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Different place, same Passion – Yalla Ibiza

The fearless founder of Ibiza’s iconic Passion Café empire is accustomed to busy summers after two decades spent serving up the island’s best breakfasts and brunches in multiple locations. Rather than rest on her laurels however, Lana upped the ante in summer 2023, adding two new strings to her already bursting bow: Máona, the specialty coffee house and brand, and Yalla Ibiza, her dream Middle Eastern fusion restaurant in the heart of Santa Gertrudis. So, as the island switches into off-season mode this weekend, some people might think she’d be ready to kick back and enjoy a well-earned break. Those people would be mistaken!

You see, while she was busy creating the concept for Yalla Ibiza earlier this year, Lana always had a second phase to the brand’s launch in mind. First, she’d build a core community of local clientele – completely via word of mouth – who’d spend hot summer nights dining on the stylish terrace, socialising and sipping bespoke cocktails beneath the light of the moon and the stars. And then, when the weather began to cool down, she’d get to work on indulging her passion for breakfasts and brunches – diving deeper into the flavours of the Middle East and creating new menus that married her love of fresh, wholesome, plant-based and vegetarian cuisine with exotic flavours and organic ingredients.

“Breakfast and brunch have always been my thing,” Lana says. “As much as I wanted to open an evening restaurant like this, I’ve also always really wanted to experiment more with the flavours from this vast area, in ways I couldn’t do at Passion.” Autumn days on the Yalla Ibiza terrace are drenched in soft, golden sunlight – perfect for alfresco dining – and there’s also the option of the intimate, interior dining space and the stylish all-weather (shaded and heated) side terrace. Now open daily (excluding Wednesdays) from 9.30am until 4.30pm, the restaurant is set to become a daytime village hub thanks to Lana’s tantalising new brunch and lunch menus, brimming with goodness, tempting with flavour and made with flair. As the brand’s tagline proudly states: ‘Different place, same Passion.’

The most important meal of the day is served at Yalla Ibiza until 1pm and it’s been love at first bite for Lana’s devoted clients since day one, with a plethora of options for those who follow plant-based or vegetarian lifestyles. Choose from light bites like the pistachio or zaatar croissants fresh from the Yalla ovens; choose a Passion-inspired brunch toast, made with locally made artisanal sourdough and topped with combos like avocado, roasted tomatoes, tahini and preserved lemon or the hard-to-resist sweet tahini, banana, granola dust and date molasses. Dedicated foodies will find it impossible to resist the stars of the show however – the hearty and wholesome brunch dishes, made with Lana’s own tried, tested and tasted recipes.

There’s the classic Fattet breakfast hummus – creamy yoghurt tahini served on a crunchy pita with chickpeas, pine nuts, parsley and boiled eggs – and brioche French toast with sumac apple berry compote, whipped ricotta and labneh with lemon zest. Baklava porridge boasts hints of rosewater, pistachio and lemon zest, while the crispy potato and parsnip latkes with herb and rose labneh leave hash browns in the past. Other Yalla Ibiza standouts include Harissa tofu scrambles (another Passion classic, reinvented); the classic Shakshuka; and Turkish eggs made with creamy, salty feta, spiced ‘burnt’ ghee, dill, perfectly poached eggs and sourdough to scoop it all out with. The Yalla Breakfast is the house special and teams crispy spuds with tomato and aubergine sauce with poached eggs, tahini, zaatar, coriander and more chunky bread. And for those who want to dress up their veggie brekkies, sides of smoked salmon and turkey bacon do the trick perfectly.

Good coffee has always been another of Lana’s true passions, and although Máona is closed for the season, you can still enjoy its specialty coffee blends at Yalla Ibiza. There’s also Turkish coffee, done the traditional way (if you know, you know), fresh Moroccan mint tea, light rosewater lattes, cardamom tea and more. Juices run the gamut from pure OJ to pomegranate, rosewater, melon, green and Lebanese mint lemonade, and there are smoothies on the menu too. “A few are stolen from Passion, naturally,” laughs Lana. Be sure to try the Majoon smoothie, made with banana, walnuts, dates, pistachio, vanilla, cinnamon and tahini. With weekend brunches being celebratory events, expect to see some new Yalla twists on classic cocktails soon, and in the meantime, there’s traditional Arak to sip slowly as you wrap up your meal.

