If you’re a fan of Rafa Nadal and tennis in general, you’ll find few places in the world more appetizing or nostalgic to dine at than Roland Garros. We aren’t talking about grabbing a bite at La Brasserie des Mousquetaires or the food stands scattered around the Parisian clay courts, the very courts where the Spanish superstar claimed 112 match victories and 14 championship titles, much to the dismay and admiration of the ever-gentlemanly Roger Federer, whom he defeated there six times.
We’re talking about the namesake restaurant in Manacor, Roland Garros (rafanadalclub.com). Here, members and visitors of the Rafa Nadal Academy (rafanadalacademy.com) can sit down to a meal surrounded by the likenesses of Nadal himself, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, and Björn Borg, champions who have collectively amassed 33 singles titles at the cathedral of clay.
© @rafa nadal academyRafa is often seen around the academy training and keeping an eye on his business, and Borg visited back in 2019. But catching all four tennis legends together in Spain, let alone in one restaurant, is highly unlikely. Instead, they are united in the restaurant’s stunning decor, which features large, striking black-and-white photographs of the champions lifting their trophies and, in Nadal’s case, famously biting his.
A dessert shaped like a tennis ball
"So, what exactly is on the menu at Nadal’s Roland Garros?” some jokester might ask. The menu here features artichoke flowers roasted in a Josper charcoal oven, red prawn arroz a la llauna (a traditional baked rice dish), and top-tier meats and fish paired with delicious sauces, truffles, and crispy garnishes. These succulent Mediterranean dishes are, of course, strictly supervised by nutritionists, just in case diners have to play an exhibition match against Rafa himself the next day!
© @rafa nadal academyAnd for dessert? The most Roland Garros item on the menu: the RNA Tennis Ball. It’s a white chocolate sphere filled with yuzu cream that rests on a sponge cake base and faux red velvet "sand" that perfectly mimics a tennis ball sitting on the clay courts. Honestly, to decide if this sweet masterpiece fits into a balanced diet, the chair umpire might have to climb down, just like they do to check a close call in Paris, and inspect it with a magnifying glass!
© Andrés CamposBefore sitting down to eat, visitors can work up quite an appetite at the Rafa Nadal Academy. It is an immense sports complex spanning nearly 540,000 square feet (roughly the size of nine American football fields). It boasts 44 tennis courts, including 22 hard courts and 22 clay courts, both indoor and outdoor, along with 19 padel courts, multiple swimming pools, a state-of-the-art gym, running tracks, and spaces for 7-a-side soccer, beach volleyball, squash, and pickleball. Afterward, to help with digestion, you can take a stroll to explore the rest of the facilities.
Beyond the sports arenas, there is an American international school with 500 students, tennis camps and programs for all ages and skill levels, a calendar of tournaments, an on-site hotel, a spa, a beauty salon, and an official merchandise store. There are also three other dining options: the casual US Open Café, the RN Club House gastrobar, and the exclusive Player’s Buffet, reserved strictly for boarding students and the professional tennis players who train here on high-performance nutritional plans.
© Andrés CamposAnd of course, there is a museum dedicated to celebrating the legacy of Spain’s greatest athlete of all time. The Rafa Nadal Museum (rafanadalmuseum.com) is packed with trophies, legendary racquets, iconic shirts, sneakers, and immersive video exhibits featuring close-ups of famous athletes moved to tears. Visitors weep openly in the darkness of the projection rooms. And if you happen to be the one person who doesn’t remember exactly where you were or what you were doing on July 6, 2008, you might just cry, feeling like an outsider, while everyone else passionately recounts every single one of the 288 minutes of that epic 2008 Federer-Nadal Wimbledon final, shedding tears of pure joy.
© Andrés CamposIn May, the Rafa Nadal Museum, one of the most visited attractions in Mallorca, drawing over 100,000 visitors a year, reopened its doors after a stunning renovation, debuting a new motto: "Inside the Legend." Opened in 2016, the space needed an update to reflect a new reality: Nadal retired in 2024, transitioning from a formidable tennis player to a living legend. Time marches on, even for champions.
© Andrés CamposTo ensure the space feels like a truly modern, interactive experience rather than a static shrine, the museum now features state-of-the-art sports simulators. Visitors can test their reaction times and jumping power against others, or analyze their serving technique by looking into the “mirror” of a virtual Rafa. It’s a bit more exercise, which means working up a bit more of an appetite. It looks like you’ll just have to stay for dinner at Roland Garros!
