There are places where you go just to eat. And then there are places where you feel that there’s still a different way of looking at life. Can Biel Felip clearly belongs to the latter category.
At five in the morning, when most of Mallorca is still asleep, Can Biel Felip is already up and running. It has been doing so for decades. It opens early to start cooking the daily specials as the first cups of coffee arrive, along with breakfasts for workers, truck drivers, neighbors, regulars, and also some German tourists who come on the recommendation of other customers—as if they’ve been let in on the secret of an authentic spot that hasn’t yet been overrun by pretentiousness. And perhaps that is precisely the word that best defines Can Biel Felip: authenticity.
This week, the historic Mallorcan bar was among those honored at the T de Tapas Awards held at Forbes House, an event that brought together some of the most prominent figures in Spanish gastronomy. But what made the evening truly special wasn’t just the award itself. It was what it represented.
Because in an era obsessed with culinary concepts, Instagram-worthy experiences, and openings planned down to the last detail, Can Biel Felip continues to champion something far harder to find: honesty.
“I’ve been opening bars for thirty years, and from the very beginning I’ve tried to promote Mallorcan cuisine,” explains Biel with the calmness of someone who doesn’t need to embellish anything. “Foreign restaurants were very popular here, and I wanted people to start eating local food again—seasonal food.” And that’s exactly what he did. No marketing campaigns. No branding strategies. No turning tradition into a tourist caricature. Just cooking Mallorcan food.
Variats, tripe, veal tongue with capers, pig’s trotters, cod, hearty stews, and traditional recipes that continue to fill tables every day. “If they come back for seconds, it can’t be bad,” he says with a laugh. The phrase seems simple, but it perfectly sums up a philosophy that many sophisticated restaurants have long since forgotten: the best review is still when someone comes back. And they do come back.
Because Can Biel Felip’s clientele isn’t built on its storefront. It’s built on trust. “We get hardworking folks here—neighbors, truck drivers, horseback riders… and also lots of Germans who come on the recommendation of others.” He doesn’t talk about a “dining experience.” He talks about people. About customers who’ve been coming through the same door for years. About people who still see a bar as an extension of their home.
During the conversation, a remark comes up that explains why Biel gets so passionate when he talks about the restaurant business. “I always say I’d rather have someone come back to eat than leave hungry.” And it’s not just a cliché. He says that more than once he’s brought out another dish for a customer simply because he noticed they hadn’t eaten enough. That he’s never charged for a second dish in those situations. That for him, hospitality still has something deeply human about it.
Listening to him, you quickly realize that Can Biel Felip isn’t just about the food. It thrives because it still upholds values that have disappeared in many places: generosity, warmth, and the dignity of a job well done.
Perhaps that’s also why he turned down various offers over the years to open more locations or expand the business beyond its current space. “They suggested I open a location in Palma several times, and I always said no,” he recalls. “The affection you have for your home is lost when you try to replicate it.”
In an age when everything seems designed to grow, expand, and become a franchise, Biel chose to stay exactly where he was. And that is probably part of what makes him so great. Because Can Biel Felip never wanted to become a brand. It wanted to remain a bar. A real one.
The T de Tapas Awards ceremony at Forbes House brought together celebrity chefs, signature culinary projects, and some of the industry’s best-known names. But among them all, Biel stood out precisely for the opposite reason: for not trying to appear anything other than who he is.
“Everyone has their own way of working, and that has to be respected,” he says humbly. Yet as he speaks, it’s impossible not to think that places like his are perhaps more necessary today than ever before. Because there are restaurants that simply serve food. And then there are those few bars capable of keeping the memory of an entire place alive. Can Biel Felip is one of them.