When the clock strikes lunchtime at 1pm, the Yalla Ibiza menu makes the switch to cosmopolitan café-style wraps, salads, stews and sides – an easy, fast way to grab a bite in the middle of a busy day, whether you eat in or takeaway. The lentil soup or tofu stew are classic winter warmers, while Fattoush and falafel salads are nice for sunny alfresco lunches. Grab a lush shredded lamb wrap with caramelised onion and mint; try the marainated chicken wrap with alioli – all made with authentic Lebanese wraps and served with garlic sauce, pickled cucumber and tomato, plus delicious zaatar fries. There’s a hearty kofta burger, a light pan-seared tahini salmon and lots of delectable sides, all inspired by Middle Eastern fusion flavours. Don’t leave without trying a slice of pistachio, rose and semolina cake with fresh orange yoghurt on top, or Lana’s now-famous homemade baklava.

The new brunch and lunch offering at Yalla Ibiza is just the first taste of things to come in the off-season. Keep your eyes peeled for Yalla Yoga on the new custom-built alfresco deck, plus ultra-chill live music, meditation circles and special events with henna painting and fortune telling. Lana plans to implement laptop-free zones in parts of Yalla (don’t worry, digital nomads, there’s also a special area for you!) to encourage more community socialising, and you’ll soon be able to pick up express takeaways from the Yalla Deli or have them home delivered through Ibiza Runners.

The launch of the daytime menus at Yalla Ibiza doesn’t mean its existing devotees will miss out on their beloved dinnertime service – the impressive kitchen grill stays flaming from Thursday to Sunday for sharing-style dinners, group gatherings, birthday celebrations, after-work drinks or pre-party cocktails and more. Decadent dinners will continue to be served sharing-style, with dishes being delivered to your table as they’re ready, keeping conversation flowing long into the night.

For Lana, this next phase of her entrepreneurial career is igniting a flame within her that’s reminiscent of her early days at Passion. “I just love being here in Yalla Ibiza,” she says. “Even when I’m not here physically, I’m here mentally! It’s my love right now – and the energy there is just so good. It feels like the right place to be.”

A feast of flair and flavours

For more than two decades, Lana Love, founder of Ibiza’s iconic Passion Café empire, has planned most of her restaurant menus in accordance with the sun. But this year, she’s swapping dawn for dusk with the launch of her impressive new venture, Yalla Ibiza, one of the most talked-about openings of the season. A stylish space where the mesmerising sights, smells and flavours of the Middle East are celebrated and reimagined, it’s a place where Lana finally gets to indulge her desire for after-dark, decadent feasting.

To some, Yalla Ibiza may seem like an unexpected diversion from the healthy Passion concept, but those who know Lana will attest that the idea had been simmering at the back of her mind for years. “It’s really been since the very beginning, when I first opened the doors to Passion in Playa d’en Bossa, that I wanted to do something like this,” she explains. “I think it goes back to my Croatian roots – we actually came from Persia, walking over the mountains before settling in Croatia. I’ve also lived in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and when I lived in London, I often went to Middle Eastern restaurants to eat. It might be in my DNA!”

Passion Café founder Lana Love always dreamed of opening an after-dark restaurant centred around mesmerising Middle Eastern flavours.

“I’ve always had an obsession with things like dates, rosewater, tahini, orange blossom, zaatar – from day one, those flavours were intertwined with the Passion menus. But I always wanted to take it further.” Yalla Ibiza’s beginnings were serendipitous, in a way. When she discovered a location in the cosmopolitan foodie hub of Santa Gertrudis, and laid her eyes on the restaurant’s open grill, Lana knew it was time to spread her wings and open a destination that was designed for heady summer nights and dinners beneath the stars. “I want to establish Yalla Ibiza as a place that’s a dinner time venue,” she says, although she readily admits she’s already contemplating the potential for winter weekend brunches.

“People know me for Passion, for breakfast and for lunch. This is going to be the night-time restaurant I have always dreamed of.” Coming up with the concept and menu was easy – Lana says she’d almost decided on every dish within an hour. She makes it sound simple, but in reality, it was a culmination of many years’ worth of experience that led to Yalla Ibiza. From drawing on her time spent living in the Middle East, to taking inspiration from recipes she had collected over the years, the seed had been sprouting long before it had chance to blossom. But that meant that when the opportunity finally arose, it was ready to pop.

