What a variat is
The variat is not a single dish — it’s a mixed plate: a combination of 4-7 small snacks, cold and warm, picked off the bar or pulled from the kitchen. It’s the answer to “what do you order when you’re hungry but can’t decide?”
The word is Mallorcan for “variation” or “mix”. In Spanish it would be “surtido” or “variado”, but the Mallorcan word is what people use on the island.
What’s typically on it
There’s no fixed list. The bar decides — based on what they prepared in the morning, what’s keeping warm, what goes together. Common items:
- Croquetas: breaded béchamel balls with ham, chicken or mushroom
- Albóndigas: meatballs in tomato sauce
- Calamares a la romana: beer-battered fried squid rings
- Tortilla de patatas: a slice of cold potato-onion omelette
- Patatas bravas or patatas fritas
- Tarrina de paté: a smear of paté with bread
- Boquerones: vinegar-cured anchovies
- Aceitunas: local olives (Mallorquina, Empeltre, or the small green variety)
If you want a Mallorcan-leaning variat, plenty of bars also throw in: sobrasada balls, mini coca, a piece of frito mallorquín.
History
The variat is a bar tradition, not strictly a restaurant dish. Bars and cafés take the tapas they have prepared, combine them on a plate, and sell at a fixed price — that’s the entire concept. It’s lunch when you don’t have time. It’s also what you order when you don’t want to choose between five tapas.
With a cold Estrella Galicia or a glass of wine, it’s the most honest bar meal on the island.
Variat at Es Muntant
We run a seasonal variat — mostly at lunchtime when the bar is busy and a quick, mixed plate is the right call. The combination changes day to day — ask the team what’s on today.
On the restaurant menu it’s a good option if you want to try a bit of everything without ordering a full tapas spread.
More bar classics
Pa amb oli · Sobrasada · Menu