Smoix, Sant Climent, Menorca

Smoix is a family-run restaurant in Sant Climent, a quiet inland village in the south of Menorca between Mahón and the beaches of the southeastern coast. The village setting — away from the tourist circuits of the harbours and beaches — gives the restaurant a genuinely local clientele that keeps standards high and keeps the kitchen honest. The menu brings modern technique to traditional Menorcan ingredients: suckling pig is slow-roasted to a mahogany crust with soft, yielding meat beneath; the local lobster bisque is made from the shells of the Menorcan crustacean and is intensely flavoured; and seasonal vegetable dishes use produce from the island's agricultural interior. The kitchen is animated by the sensibility of a younger generation of Menorcan cooks who love the island's traditions but are not bound to reproduce them exactly. Dishes are presented with care but without pretension. The dining room is compact, decorated simply with local ceramics and warm lighting. Sunday lunch is the peak event — locals from across the southeast of Menorca gather here in a tradition that has built since the restaurant opened. Reservations are needed for Sunday lunch and summer weekend evenings. The restaurant does not chase Michelin recognition but operates at a quality level that would not embarrass it if it did.