Upmarket Mediterranean resort, lots of choice of restaurants, authentic and not brits abroady?

[Justmalma]

I would like to avoid our usual AI as I'm sure lots of restaurants in these places have struggled through covid, so I'd like to eat out and support local. Authentic Spanish restaurants aplenty, I don't mind a nice Mexican, Thai, Indian etc but not one of the brits abroad grills you get in the really touristy places. Plenty of choice too so we can eat somewhere different for dinner everyday for 10 days.

Nice beaches, pretty, sunny in May, not too hard to mooch around as I'll be 6 months pregnant.

Any suggestions?

PP is more touristy but not in a horrible Brits abroad way

Puerto do Soller has lots of very nice restaurants as does Soller itself. They're a short tram ride or a 10 minute drive apart (it's easier to part in the port than in the town though). Not many Brits and not far from Deja which also has some gorgeous restaurants.

In Mallorca.

Alvor, Carvoeiro in Portugal.

Forte Village in Sardinia used to all that.

Is it still going?

Ischia or Capri?

North Croatia - Pula or Rovinj. The area (Istria) considered the Tuscany of Croatia as it has historical Italian influences like much of the Croatian coast. You’ll get Germans but very few Brits.

The two coastal towns are relatively flat and you can also drive out to the countryside for excisions.

Excursions not excisions.

Agree re Santa Eulalia in Ibiza is lovely, ditto Cala Ratjada, NE coast of Majorca.

This. We went to Cala Ratjada one May when I was 5 months pregnant and then again when DS was in primary school. The beach to the west is gorgeous, shelves gently and is backed by a nature reserve. The beach to the east is more exposed and shelves steeply but is nearer to the old part of town and the marina. High season it is very much a German destination.

I would say Costa Blanca. Denia for example has some really nice restaurants around the marina. We stayed just outside Altea which is lovely up in the old part and also around the beach. Huge long walks beside the sea with loads of restaurants with Javea and other towns within reach.

I would disagree with the recommendation of Cala D'or, I went last summer and I really disliked it. Really hard to find any authentic food and it was stuffed with beer drinking brits and Germans. Proper brits abroad resort.

There are plenty of Brits and Germans, but it’s certainly not a party resort. Last summer there were actually a lot of French there too which I’ve not noticed before, and lots of locals head there on the weekend. Food is varied but I’ve had plenty of great Spanish food there. The tapas place on one of the main pedestrian streets is particularly good, as is one of the Spanish seafood restaurants I’ve been to many times. There are also some very unassuming cafes that are frequented by locals and serve great food. I do wish they’d ditch the parrot bars though, grim places.

I’m yet to see a decent looking hotel there though (we always get a Villa) and I don’t think it’s what you’re looking for, I agree on that.

OP I would recommend Port de Soller. Love that place. It was our go to for a long weekend pre children, and we have since been for a week when our eldest was wee. I’ll never tire of the restaurants there. Beautiful place. And if you want more to see and do (I never do, I’m happy spending the day reading) you can get the tram to Soller and the train on to Palma. I think there are also some amazing restaurants over that side of the island, we’ve just never tried them as we don’t want to drive.

(Off to check the calendar to see if we can squeeze in a weekend this year…)!

@IGotHam

If you fancied Italy at all then Puglia is well worth a visit. I stayed in Otranto which is a town by the beach. Hardly saw another Brit. Great restaurants and the town is really lovely to walk round. Southern Italy is stunning.

I would disagree with the recommendation of Cala D'or, I went last summer and I really disliked it. Really hard to find any authentic food and it was stuffed with beer drinking brits and Germans. Proper brits abroad resort.

This has worried me. Ive never been to Majorca but just booked 4 nights in Cala D'or in June for me Dh and DD18.

Paphos Cyprus

Agree with others that pretty much any med town will fit that brief. After all people live and work in towns and there are restaurants in them.

If you want somewhere with a "national" holiday feel, I guess go where nationals of that country go. So for Italy, the southern coast, ditto Spain, Costa Tropical anywhere beyond nerja would fit the bill really, for Croatia it's mostly the islands that people go to, like Brac and Hvar etc.

I personally have a soft spot for Costa Tropical, I like how it's a bit greener than lots of Spain, plus v well connected so you can for eg have a day in Granada without too much trouble. I think they're having problems with jellyfish though these days, this is an issue across the Med really.

Santa Maria De Castellabate - Amalfi coast about an hour south of Naples. Stunning coastline, beautiful beach and incredible food

We went to Port de Soller on a day trip from Palma. It was very nice, but expensive to eat out, so bear that in mind.

