There is a particularly good time to arrive at Elia. Late enough for the heat of the day to have eased, but early enough to watch the coastline change as the sun begins to drop. Boats make their way across Talamanca and, in the distance, the old walls of Dalt Vila catch the last of the daylight. We may have come for dinner, but much of what makes an evening here memorable happens beyond the plate.
The restaurant occupies one of the terraces at Destino Five Ibiza, perched above the sea in Cap Martinet. From here, the view stretches across Talamanca towards Ibiza Town and its historic fortified skyline. There is no need to hunt for the right angle. The setting does much of the work.
The Elia restaurant at the Destino Five Hotel Ibiza specializes in Greek cuisine. / Adolf Comes
Elia is the five-star resort’s Greek-inspired restaurant, although its menu travels more widely around the Mediterranean. Greek ingredients and recipes provide the foundations, rather than a set of rigid boundaries. Our dinner covered only a small part of a much broader menu, but it was enough to get a sense of the kitchen. Pitta, mezze, feta, stifado, Greek yoghurt and Cretan honey all appeared during the evening, alongside dishes with a wider Mediterranean influence.
We began with a Greek mezze platter and grilled pitta bread, with three traditional dips placed in the middle of the table to share. It is a simple way to start and a fitting one. Tear off some bread, try a little of everything and wait for the next plates to arrive.
Greek mezze platter and grilled pita bread. / L. R.
Greek roots, Mediterranean outlook
Among our starters, the watermelon salad was particularly well suited to the setting. It comes with Epiros feta, toasted almonds and mint. The combination is familiar, but nicely judged. Sweet, cold watermelon meets the saltiness of the feta, while the mint brings freshness without taking over. On a warm Ibiza evening, eaten outdoors, there is little reason to make things more complicated.
Next came the octopus carpaccio, served with fennel, citrus dressing and salmon roe. It is a more delicate dish, with the citrus lifting the octopus and the roe adding a final hit of salinity. By then, the sun was beginning to fall and conversation around the table was occasionally interrupted by a glance towards Talamanca.
Octopus carpaccio. / L. R.
That is one of Elia’s obvious strengths. The terrace is not simply an attractive outdoor dining room. The view changes noticeably over the course of dinner, and the mood changes with it. Early arrivals see Ibiza in full daylight. An hour or so later, the colours soften and the first lights begin to appear across the bay.
Our dinner, meanwhile, moved on to two richer dishes.
The Iberian pork cheek stifado is a considerable change of pace from the lighter opening plates. Inspired by the traditional Greek stew, it is served with caramelised onions and mashed potato. The pork is tender and rich, the sort of dish that naturally slows dinner down a little. It also shows another side to Elia’s cooking, away from the fresher flavours with which we began.
Then came the grilled squid with squid-ink risotto, dark and unapologetically full-flavoured. The rice carries much of the intensity of the sea, while the grilled squid brings texture. If the stifado looks firmly towards Greece, this feels more broadly Mediterranean — and there is no particular need to draw a line between the two.
Iberico pork cheek ‘stifado’ and squid ink risotto with grilled squid. / L. R.
As daylight fades
Somewhere between courses, a Calypso Spritz arrived. Aperol is mixed with strawberry, raspberry and basil shrub, cava and soda to make a fresh, fruit-forward drink that makes particular sense while there is still some daylight left over the terrace.
Elia changes as that light disappears.
The music becomes a little more noticeable and the restaurant’s own lighting gradually takes over from the setting sun. Dalt Vila, clearly defined on arrival, is now illuminated across the water. The transition is gradual and, importantly, the restaurant never loses the feeling that dinner is still the main event.
The service helps. During our visit it was polished but relaxed, with dishes arriving at an unhurried pace, explanations when they were useful and enough space to simply get on with the evening. It sounds like a small thing until a restaurant gets it wrong. Here, it makes a long dinner feel effortless.
Elia’s Calypso Spritz cocktail. / L. R.
There is something distinctly Ibizan about the combination. Greek references on the table, a cocktail in hand, music in the background, the Mediterranean ahead and no obvious rush to bring the evening to an end. Elia brings those elements together without trying to turn each one into a spectacle.
A suitably Greek finish
From the dessert selection, we finished with the Greek yoghurt, served as a mousse with Cretan rosemary honey, pomegranate, extra virgin olive oil and caramelised pecans.
It is perhaps the dish that requires the least explanation. The yoghurt has enough sharpness to keep the dessert light, the honey adds sweetness and the pecans bring crunch. After the pork cheek and risotto, it is exactly the sort of finish that works.
By this point it is fully dark. Talamanca is still below us, Dalt Vila remains visible across the bay and neighbouring tables have settled into the slower rhythm that follows dinner. A few hours have passed since the first mezze arrived, and the restaurant feels quite different from the one we walked into.
Greek yogurt with Cretan rosemary honey, pomegranate, extra virgin olive oil, and caramelized pecans. / L. R.
Elia’s food is good, but it would be odd to write about the restaurant as though the food existed in isolation. Nor would it be fair to judge an extensive menu on the handful of dishes we tried. What our dinner does reveal is the direction of travel. Greece provides much of the inspiration, the Mediterranean ties it together and the setting plays a significant part in the experience.
We left after dessert with a rather simpler conclusion than any grand gastronomic verdict. We had eaten well, felt well looked after and, like plenty of people around us, had been in no particular hurry to leave the table. In Ibiza, some evenings do not need much more than that.
