On an island as diverse as Ibiza – attracting everyone from the oligarch yacht crowd to the original ravers to the yoga retreat elite to the drum circle hippies to the wannabe Insta-famous to the lads on a pill on the pull…and EVERYONE in between – the ‘best’ can never truly be definitive. However, as a veteran of ten trips over…ahem, ‘a few’ years, I feel qualified to give you my favourites. The bars I come back to year after year, the ones that never disappoint, where I always have a good time. Yeah, tastes change, old haunts shut down, I just keep getting older – but if I had to choose my best spots to have a cocktail in Ibiza, these would be my top 5 unmissable bars (…ask me again next week).
#1 The hidden gem: S’Escalinata
Hiding in the labyrinth of streets and lanes of Dalt Vila, don’t give me the address, I’ll never find it. I rely on my iffy memory, always making the same few wrong turns before I eventually stumble across it: S’Escalinata.
Everyone sits outside, sprawled on flouro beanbags set really close together all the way up the cobbled steps, downing cocktails and not giving a f*** about social distancing (ah, happy days!). Love their gorgeous, quirky style; love their chilli coconut mojito. An absolute appointment every time I visit, the UNESCO World Heritage site location is killer. Beyond the bar, its such a beautiful spot for a stroll – don’t skip a walk inside the ancient walls, to check out the cathedral, the museum and all the bourgainvillea- draped houses where I’d happily live forever. After climbing the steep drawbridge to the Portal de ses Taules and hiking in the heat to actually find the place…you’ll totally deserve a drink at the bar.
- Crowd: a mixture of in-the-know drinkers and lost sight-seers en route to the castle
- Vibe: casual, relaxed, chilled
- Cost: moderate, expect to pay 9-12€ for a cocktail
#2 From sunrise to sunset: Beachouse
Speaking of rewards for exercise, next on the unmissable bars in Ibiza list is Beachouse.
Situated at the ‘other’ end of Playa d’en Bossa – I say ‘other’ because I’m generally coming from Ibiza Town or from the Bora Bora end of Bossa, so it always seems like such a trek. But what a trek. Kick off your sandals and take the beach route. It’s the longest beach on the island – almost 3km – and the sand is so soft and deep that any stroll becomes an epic butt and thigh workout. Pass Ushuaia, pass Hard Rock, keep going…and when you find it, you’ll have earned yourself a late breakfast (I would sell relatives for their açai bowl) or a long, long Mediterranean lunch. Then it’s booze o’clock…
I am in a long-term relationship with their Coco Chili Mojo (Brugal Añejo rum, Malibu, lime juice, chili, coco, mint) – I order them every time, I’ve got pics going back years to prove it. But it is not just the cocktail menu. It is the luxury beach cabana style of the venue: the painted woodwork, the natural fabrics, the rustic details, the beachfront location laced with palm trees. The fact that you can spend all day draped across a padded daybed, under the shade of a seagrass parasol, sipping on your Mojo as you watch yachts bob silently on the glassy blue Mediterranean. Living LIFE.
It’s not brash and shouty, just calm, relaxed, the definition of chilled Ibiza. If you get there early, there’s yoga on the beach (nope!), otherwise, keep those Mojos coming…
- Crowd: the cosmopolitan casuals in relaxed, designer beachwear
- Vibe: mellow, chilled with a touch of glam
- Cash: moderate to pricey, expect to pay 14-16€ for a cocktail
#3 Bling on the beach: Blue Marlin
Another beach, another beach club – this time with added VIP.
The Blue Marlin is a bit of a glam institution in Ibiza. Nestled in the idyllic Cala Jondal bay, it’s a little out of the way and a lot exclusive – if you can’t get the tender to pick you up from your yacht (darling), you’ll have to drive or take a taxi (it is about a 15 minute drive from central Playa d’en Bossa, about 20 minutes from Ibiza Town).
There is also a second location at the equally glittering Marina Botafoch. A couple of trips back, we stayed in an Airbnb in the iconic Las Boas complex across from the Marina, and played at being jet-setter for a long weekend (you know, watching super yachts, hanging out with Idris Elba…the usual). We’d alternate between the Blue Marlin and Cappuccino for breakfast and sundowners. Because we fancy.
I digress…
Make a booking, dust off your sexiest, swankiest beachwear and jump in a cab. Blue Marlin has a variety of different spaces: an indoor club/bar space, a sushi bar, boutique (it’s Ibiza. There is ALWAYS a boutique), massive outdoor club terrace with bars and VIP seating areas , raised DJ booth, a restaurant and a large beachfront space with individual loungers and big beds (for group fun…). Wow. You won’t get bored.
Note: the beach is rocky, not sandy, so don’t expect to find a comfy spot to place a towel.
We reserved individual sunbeds online (18€ for the rental + 60€ minimum spend per bed), arriving around lunchtime. We then spent the afternoon drinking in the epic views, drinking in the frozen cocktails and munching on fries. We barely left our beds – why would we?
