At some places time seems to just stand still. Corners that, beyond their natural beauty, become an experience, a living memory. At the magical Cala Llamp, Gran Folies is much more than an exclusive beach club: it pays homage to the sea, celebrates the produce and embraces food that reinvents itself each season without losing its essence.
At the helm of the project are Álex Arquero, the group’s executive chef, and David Schenk, the restaurant’s head chef, a culinary pairing that is already an unbreakable part of the place’s identity. Their joint history began in Ibiza, where they shared kitchens before coming to Cala Llamp in 2018. Since then, they have been fine-tuning a dining concept that is nothing to do with formulas but rather coherence, intuition and landscape. “The setting is everything”, says Álex, ”When we arrived at Cala Llamp, we knew that the menu had to speak the language of the sea. We read the customer’s profile, explored the landscape and listened to the produce. Everything starts from there”. Thus, began a culinary philosophy that not only responds to the setting but also interprets it: a menu designed down to the finest detail, segmented with precision, in which the Mediterranean dictates the rules.
King crab
Gran Folies is committed to food that is Mediterranean at heart but with global influences, those stored in a backpack with years of gastronomic curiosity. Raw dishes such as ceviche, tiradito, aguachile and carpaccio are reinterpreted with a Balinese or Polynesian twist with ingredients such as guava, coconut and subtle floral touches. “We don’t want to make the same old ceviche. We want each dish to tell a different story”, they explain.
Seafood and local wild fish are the true protagonists. So much so that they have segmented the menus with seafood on one side, oysters on the other and raw dishes in another section. All seafood is carefully selected on a daily basis. “We receive the fish ourselves. We always look for the best. From a fried oyster with miso to wok-fried sea bass with black beans, a dish that has already become a classic”.
Cuando llegamos a Cala Llamp, sabíamos que el menú tenía que hablar el idioma del mar
The food on offer goes beyond the main restaurant’s menu, however. Gran Folies is divided into zones, each with its own gastronomic experience: an exclusive menu for the pool area inspired by the street food concept, a premium selection in the VIP area, with dishes such as king crab, and a special menu for boats. This year the last selection is also being expanded: “We want the customer to feel like they have a restaurant on their own boat,” they explain. To this end, they have designed thermal containers that allow even raw dishes to be served on boats without compromising safety.
The food that Alex and David have built is not easy to replicate. Twenty twenty-five will be a key year: with the addition of a production kitchen, they hope to optimise the quality of service without losing the essence that has brought them this far.
Fried oyster
Celebrating 25 years of Gran Folies
Twenty-five seasons after dropping anchor in Cala Llamp, Gran Folies is not only still afloat, it is sailing with more direction, more flavour and more vision than ever. Its secret not only lies in the food or in the views—which would be enough—but in that almost alchemical capacity to evolve without diluting its essence. Because what Álex, David and their team have built goes beyond a beach club: it is a way of understanding the sea, the produce and hospitality.
“At the moment we are streamlining and expanding. We don’t know if it will be in one year or five, but this group is going to grow”, they admit, with the confidence of someone who has already chosen their next voyage. In the meantime, the sea continues to dictate the rhythm in the kitchen. Surrounded by a multicultural team that exudes technique, enthusiasm and creativity, each service is a new opportunity to thrill. Because at Gran Folies you don’t just come to see the Mediterranean. You come to feel it, to discover it and, above all, to taste it.
Solarium
