La Bodega del Jazzbah, the alternative gastronomic proposal for evenings in the port of Ciutadella

If the pandemic showed us something good, it is the ability we have to reinvent ourselves in complicated times. And leisure businesses, especially the night business, were among the ones that had to reinvent themselves the most to be able to surf the waves of viruses that did not let them return to normal. Within this sector, the port's concert hall par excellence, the Jazzbah, was one of those businesses that had to use ingenuity to survive.

This is how La Bodega del Jazzbah was born, right next to the concert hall. And, although time is relative and it seems that it has been offering an innovative and fresh menu for a long time, it actually opened in 2021.

TWO PARTNERS WITH VERY GOOD TASTE

Juli Rabal and Francesc Martín are the two partners who had to make an unexpected turn of the wheel in 2020, looking at other options to continue with their company in times of pandemic. And they turned to one of the pleasures that satisfy them the most: food.

"Both my partner, Francesc, and I are food lovers. And we find that with the pandemic we have the concert hall business closed for three years. So, taking advantage of the fact that the place next door was empty, we reinvented ourselves and created the concept of Bodega del Jazzbah. Initially, the idea was to have it open all year round, but it is a very small place with a very large terrace, so now we have it more like a summer season business", comments Juli, who shares the time and energies between La Bodega and Casino 17 de Gener.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THE BODEGA FROM THE JAZZBAH

There is one constant that, in the short life of La Bodega, has not changed. And it is the desire of the two partners to offer different food. "Different from what you can generally find in the port of Ciutadella: we don't do rice, we don't do grilled prawns, we don't do mussels, and we offer a much more modern proposal that is always based on quality products. We have suppliers that we have been discovering by visiting gastronomic fairs on the peninsula. And we give them the personal touch of our chef, Tomeu Carbonell Català", comments Rabal, who knows well the proposal of products more from the sea that prevails at low tide.

The schedule also sets them apart from the rest of the premises. Although they all open during the evening, La Bodega del Jazzbah reduces its opening hours towards the late hours, so the kitchen works from 8pm until midnight, extending, for the beginning, the proposal also linked to the concert hall, which is usually full during the last hours of the evening and the morning. It is also for this reason that La Bodega del Jazzbah opens every day, except Tuesday, until July 25, when it will provide service seven days a week. "It's a purely seasonal business, and for this reason we open at the beginning of June and close at the end of October", says Rabal.

QUALITY AS A HOUSE BRAND

If we choose a house brand product, Juli does not get wet in any sense. "We offer both meat and fish, the requirement is that they are of high quality", comments Rabal. "Thus, we work a lot with bluefin tuna, oysters, smoked sardines, meat from Menorca. We have, for example, Menorcan beef tataki that goes with teriyaki vegetables. And when we find a piece of meat that interests us in the market, we buy it and make a suggestion of the day", he adds.

This quality is, in fact, what he highlights as the hallmark of La Bodega del Jazzbah's gastronomic offer. In addition to differentiation with recipes and unexpected combinations. "We have very different dishes, from a baked bone spring with a shrimp tartar on top, the seasoned oyster which is a star dish, cod with squid ink tempura which is also very good, the smoked sardine salad...”

Thus, the star is the product, which they take care of and select with care and attention. Although there are some that come very close to them. "We have a farmer who serves us directly, and from there we get a lot of vegetables and also a lot of fruit."

The sweet part is also an enticement for diners who arrive until low tide, some attracted by the famous cheese cake, "the best in Ciutadella", says Rabal.

Regarding the winery itself, Rabal comments that "we have an extensive wine list, we also deviate a little from the general tonic. The menu has been made for us by a sommelier from Barcelona called Mauri Rafa, with local, Mallorcan, national and international wines, but which are not the classic references. You can find a Ribera del Duero, a Verdejo, but they are not the classic wineries. We go to other types of references because we like to be original. If you like food and you like wine, it's good to be able to find places where they can surprise you. This way we also give opportunities to more alternative wineries.”