Open since 1963, Can Pasqual is a restaurant whose forward-thinking approach has blended a high-end design focus with a top-notch dining experience. To find out how it’s possible to stay on the crest of a wave for more than 40 years, we had a chat with Mr. Mayans, the restaurant’s owner.
Could you quickly describe your restaurant, its spirit, its mission?
The spirit of the Restaurant is the spirit of Formentera, the character of the island, and the way of doing things for the people of Formentera. In our restaurant, we have decided to bet on the cuisine of Formentera and Mediterranean cuisine.
In this order. Cuisine with authentic flavor, where the most important thing is the fresh, local product, Km 0, from local producers. The simpler the better: preserving all the flavor of the fish of Formentera and also the flavor that the farmers and ranchers of the island give. This is one of our missions.
Nowadays the customer who goes to a restaurant is not satisfied with just eating well, but is looking for a complete experience, in which the location and the decor count as much as the good food. How is Can Pasqual characterized from this point of view?
Indeed. We live in a society where everything counts. When we receive a client, he comes to enjoy a complete experience in every sense and in the broadest sense of the word.
For this reason in the restaurant we tried to recreate the maritime atmosphere of Formentera: we have arranged marine eucalyptus pergolas that imitate the fishermen’s huts where they protect their boats on the coast, we have installed a false ceiling throughout the restaurant made of eucalyptus wood so that when you are inside the restaurant and look outside it gives you the feeling that you are inside a fisherman’s hut.
We have installed five waterfalls against a dry stone wall in Formentera so that with the noise of the water and the turquoise blue led light you can give the auditory and visual sensation that you are in the sea.
All this is completed with the decoration, with sailor paintings, typical Formentera plants hanging from the ceiling and as main elements, a lobster and lobster nursery, and a display of fresh fish as if the client were passing in front of a fish market.
The outdoor space of a restaurant, fundamental to offer a better experience in the summer period, with the advent of the COVID19 pandemic has become even more important. How is Can Pasqual’s outdoor space structured and furnished?
In these times of pandemic, it is very important that the client feels safe and comfortable at the same time. Fortunately, the terrace and the interior of the restaurant are large and we have been able to distribute the tables in an optimal way respecting the distances and at the same time making the client feel comfortable.
We have succeeded since there are three environments in Can Pasqual: an outdoor terrace with lots of typical Mediterranean vegetation with pine trees, mastic trees, and other plants adapted to the climate of Formentera; an interior terrace that can be fully opened thanks to folding and fully folding windows, and a spacious interior where tables can be installed when the weather forces it, including in this space even an iron fireplace.
How did you take care of the furniture and the organization of the spaces of your restaurant?
The restaurant spaces were very defined by the existing building dating from 1963, when my father founded the restaurant, and the vegetation that existed. The fundamental premise was to fully preserve the vegetation and the centenary pines, which have witnessed the evolution and history of the family.
From there, a terrace and a practical interior to work and comfortable for the client had to be distributed, with a warm and elegant Formentera decoration.
My wife, who works miracles in decoration, took care of this and ensured that from the moment a client enters the restaurant she is immersed in an authentic experience of the island of Formentera.
And we also have invaluable help, good advice, and friendship from Alberto, an Italian friend who has lived in Formentera for years and who proposed us the materials for the pergolas and the false ceilings of the Restaurant, from the Africa Style company, which make the set sublime.
Africa Style understood perfectly our ideas and our needs and made a great effort to recreate the typical atmosphere of Formentera. We were searching for something warm, comfortable, natural-inspired and at the same time something that refers to sailors, fishermen, the history of the Pasqual Mayans family, and particularly of its founder.
They have been of great help in recreating that type of atmosphere, and their wooden and natural products are not only good to see, but also comfortable and – above all – resistant, which is extremely important outdoor.
