Mercat de l'Olivar (Food Hall)

Mercat de l'Olivar is Palma's principal covered market, a mid-20th-century market hall on the Plaça de l'Olivar in the old city that serves simultaneously as a working food market and one of the best places on Mallorca to graze through local specialties. The market floor is divided between fresh produce stalls, fishmongers, butchers, charcuterie stands, cheese sellers, and a cluster of tapas bars and stand-up counters that begin serving from opening time. For visitors, the fish hall is arresting: racks of Mediterranean fish — dentex, red mullet, sea bass, and grouper — are displayed alongside Menorcan lobsters and locally farmed clams. The charcuterie stalls carry every grade of Mallorcan sobrassada, from the soft spreadable pink sausage to the harder cured varieties, alongside camaiot (blood sausage) and botifarró. The cheese section is the best place in the city to buy Mahón-Menorca PDO cheese and local Mallorcan goat's cheeses. Several market bars serve pa amb oli — the island's essential bread rubbed with ripe tomato and dressed with olive oil — topped with anything from sobrassada to fresh anchovies, and the ensaïmada stalls provide a sweet counterpoint. The market closes at 2PM and is at its liveliest between 9AM and noon, when traders, local householders, and restaurant chefs are all shopping together.