There is an Ibiza beach bar that has managed to maintain its authenticity and essence since 1969, preserving the tradition that has earned it the reputation of being the last bastion of fish stew on the White Isle. At El Bigotes, the true exclusivity lies in the fact that it hasn’t changed. That’s why it appears on our list of the 25 best beach bars of 2026.
It all began in 1969, when fisherman Juan Ferrer Marí started making fish stew for his friends with that day’s catch. Those impromptu meals eventually became a tradition and, later, a culinary destination. Today, after his death, it is his daughter Ana and his granddaughter Mónica who continue a legacy that keeps a certain Ebusitan way of life alive.
The setting helps explain part of the cult surrounding El Bigotes. The restaurant is little more than a simple wooden shack nestled into the rock of Cala Mastella, in front of a small pier where rows of the traditional fishermen’s huts still stand. Nearby is the anchorage of the Gavita, the lugger that Juan Ferrer used for years to go fishing, a reminder of the deeply seafaring origins of this story.
At two in the afternoon, diners sit down to share the same culinary ritual: the fixed menu that has remained virtually unchanged for more than fifty years at this beach bar. Because there’s been no need to change it.
First comes the legendary fish stew, made exclusively with fresh rockfish, potatoes, aioli, and a broth that captures the flavor of the sea. Next, using that same broth, comes the rice a banda, cooked slowly over wood fire, just as it has always been made.
After many years, this restaurant’s kitchen still runs on wood, with the goal of continuing to prepare a traditional recipe in the same way, one that has never needed to be modernized; while the fish continues its journey from the sea to the table, in an atmosphere that preserves that Ibizan spirit of taking things easy and letting go.
The experience concludes with another small tribute to Ibizan cuisine. The traditional flaó, made with goat cheese, eggs, spiny mint and mint, provides the final sweet touch before the caleta coffee is served, slowly prepared over hot coals with brandy, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest. And that’s it.