“I’m very lucky to have such a beautiful space in such an amazing spot,” Lana continues. Located within the centre of the pretty inland town, Yalla Ibiza is a beautiful restaurant spread across indoor dining room and the alfresco terrace, where brightly coloured bougainvillea bounces low from bamboo terraces, creating shadows in the fading sun. Much of the décor, tableware, cutlery, crockery and even the tea sets have been inspired and collected personally by Lana on travels to Marrakech, Istanbul, London and beyond. “I wanted to make it as authentic as possible,” Lana says.

Naturally, her approach extended to the creation of the Yalla Ibiza menu. “It plays with the flavours of the origin, but I didn’t want to overcomplicate things so it’s a small menu, but executed very well,” she adds. Designed for sharing, the Middle Eastern fusion menu uses the finest quality local ingredients (much of which are sourced from the nearby La Choza and Can Caus farms) to create rich, intense flavours that conjure the tastes of far-flung lands. Start the meal with classic ‘salatim’ – hummus served with bread and a selection of nine mezze and dips – then cherry-pick from cold mezze including smoky babaganoush, roasted cherry tomatoes with thyme and salty feta, and lamb kibbeh.

With her new venture Yalla Ibiza, where flavours overflowing with flavour have enraptured the island’s foodies, Lana’s vision is all coming to life.

Alternatively, skip straight to the tempting hot mezze, ranging from wholesome falafel and warm beetroot, labneh and hazelnuts to mouth-watering prawns in garlic, lemon, sumac and butter sauce, or tasty fish kofta and labneh. Meanwhile, the Yalla Ibiza grill-masters weave magic on top-level cuts of meat sourced locally, producing plates that are succulent and sumptuous in equal measure. Sizzling entrecôte, lamb kofta and chicken shish tawook are best accompanied by innovative sides like cauliflower with tahini, salsa verde and dukkah, roasted potatoes with mint yoghurt, and homemade zaatar fries, and the mixed grill is perfect for those who want a taste of it all.

“The concept is ideal if you want to come in a big group,” Lana explains. “Every dish is delivered to the table as soon as it’s ready and can be shared. And you can have a decadent dinner or a really nice balanced dinner, too – so many of the dishes are healthy, plant-based and vegetarian.” It’s not just the cuisine that’s peppered with exotic flavours at Yalla Ibiza – there’s also a tantalising cocktails menu including concoctions like the halva martini and a cinnamon dream to sip on too, alongside a hand curated (Lana’s hand, of course) list of Lebanese and Croatian wines among others.

After dinner – whether a light bite or a celebration feast – guests often linger over the extravagant Yalla Ibiza desserts, including delectable halva tahini brownies; amazing medjool date and pistachio balls; and Muhallabieh, a vegan pudding made from coconut milk, rosewater and pistachio. Don’t leave without a taste of the in-demand Persian ice cream, plus hot Turkish coffee, fresh Moroccan mint tea or a zesty orange blossom latte. Lana’s love for these flavours is apparent across every element of the menu – and judging by the reception the restaurant has received since opening just a few short weeks ago, it’s a love shared by everyone who has passed through its doors.

Opening every evening at 7.30pm, Yalla Ibiza is as perfect to pop into for an after-work cocktail and snack as it is to host a birthday or late night get together. Every guest is welcomed at the door by host Victor, who honed his skills at a slew of famous restaurants in Andorra, while the kitchen is proudly presided over by Lana herself, who ensures every plate is perfect before being delivered to the table. For Lana, this is a moment that’s been a long time coming, but the Yalla Ibiza team are ready. “In Arabic, yallah is the equivalent of vamos in Spanish,” she explains of her inspiration for the name. “It means let’s go, let’s do this!” Take heed and just do it – make a reservation now so you don’t miss out during its first season!

