Last night we went to the Pacha restaurant in Ibiza.  The restaurant is part of the club and consists of an outdoor terrace section, along with an indoor air conditioned bar section which also has dining tables.

We had booked for 12:30am (which was practically the only slot available), however when we arrived the (seemingly typical) unwelcoming Spanish reservations manager told us that we had to wait 5 or 10 minutes – that turned out to be more like 35 minutes.  Whilst we were waiting at the entrance to the restaurant, along side an increasingly large number of others who had booked for the same time (all English) a Spanish couple arrived, hugged and kissed the door staff and were immediately escorted to their table. 

Whilst it may well be to the lack of understanding on our part as to how to greet and treat Spanish bar and restaurant staff, there has been an obvious difference in attitude from the waiters and waitresses when they serve Spanish customers, as opposed to us (2 English men and 1 Czech girl).  Establishing and maintaining a network of relationships on the island is essential for getting on to guest lists and receiving the special treatment, but I get the feeling that it would be much easier for us next time if we bring a Spaniard along.

When we were eventually shown to our table, we were pleasantly surprised by the cool decor of the terrace section where we were seated.  Individually lit tables, palm tree surroundings, softly lit fabrics above our heads, rustic beach style chairs and stylishly decorated table tops with a hint of Asian influence created a very relaxing and trendy place to eat dinner.

The menu consists of mostly Spanish fish dishes or a Spanish/Japanese sushi fusion selection, however there were also some impressive meat dishes including chicken, beef and duck.  The sushi was prepared in an open kitchen, by Japanese chefs who went to the excruciating effort of creating rice rolls, wrapped in seaweed with the Pacha cherry shape in the middle using various different coloured raw fish.

I chose the duck leg with sweet potatoes, which was cooked perfectly so that it simply fell off the bone as my knife slid over it…

Ilona opted for sushi rolls (and avoided the wasabi)…

I can’t remember what Mark had, but it didn’t look that interesting on the plate, so I never took a photo of it.

Providing you spend 70 Euros per head or more, entrance to the Pacha nightclub is free after eating in the restaurant.  We didn’t know about the minimum spend, and only ordered one course (we were keen to get in the club ASAP), so we had to top up our bar bill with a few more Vodka Redbulls (which also helped keep us awake since we didn’t leave the restaurant until after 2am!).

Unfortunately, the club itself was PACKED! And apparently Swedish House Mafia who we had gone to see were ill .  We forced our way through the crowds for a while, made it up to the top chill out bar for some fresh air and ended up only staying for a few hours before calling it a night.  On this occasion, the pre-club meal was more to speak of than the club.

1. Hotel Garbi bar

The Hotel Garbi has free wi-fi throughout the hotel, plus my favourite beach bar/restaurant in Playa De Bossa.  If it is sunny you can sit on the veranda, sip cocktails, people watch and soak up the rays.  If it is raining, you can sit inside the floor to ceiling glass walled bar, in comfy chairs and get waiter service for cocktails and snacks.  Great way to spend a lazy afternoon what ever the weather

2. Bora Bora
 
Whilst Bora Bora beach is at it’s prime whilst the sun is shining, it’s still a little hot spot for day time clubbing when it is raining.  The indoor section has a good size dance floor to host those seeking shelter form the rain, plus you’ll find plenty of people who will dance outside despite the rain!

3. Buy a poncho

OK, so it is 21(ish) degrees, but if your clothes get soaked through, you will get cold!  Umbrella’s are not really that practical for day time clubbing, so make sure you buy a poncho to wonder around (and dance) in the rain   Most of the mini markets in Playa de Bossa sell them for 1 Euro.

4. Get a bus to Ibiza town
 
The buses to Ibiza town run every 20 minutes.  There is a bus stop right outside the Hotel Garbi.  Alternatively you can get a taxi for about 9 Euros.  Head for the Harbour in Ibiza town where you will find lots of boutique clothes shops, art galleries and plenty of Spanish restaurants and bars.  Many of the outdoor sections for the restaurants are sheltered, so you can sit down and enjoy some tapas whilst the rain falls around you.

5. Go nocturnal 
Whilst most people who come to Ibiza make the most of the amazing sunshine during June, July and August, let’s not forget that clubbing is usually number 1 on the agenda.  Ibiza is the best island in the WORLD for partying all night and sleeping during the day.  If it’s raining whilst you are here, simply get tickets for Pacha, Space, Amnesia, Privilege or one of the other super clubs which offer 6 or 7am finishes most nights (see here for a great guide to the club nights available), then sleep during the day whilst the heavens open up outside.

We managed to squeeze in a little quality Bora Bora time on Saturday afternoon.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a new addition to the party beach – beach beds!  During the day they were used to chill, sunbathe and drink Sangrea on, but at 4:30pm when the music volumes goes up, they turned in to mini dancing stages for those wanted a little extra attention…

This is still my favourite place to listen to house music in the sun.  There was the usual combination of beautiful people, hippies, slightly crazy people, great tunes with awesome bass, hot sunshine and of course the iconic view of planes arriving directly over head as everyone partied…

We have been here for a couple of hours, managed to get through a few Tequila Sunrises, Strawberry Mojitos and some bottles of water.  It’s a fairly quite section of the beach, with mostly non-English people – definitely a refreshing change from the packed (although awesome) beach near Bora Bora.

They have a nice sheltered area where they serve lunch, have an all day DJ and a cool chill out section…

We arrived at about 12:30am, so were all pretty tired.  It’s now 3am and we are back at the hotel room getting ready for bed.  I thought I would write a quick blog post (although I won’t post it until the morning, when we head over to the Hotel Garbi to use their free Wi-fi). 

We are going to rent a car tomorrow, explore the island, hopefully find Atlantis, get a bit of a tan and then head to Space for Hed Kandi!

Here are a few snaps from the first night…

Imitating luggage whilst waiting for it	Mark and Ilona in the bar…
Me with my first cocktail…	Mark pulling a funny whilst whilst waiting for our luggage…