Where To Eat, Drink And Stay

Ibiza has always known how to throw a party but, in 2025, it feels like the island has finally figured out what comes before. There’s a new kind of rhythm on the island these days—less relentless, more luxurious—and while Hi and Ushuaïa are still doing what they do best, the real energy shift is happening elsewhere: in dining rooms, on terraces, in the quiet theatre of omakase counters and the smoky hum of chiringuitos that know much more than how to season a prawn.

It’s not that food is new to Ibiza. It’s just that, this year, it’s better. The island is shedding the last of its wellness-perfume haze and stepping into something more assured. Serious chefs are landing. Hotel restaurants are no longer an afterthought. And locals will tell you—often, while directing you to their own personal favorite restaurants—that we might be living through one of the best seasons in years. Therefore, everywhere I’m about to recommend is not just advice on where to eat, but a place worth booking that long-considered break to La Isla Blanca.

You could check into Mondrian Ibiza for the sea views alone (Cala Llonga doesn’t exactly take a bad photo) but it’s what’s happening at the table that makes it worth the airfare. Opened for the 2025 season, this Mondrian is setting a new standard for sushi on the island. Niko, their elevated Japanese restaurant, is the number one draw for me: soft-shell crab bao, miso black cod, and the kind of glossy sashimi that can’t quite be captured on Instagram. It’s relaxed but culinarily excellent, with views that make that second bottle of sake somewhat imperative.

Downstairs, Sonrojo flips the script with barefoot-chiringuito energy—beachy without being basic. The grilled octopus with pork crackling is literal perfection, the Alistada prawns come bathed in garlic with a brandy reduction, and the soundtrack moves from Balearic ambient to low-key reggaeton, depending on how many bottles are on the table. Crucially, it feels like it belongs here, not airlifted in from somewhere else.

Interestingly, the beach makes it as accessible to the Mondrian as it does sister hotel Hyde Ibiza, tapping into the same kitchen talent with a different tone. Think louder, looser, and more social. It’s technically a separate hotel, but the two properties are entirely porous—guests bounce between them as freely as they do between pool loungers and ocean dips. Ostensibly, you can grab lunch at Sonrojo, a martini at Hyde’s bar, and dinner at Cuyo (Hyde’s own Mexican-inspired, must-visit restaurant) without ever opening Google Maps. Together, they’ve turned this little corner of Cala Llonga into the island’s most compelling new food neighbourhood. Whether you’re staying or visiting, just promise me you won’t miss out on Cuyo’s sea bass aguachile and a mole-infused ‘De La Casa’ margarita or five.

Meanwhile, over in Playa d’en Bossa, The Unexpected Ibiza is doing something even bolder. If the name sounds like a new tech festival or a Jean Paul Gaultier pop-up, know that’s not entirely accidental. It’s occupying the bones of the former Ushuaïa Tower, and it’s leaning into its new identity with more confidence than anyone on its prime real estate-d beaches.

At its centre: the first European outpost of Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen. The restaurant is pure drama and turns out a number of internationally-beloved signatures (including a supremely succulent beef wellington and lobster risotto) using local ingredients, all within a space built to host both serious diners and those craving spectacle. It’s a statement opening, but that’s just the start. Around the hotel’s red pool, the Oyster & Caviar Bar offers oysters, sushi, Nikkei small plates, and aphrodisiacs on demand—all served from the comfort of six private Jacuzzis, if you so choose. On monthly Red Mirror Party nights, the whole space tilts into extravagance: live shows, flowing Champagne, and a dress code best described as ‘shiny’.

Down by the sea, The Beach at Unexpected Ibiza is exactly where you want to eat paella in 2025—under the sun, by the sea, with a live DJ easing you from lunch into aperitivo hour. On certain Sundays, it transforms into Sun-Rice: a theatrical show-cooking event built entirely around rice, saffron, and smoke, to boot.

Minami, the hotel’s Japanese restaurant, is another standout. With teppanyaki theatrics, omakase nights, and a Mediterranean twist on Japanese classics, it boasts one of the island’s more refined Asian dining experiences. Elsewhere, those in need of a cleanse can slip into Antïdote Recharge Station for açai bowls, protein shakes, and sandwiches with just enough Iberian ham to keep it honest. And for sundowners? Up Ibiza Sky Society delivers exactly what it promises: a rooftop bar with 360-degree views (often, with planes landing overheading), strong cocktails, and the kind of horizon that makes people book annual stays. Safe to say, it’s rare that a hotel gets this much right with its F&B.

Out of the ambitious hotel-cum-gastronomy arena of 2025, there are a number of other restaurants worth making reservations for, too. Jul’s, for example, is a spot where locals and in-the-know visitors book without hesitation. Set inland on the road to Sa Caleta, it’s the kind of place that earns its reputation quietly, with seasonal Mediterranean food that’s deceptively simple and impeccably done. There’s an open grill, a garden terrace with just enough candlelight, and a menu best exemplified through its bluefin tuna tartare with raspberry & beetroot sorbet, blood orange, and ponzu sauce. It’s nice nice, but you can still arrive looking like you haven’t slept since Wednesday (which, let’s be real, you may not have in Ibiza) and feel like you belong.

Tucked behind a discreet door in Ibiza Town, Sushi by Walt is a bit of an island anomaly, feeling like it could just as easily exist in Shibuya. The eight-seat counter is about as intimate as it gets, with each dish—uni, toro, wagyu—served like chapters of a story. Chef Walt, a perfectionist with a quiet presence, lets the fish do the talking. The experience is deliberate, delicate, and impossible to phone in. No surprise that Michelin took notice last year, nor that reservations are now scarce.

Sa Capella, similarly, is the kind of place that makes you reconsider what a “scene” looks like. Set in a restored 18th-century chapel above Sant Antoni, it’s all candlelight, archways and quiet ceremony—less restaurant, more experience. The food, thankfully, doesn’t try to modernise the mood. Thick-cut Galician beef, roast suckling pig, fish cooked on the bone. Everything arrives with a sense of purpose, from the hand-written wine suggestions to the pacing of the service. Come just after dark, order something red and generous, and take your time.

Over in the heart of the island, La Paloma is also well worth a detour, no matter where you’re staying. Set in a citrus grove near Sant Llorenç, it’s one of those rare places that manages to be both deeply unpretentious and deeply wonderful. The food leans Mediterranean with Middle Eastern edges—grilled lamb with labneh and mint, za’atar flatbreads, tahini-laced aubergines—paired with house-made juices and soft, sun-warmed wines. The crowd is mostly locals and long-timers, the mood relaxed, and the lunch long and lovely enough forget you had other plans.

Last but certainly not least, Nudo is something of an antidote to Playa d’en Bossa’s usual chaos. Tucked behind a beach path and opened by two ex-Noma chefs, the sand-worn elegance truly hits its peak. The menu changes often—koji-cured tuna bellies, fish of the days far more delectable than the sum of their parts, a selection of lesser-known crisp white wines—and nothing disappoints. It’s not trying to be a destination, which is exactly why it is one.