The Mónaco started out as a cabaret run by a woman from Monaco, hence its name. It is said that above the actual counter used to be the dressing room where vedettes used to get changed; and also that during one of the venue’s renovation, a box with some dresses was found.

In 1929, the year of the Great Depression, Miquel Bosch inaugurated the Café Mónaco and started the activity of the café bar. Throughout the last almost 100 years, the place has also been run by Antoni Bosch (Miquel’s grandson) and later by Isabel García.

During the XX century, it was the site of all-night crap poker games; there was also a cistern (now walled) used as a secret stash during the smuggling times, hiding tobacco and alcohol. Fishermen used to meet there before fishing, and then sold fresh shrimp for bait in the same spot. Many still remember Mrs Aurora’s callos, or when the bar used to open 24h. Pedro, the barber, cut the beards of half Palma’s population at the barbershop located inside the venue. Stories and tales still alive among the locals that still come by the Mónaco because this is their home.

The variat (mixed plate) is a classic Majorcan dish with the peculiarity of serving various portions on a single plate where flavours and textures are mixed. Normally complemented with wine or a caña, it often monopolises the midday tables in many bars of the island. Being a breakfast classic, it is also usual to order it anytime of the day.

Every town, bar or kitchen has its own particular way of serving it, with a wide range of options: callos, meatballs, bites, potato salad, Majorcan frit, croquettes, cuttlefish with sauce… Traditional dishes blended in a unique plate; one that is definitely part of the Majorcan identity.