I expected it to be St Tropez snooty. Everywhere we looked, people were bronzed and snatched, there were a lot of labels, people looked like they had MONEY. But they were chilled, friendly. The staff were nice, we were chatting to our neighbours, even the guys ordering champagne by the magnum to their nearby VIP bed weren’t that obnoxious. It was, however, later in the season (I usually go to Ibiza in September/October, around closing parties when things are starting to wind down), which might explain the mellower vibe – and how we managed to secure front-line sunbeds. Impossible in July or August when beds can book up weeks in advance.
As the sun sets (…and what a sunset), the music kicks up a gear, the beach crowd gravitates to the the terrace, the evening crowd rolls in and, in high season, you will find a massive DJ (Pete Tong, Luciano, Dennis Ferrer) behind the decks most nights of the week.
Blue Marlin is an awesome Ibiza day. Fun, chill and glam as hell. Would I love it as much in high season? Would they even let me in? Who cares: it’s on the list.
- Crowd: bronzed, snatched and glam
- Vibe: sceney, party with a sprinkling of chill
- Cash: pricey, so keep an eye on your tab. We kept it calm and only went a touch over the minimum spend
#4 The legend: Pikes
If Blue Marlin is an institution, Pikes is a straight-up icon. For over 40 years poster child for all things sex, drugs n rock n roll. A backstage pass to decadence, it will get you in trouble. Probably. It has a bit of a reputation…
The taxi pulled up and she got out wearing a matador hat and a cape. She’s an incredible person and has this aura about her – she’s terrifying…She just swanned up and walked right past me, I didn’t even get a chance to say hello…We spent several wonderful nights in Room 2 getting to know all about each other.
Tony Pike on meeting Grace Jones, The Pikes Cocktail Book, p.112
A hotel built in a rustic finca outside San Antonio by the legendary Tony Pike, a club, restaurants, bars…if the 500 year-old walls could talk, they would have STORIES. Throughout the 80s and 90s it was a mecca for misbehaving models and musicians, up-to-no-good actors and general debauchery. Allegedly.
Can’t miss it off a list of unmissable bars in Ibiza – it’s the home of Club Tropicana…
Today, in the hands of the co-founders of Manumission and creators of Ibiza Rocks, Pikes is still the unofficial spirit of Ibiza. Still starry, still sexy, still rock’n’roll…but today it’s all served with a side of wellness and lifestyle chic.
The crowd is older – strictly over 25’s, an eclectic mix of boho babes, old music heads and a whole lot in between. The soundtrack is house, disco, jazz, flamenco (yes, really). DJ Harvey is revered as a god and superstar music guests just drop by ALL THE TIME. Have lunch, hang by the pool drinking cocktails afternoon, but club nights are strictly guestlist only. The list is free (look online for info – best of luck on big nights in high season), but drinks are not (Wham! lied…).
Me? I go for their wicked Sunday roast. And the vibe – its incredible. And the music. And the cocktails…
- crowd: eclectic, unpretentious? – the Pikes code is clear
- vibe: its a party, baby
- cash: moderate. Cocktails at around 14€, Sunday roast (main course) around 23€. Bonus points for free, quality club nights – on Ibiza, this is a BARGAIN.
#5 For sunsets and memories: Café Mambo
Finishing up my unmissable bars in Ibiza with an old favourite. Staying in San Antonio, we are heading to the ‘Sunset Strip’ and Café Mambo. Through the streets of the West End, up the hill – making a pit stop at David’s for delicious pizza – follow the crowd, pass Café del Mar on your left. It was where I experienced my first iconic Ibiza sunset, sat on the sand out front, watching in rapt silence as the DJ played the last drop of sun out of the sky.
So many pre-parties: Steve Sutherland (RIP) guest-listed me and my friend into Es Paradis just because he didn’t have my request in his crate. A ton of big-name DJs seen for free as we grabbed a cocktail and a wristband before jumping on the coach to Pacha (now we are going back a way…). The last time it would have been for Defected, or maybe Glitterbox? But by then we were taking taxis like grown-ups.
I haven’t been in a couple of trips so, maybe it is the nostalgia talking, but I have genuinely never had a bad time at Mambos.
- Crowd: anyone and everyone
- Vibe: buzzing all day, sunsets are euphoric and DJs keep the energy going into the night
- Cost: pricier than I remembered! Had to google (like I said, it’s been a while!). Cocktails 15-18€. In San An? Ouch!
My unmissable bars in Ibiza
So I picked my 5 unmissable bars in Ibiza. I have no idea how, there are just so many of them. Missing all the bars that have been and sadly gone (KM5, how could you do this to me?!). This list doesn’t even break out of the bottom third of the island. Nothing from Santa Eularia (which gets better every year), Santa Gertrudis, there are a couple of spots in the north I’ve enjoyed. Don’t get me started on Formentera… Looks like there’s going to be another list?
What are your unmissable bars in Ibiza? Drop a comment below.