Slightly more expensive than Palma or Cala DOr and significantly more expensive than mainland Spain or Canaries.

What about somewhere like Barcelona or Malaga, where you have the city stuff, food, bars, culture (an hour or two in a museum is good for getting out of the sun) good public transport if you don't want to walk too far, plus beaches?

Lots of good options here!
Some I don’t think have been mentioned yet:

Grado in NE Italy. It is a resort town, but a nice one imo and is well located for day trips.

Corfu Town. Nicely historic, doesn’t feel too touristy because it’s a proper town.

Cascais, just north of Lisbon. Not the Med, but I think it fits the rest of your criteria and weather should be good in May.

Some places I haven’t been to, but are on my wish list for history, having buzzy authentic town, food and being coastal: Valletta, Malta; Syracuse, Sicily; Ciutadella and Mahon, Menorca.

Es Castell in Menorca with it's very pretty and Spanish fishing harbour Cala Fonts, with some lovely restaurants and shops. Just 5 minutes up the road from there is Mahon with the second deepest port in the world. You'll spot some fabulous yachts and eat at some very nice restaurants along the harbour. Lots of history and sights to explore in Es Castell and Mahon. I'd hire a car and explore the island, Ciutadella at the other side of the island is also very Spanish and picturesque. There are plenty of fabulous beaches too.

Altea is undergoing sea front renovations at the moment, so unfortunately there is a lot of disruption in that area.

I recommend Catalonia.

In particular, Begur in northern Costa Brava which has a very upmarket feel to it. There are tourists of all nationalities but definitely no Brits abroady types. Some very nice restaurants. We stayed in a beautiful boutique hotel overlooking the church tower in the centre of town. Breakfast was served on the roof top terrace which was also the location of a very lovely hot spa pool. The beaches and coastline below are beautiful.
On the trip we also stayed a couple of nights in Tossa de Mar and Barcelona and both are equally worth a visit. The former was a very nice surprise for us. A lovely traditional seaside town with cobbled streets, tapas bars and a medieval town and tower.
Barcelona of course is fabulous.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/travel/2012/mar/16/costa-brava-begur-hotel-restaurant

Whilst Ikos resorts are lovely, we have been to three of them and the managers do say that they are targeted at Brits and about 90% of the clientele are Brits.

@HerculesMulligann

I’d second Santa Eulalia in Ibiza. Unlike so many other places it somehow manages to feel like a proper Spanish town that just happens to include hotels, beach, restaurants etc. Rather than feeling like an enclave for tourists. And as mentioned you can take boat trips to lots of other places, and Ibiza town isn’t far away on the bus.

We caught the bus from Cala Llonga to Santa Eulalia. It's lovely. Not sure what the restaurants are like cos we took a picnic provided by our hotel. Cala Llonga is also a lovely place. The hotel we stayed in has changed its name now but it was formally known as hotel Sirenis. It's all inclusive but there was a few restaurants within easy walking distance. There is also a lovely little beach across the pool deck and down some steps. There you can also walk to the jetty and catch the water taxi to Ibiza town or to the hippy market, and walking across the beach is the bus stop for Ibiza town, Santa Eulalia etc plus a land train too. There isn't much shop wise just a little supermarket and a few touristy type shops but the buses aren't that expensive to go to the next town

Second Menorca. We hate Brit's abroad type places but we've been to Menorca twice. Lots of lovely villas to rent. Ciutadella has lovely restaurants on the port. We stayed in Benibeca (lovely little town with three or four good restaurants) and Cala Galdana (same but a little livelier)

Other than that we loved the quiet parts of small Greek islands Zakinthos (e.g Vasilikos not Laganas!) or Skiathos.

Another vote for Cascais, Portugal. It’s less than an hour on the train to Lisbon and you can also visit Sintra.

Puerto Calero in Lanzarote seemed upmarket (we visited for the day) but didn’t seem like a big place. We had a lovely meal in one of the harbour restaurants and there were some expensive looking yachts docked there.

Capri also lovely and there are some beautiful places on the Amalfi coast so you could stay somewhere else as a base and do a boat trip. I imagine there won’t be cruise ships docking frequently now so it won’t be as packed as it was when we visited. Sorrento might also fit the bill but as a PP said, it’s not a beach resort as it’s on the cliffs.

Kalkan in Turkey just full of gorgeous hillside villas and restaurants that are cheap as chips compared to Spain. I can’t wait to get back there 😍