing about it is designed, and honestly, that’s the whole charm.
The menu is short and almost all of it came out of the water that morning. Our waiter steered us to the catch of the day, a John Dory grilled whole with lemon and oil and nothing else, and he was right: it was the best thing on the table. The razor clams were the other standout. It isn’t cheap, and you should go in knowing that; you’re paying for the fish and the fifteen metres of rock it’s served on, and I’d happily pay it again.
The takeaway
Booking is the whole game. When I booked, tables opened exactly fifteen days ahead, at midnight Spain time, on their website – and in July, August and September they are gone within minutes. Set an alarm for 11pm the night before if you are in the UK, or 6pm if you are on the US east coast, and be sitting at the laptop. The phone exists but they stop answering it when they are busy, which is most of the time.
If you do not get a table, go anyway. Walk down in the morning, swim, and put your name down as a walk-in with the understanding that you may be there a while – this works far more often than people think, particularly at the start of the service. Bring a book and treat it as a day at the cove with the possibility of lunch, rather than a lunch booking with a swim attached.
Walk down, get collected. The path from Deià through the olive terraces is forty minutes down and closer to an hour back up, in full sun. Walk down, eat, swim, and arrange a car for the way home – any hotel in the village will do it.
Go in June or late September. It closes over the winter, and July and August are when both the cove and the booking system are at their worst. Shoulder season you can sometimes walk in on a Tuesday.
It is touristy now in the sense that everybody knows about it. It is also still a family running a grill on a rock, and the fish is still the fish. Both things are true, and I would go back tomorrow.
Asked often
Is Ca’s Patró March worth it?
Yes, if you want the fish and the setting. It is not cheap, you are paying for the grilled catch and a table on the rocks, and I would go back tomorrow.
How do you get a table at Ca’s Patró March?
Book on their own website, where lunch is the only sitting offered, or by phone. In my experience tables open fifteen days ahead at midnight Spain time, and the phone is hard to get through on a busy day. The restaurant’s booking page doesn’t spell out a window, so check it when you book. If you miss out, walk down in the morning and put your name down as a walk-in.
Can you walk in without a reservation at Ca’s Patró March?
Sometimes. Go down early, put your name down and expect to wait, so bring a book and a swimsuit.
How do you get to Ca’s Patró March?
It sits at the bottom of Cala Deià. You can walk down through the olive terraces for about forty minutes, come by boat, or drive the narrow lane to the car park above the cove, which was five euros for the day when I went. It’s a paid zone from April to October, so expect to pay something.
How long is the walk from Deià to Cala Deià?
About forty minutes down through the olive terraces, and closer to an hour back up in the sun.
When is Ca’s Patró March open?
It is lunch only: it opened at noon on the day I went, the booking page offers sittings from noon to four, and current listings give Tuesday to Sunday, closing at five. It closes over the winter, and the restaurant doesn’t publish its season dates: SeeMallorca lists it as summer only and an older Hola piece says April to October, so plan around the warm months and check the booking page before you go.
Does Ca’s Patró March take cards?
Bring cash. The restaurant’s booking page warns that, because of the remote location, card payments cannot always be guaranteed.
What should I order at Ca’s Patró March?
The catch of the day. Mine was a John Dory grilled whole with lemon and oil, and the razor clams were the other standout.
The cove from the path down, with the restaurant on the right.