Carles and Natalia
Everyone knows that strength lies in unity. But sometimes it’s much more: chemistry becomes pure magic, and a duo becomes a partnership, a tandem, a dream team. And that’s how you would describe Carles Abellan and Natalia Juan, twin souls who share a now firmly consolidated project in Formentera: casanatalia. Mediterranean food based on great produce, simple, traditional recipes with a dash of creative genius, and the best wine cellar on the island with over 800 labels.
Your home in Formentera
There is a restaurant in inland Formentera, tucked away in the narrow space that separates the idyllic beaches that run along either side of the island, where time doesn’t just stop, it surrenders entirely. It is a place with simple yet sublime food served in a relaxed atmosphere, faraway from the world of poseurs and close to what really matters, and what means “home” to each of us.
That restaurant is casanatalia, the haven in Formentera by Natalia Juan ‒ its host and founder ‒ and Carles Abellan ‒ its food consultant and the person responsible for making you never want to leave the table... And if you do, it is because you know you’ll be back soon. Or because you’re off for fun and dancing at Charly’s Club, its underground music bar that plays hits from the ’70s to the ’90s and has become a benchmark on the island.
Much more than just a restaurant
Food at casanatalia is Mediterranean and product-focused, and is designed to be set in the middle of the table and shared. It establishes the restaurant as that spot on the island where you go to enjoy dinner and feel as relaxed as if you were at home, but where the cooking and its technical and creative virtuosity turn simplicity into luxury. It’s a place where a simple glance from Natalia Juan, the host and founder, comforts and embraces you, preparing you to let your senses run wild.
Carles and Natalia never would have thought that Formentera would be much more than a place to go on holiday and rest, that they would spend more than half their lives here and measure time by the changing seasons...but that’s how things have turned out.
“We opened the restaurant because we wanted to have a joint project where we could both give it our all, a place where we could thank everyone who visits us for giving us something so precious ‒ and so rare these days ‒ as their time. If the diner gives us their time and chooses us from all the island has to offer, how could we not honour them?” states Natalia emphatically.
The soul of the restaurant
No one who visits the restaurant they run together in San Ferran de Ses Roques fails to notice Natalia’s presence in the dining room. “It’s as if she knows what you need before you know you need it,” explains one of their regular customers. In fact, she is one of the things that makes casanatalia such a unique restaurant.
Carles Abellan, whose past experiences include success, failure, life lessons, journeys and, above all, learning, is her counterpoint in the kitchen. He is also involved in the dining room where he shares his innate gift for public relations. This is the best version and purest essence of Abellan, at peace with himself and the world around him.
His food at casanatalia includes some of the greatest hits of his culinary career ‒ let’s not forget that he has had two Michelin stars ‒ with dishes made from products from Ses Illes, reinvented classics, and small guilty pleasures that you simply cannot resist.
And all these wonderful dishes can be accompanied by wine from one of the best cellars on the island, lovingly and discerningly stocked with over 800 labels, including several own wines that make the collection exclusive and unique.
What happens at Charly’s…
It’s safe to say that Carles Abellan’s career is enjoying a golden moment and this, combined with his tireless energy, can only mean one thing: magic. So, it’s no surprise that he has chosen this time in his life, and Formentera, to finally make one of his dreams come true, an idea that had long been simmering inside: opening the kind of nightclub that he wanted to go to on the island but that didn’t exist.
So, Charly’s Club opened in the 2023 season and swiftly became a benchmark in the Balearic Islands. Now his lair, his underground music bar ‒ lined in navy blue velvet and with a secret karaoke room ‒ is reopening this season to entertain visitors with a selection of top DJs and live music from the ’70s to the ’90s.
Ingredients plucked from here and there, masterful food management, one of the finest wine cellars on the island, a cosy, simply, homely vibe, and the chance to extend the evening for as long as you can keep going: it’s a dream come true.