Sa Vinya d’es Mayolet: A taste of heaven on earth
Another stunning spot that recently underwent a beautiful renovation is the agrotourism retreat Es Mayolet (esmayolet.com), located just three miles from Manacor. This isn’t just your average rural getaway; it operates as an exclusive extension of the luxurious Rotana La Reserva hotel (reservarotana.com).
While Rotana sits high up in the clouds on a hillside dotted with holm oaks, cypresses, palm trees, and the greens of Mallorca’s only private golf course, Es Mayolet is wonderfully grounded. Nestled in the S’Avall valley below, it’s surrounded by Cabernet and Merlot vineyards, ancient olive trees, and native Mallorcan sheep.
© Andrés CamposEverything you eat, drink, or dip your bread into at the Sa Vinya d'es Mayolet restaurant is beyond spectacular. The house vermouth, Vermú-Da, makes for a stellar aperitif. The salt-baked sea bass is outstanding, the confit piquillo peppers in pil-pil sauce deserve a standing ovation, and the artichoke rice is exceptional. The traditional porc negre (black pig) charcuterie, featuring local specialties like sobrasada, butifarra, nora, and figatella crafted by the Inca-based family business Can Company, is equally phenomenal. And the braided ensaimada pastry? You’ll be asking for a to-go box for your leftovers, which is probably a first at such an exclusive dining destination. Trust us, it will still taste better a week later than anything you'd grab at the Palma airport.
Chefs Andreu Genestra and Irene Lluch
Andreu Genestra, the acclaimed chef holding a Michelin star and two Repsol Suns at his namesake restaurant in Llucmajor (andreugenestra.com), is the culinary mastermind who has designed the menus at both Rotana La Reserva and Es Mayolet since 2025. But the talent actually running the kitchen at this agrotourism retreat, the one wielding the knives and getting her tattooed arms messy, is Irene Lluch. She leads with a joyful humility that many celebrity chefs could learn from, working magic with hyper-local ingredients like olive oil pressed right on the estate and fresh produce sourced from Hort de Sa Vall (hortdesavall.com), a family farm located less than a mile away in the very same valley.
© Andrés CamposFarm-to-Table menus for the mindful traveler
If you love fresh tomatoes, peppers, artichokes, eggplants, melons, strawberries, and the incredible bounty that comes from Hort de Sa Vall, you can take a quick 10-minute stroll to see the land the Adrover family has cultivated for four generations. Brothers Xisco and Guillem will happily show you around, pointing out the rural schoolhouse where they learned to read and the old mangers where cows used to feed back when dairy farming was still a profitable venture in Mallorca.
This inclusive family farm supplies exceptional fruits and vegetables not only to Es Mayolet but also to much of Manacor, where they operate two farm stands. The family aspect is obvious the moment you see Xisco and Guillem working side by side with their wives and daughters. The farm’s commitment to inclusivity is just as inspiring: they partner closely with Aproscom (aproscom.org), a Manacor-based foundation advocating for the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
© Andrés CamposTraditional 'porc negre' charcuterie
The women of the farm grill up these fresh vegetables, along with local meats, because a balanced diet is key to the special farm-to-table menus that guests can enjoy on Thursday afternoons and Friday evenings, right after a guided walking tour of the crops. These meals, as well as their special-order Saturday brunches, always feature trampó (a refreshing tomato, onion, and green pepper salad), roasted escalivada veggies, and, for a sweet finish, a traditional almond gató cake served with strawberry ice cream. Needless to say, the typical visitor here is an active, mindful traveler who prefers to engage their body, heart, and mind rather than just lounging all day by Es Mayolet’s heated pool.
© Andrés CamposHorseback riding through the S’Avall valley
Another incredible experience Es Mayolet offers its eco-conscious guests is a horseback ride through the scenic trails of the S’Avall valley. The excursions are guided by Naturacavall Sa Cova Vella (naturacavallsacova.com), a Manacor family business dedicated to rescuing horses that have lost their purpose, whether they are former high-level competitors or animals whose owners can no longer care for them properly.
They rehabilitate and train these majestic animals so visitors can safely ride them along the trails. To make the day even more special, Es Mayolet guests can make the experience even more memorable by enjoying an alfresco countryside lunch. Irene Lluch and her culinary team pack a beautifully curated basket for the riders, creating an unforgettable outing aptly named the "Picnic & Ride Experience."
