Fonda Platé is an iconic spot in Formentera – it’s practically an institution. Open since the 1920s, it’s one of the restaurants with the most character on the island. The top meeting place for a multifarious and diverse clientele for decades, you’d have once found hippies, Hollywood stars and business magnates mingling on its terrace – that was Formentera in the ’80s and ’90s during its tourism boom.
The business has changed hands several times since then, and now the new owners have successfully refurbished and redecorated the restaurant with excellent taste. But the changes don’t stop there: the kitchen is another reason that people who visit Fonda Platé will notice its new change of course. It’s expanded its range of food with dishes that make an impact. The main focus is on meat, vegetables and local fish but it still has a casual vibe thanks to its famous tapas. In fact, you’ll often find one person at a table having patatas bravas and a beer, while at the next they’re enjoying a steak and a glass of merlot.
Local, seasonal produce
The kitchen at Fonda Platé places great importance on local produce and the fantastic fresh fish that is so plentiful around the island; it’s so fresh it arrives at the restaurant practically still moving! Butterflied fish served the old-fashioned way or fish and chips made with rock fish for bolder customers: when you order fish, it’s always a hit.
Wonderful vegetables from the local kitchen garden are one of its star dishes and, as summer advances, tomatoes play a bigger role in a menu that is constantly changing depending on which products are in season.
The meat is great too: the roasted payés chicken cooked with local herbs is fantastic or, if you prefer red meat, make sure you try the Rubia Gallega steak. One final recommendation: don’t forget to order guacamole as a starter; it’s served in a mortar with the whole avocado so customers can season it the way they like. A real treat!
The kitchen at Fonda Platé places great importance on local produce and the fantastic fresh fish that is so plentiful around the island; it’s so fresh it arrives at the restaurant practically still moving!
Bringing back fun –the true essence of Formentera
Fonda Platé is a casual restaurant where you can go for a glass of wine and tapa, or to play table football with a beer. Have dinner here with friends while you enjoy a live flamenco show or drinks as you listen to music and relax with the good vibes that can only be found in Formentera. Fonda Platé is a real mixture, it’s fusion, it’s carefree... It’s Formentera.
And in Formentera, what matters is having fun. There are no dress codes here, the atmosphere is easy-going, service is casual yet attentive and respectful, and the music... Oh, the music! Call us nostalgic but this is an oasis where you won’t hear anything written after the year 2000: it’s all music from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s. Endless great music for all...
Fonda Platé is a real mixture, it’s fusion, it’s carefree... It’s Formentera.
The young and young at heart, famous and anonymous, Spanish and foreign, lunch, dinner or just tapas and a beer, perhaps a signature cocktail: at Fonda Platé there is something for everyone. So don’t think twice: if you visit Formentera, make sure you pass by Sant Francesc and stop at one of the island’s most emblematic restaurants.
Fonda Platé
