Mesón Los Patos : History

History

At the beginning of 1976, a year of lights and wonders, the Font-Barceló family acquired a former rice-drying warehouse in the "Ses Eres" estate in S'Albufera, along with the adjoining land. They immediately set a good pace of construction and renovation work, in order to convert the venerable old building into a "Bar-Terrace-Restaurant", which they christened "Mesón los Patos", in view of the natural surroundings, that peculiar landscape of irrigation ditches and reedbeds, and the characteristic fauna of the area, including the tasty, slippery eels and the emblematic Ducks found hereabouts.

The restaurant was inaugurated on 12th September of the same year, 1976, in the presence of the affable Gabriel Font senior, in the dining room, and his wife Leonor Barceló, in the kitchen. And that of their children Jaume, Gabriel and Kika.

One of the distinct peculiarities of "Los Patos", right from when it was first opened, that is, the personal stamp of Gabriel Font senior's special way with people, was and is the hallmark of the Font-Barceló family – the direct, warm, friendly attention given to clients. Today it is Gabriel Font junior who, following in the footsteps of his father, looks after the restaurant's various dining rooms, just as though he were in his home attending to guests.

Because the attention one receives in "Los Patos" is just that, individual consideration, achieving that difficult balance between cordiality and respect, between personal attention and exquisite courtesy.

One of the lifelong rules in "Los Patos", as well as the meticulous manners of the staff – now led by Jesús Gallego, under the supervision of Gabriel Font junior – is the careful preparation of the menu, the first fruit of the region and the season, delicious, varied and truly Mallorcan, drawn up using the in-depth, privileged skill Leonor Barceló has proven she has in the kitchen. Now it is the chef José Magán who, following the wise directives of Doña Leonor, supervises the pots and pans and the preparation of all the dishes served.

Philosophy

The restaurant Management is constantly preoccupies with the following when drawing up the menu: the raw materials (top-quality), fish from the local coastline (Bay of Alcudia), different types of rice: "bomba" and "bombita" (rice from Sa Pobla) and meat of the very best quality, with the culinary art and savoir-faire that has reigned in the kitchens of "Los Patos" for nearly three decades now. Added to all this, a select wine list, and we guarantee that exquisite eating experience, simultaneously homemade and select, which can be enjoyed in "Los Patos".

The cuisine, dining room and exquisite attention provided by the staff are a source of pride to the management of "Los Patos", but no less so is the location of the restaurant. Next to the Natural Park of S'Albufera de Mallorca. Near the coast and the hustle and bustle of the coastal area but paradoxically set apart, isolated from this area which, with its tourist hubbub, sometimes tires those who know how to appreciate the peaceful silence of nature and the emphatic flavour of well-seasoned dishes for a short space of time. The secret is quite simple. It is the old gastronomic wisdom of mothers, and the humanistic wisdom of the catering trade.

On the terraces – over three thousand square metres of them - adjoining the former rice warehouse which is now the restaurant building, there are garden areas, children's playgrounds and a car park exclusively for clients of the restaurant. As well as a small vegetable garden. It may be that the vegetables and golden lemons on your table come from this small patch of land, cultivated with the deepest of affection.

And this is commercial philosophy of "Los Patos", which has remained the same since the day of its inauguration; love for the profession, quality in the kitchen and cordial service. These rules are something they know perfectly, even in the fields and skies of the S'Albufera Natural Park. S'Albufera, and "Los Patos" which is in S'Albufera, half land and half water, is a place of whole truths enteras.

Mesón Los Patos 2013. Design XB