Home of health and happiness

Passion Café was the first of its kind in Ibiza, offering holidaymakers healthy alternatives to burgers and fry-ups in an otherwise touristic zone. The Passion ethos being love all, serve all meant meals were presented in a healthier manner – think burgers with gluten-free bread, vegan mayo and organic ingredients. At the time, the appearance of a veggie burger on the menu was something totally new to Ibiza. Passion Café filled a much-needed gap in the market and quickly earned a reputation as the place to get your health fix in Ibiza. Fast forward to 2017 and there are now six Passion pit stops on the island’s gourmet map, spanning the entire island. It has evolved into a full-service breakfast, lunch and dinner destination, and no longer serves red meat in any of its locations for ethical and environmental reasons. Over the years, Lana has continued to pioneer the introduction of superfoods and healthy ingredients to Ibiza – she was the first to add quinoa, açai, raw cacao, maca, matcha and turmeric lattes to her menus (not to mention many more – the list goes on), long before they were ‘buzzwords’ – and others were quick to follow. The most recent addition to the Passion stock room is CBD oil, served up in the lovely calming ‘Legalise Happiness’ drink, designed to help to ease stress and anxiety, in addition to easing and preventing a variety health issues.

With the 2017 season in full swing, Lana is now up to her elbows – quite literally, if you see her at work in Passion Pantry, surrounded by tubs of superfood powders – in health and happiness. Passion has already gone through 100 kilos of raw cacao, 100 kilos of chia seeds, 50 kilos of maca powder, 30 kilos of goji berries and 20 kilos of bee pollen this summer and still counting – a sure sign that islanders remain devoted to the brand for their daily or weekly dose of health and wellness. And the constant smiles on their faces as they walk out of their chosen Passion – Marina, Santa Eulalia, San Jose, Playa d’en Bossa, Bfit and Passion Pantry – are evidence of the happiness element, plain and simple. Passion is renowned for its extensive menu selections, with the philosophy of offering something for everyone lasting to this day. It’s important to note, despite some beliefs, Passion does not only cater for vegans and vegetarians. Meat eaters and fish lovers will also find many options to sate their appetites. It’s all about finding the perfect choice to suit your mood and your dietary requirements. “The passion menus have been designed with people on their holidays in mind,” explains Lana of the epic A2 doubles sided menus that greet diners in vibrant colours. “The options tick so many boxes. We have plenty of amazing things for meat and fish eaters, but a lot of attention and love has gone into catering to those who have strict dietary requirements, health issues, are vegan or vegetarian – we’re never going to just offer a green salad of friend potatoes as options!”

Starting the day right has always been a priority for Passion clients – after all, it’s the most important meal of the day, right? “Breakfast at Passion is not something you quickly grab on the way to work,” explains Lana of the concept. “It’s more like the brunch style indulgence you’d have on the weekends.” After all, in summer, every day is like a weekend in Ibiza. “Passion breakfast is more like a ritual,” she continues. “The menu is so extensive and complex it’s like going out to lunch or dinner in a fancy restaurant – it’s a high-end breakfast. The preparation of some of our dishes is so complex, especially compared to say, a grilled steak with mashed potato!” Whether you opt for a luxe avocado toast creation or a dish complete with Haloumi, salmon or indulgent pancakes, each dish is chock-full of goodness and made using the very highest quality ingredients on the market and designed to keep you going throughout the day. The Açai bowl is currently winning the award for ‘most Instagrammed dish in Ibiza’, with Lana seeing her beautiful creation tagged in more posts per day than anything else. “We’re really known as the place to go for breakfast in Ibiza,” says Lana proudly. “From early in the morning, right through until lunch we’re serving breakfast and brunch. Of course, you can get the typical tostada, croissant or coffee if that’s what you want, but the beauty of the menu is it’s not like other places. It’s not necessarily something you’d eat every day – but then, we do have people who come for breakfast every day and they can never eat the same thing twice in a week.”

Lunch by the sea, lunch in the hills, lunch after your workout, lunch over your emails or lunch before you hit the beach – all of the Passion Cafes can cater to all these midday cravings and much more, with special attention paid to vegans, vegetarians and the health conscious. “There are so many beautiful restaurants in Ibiza,” says Lana. “But unless you eat meat, chicken or fish, sometimes it’s hard to survive on side dishes alone. At Passion, we offer really great things for meat eaters, like our famous burgers, chicken salads and shwarmas among other things, but I find those people who are following a certain lifestyle or diet – whether for health reasons or by choice – are always so grateful at the options they find at Passion.” It’s important to note in addition to variety and quality, freshness is 100-percent guaranteed when you dine at Passion. The fast-paced nature of the venues means there’s no chance of eating a day-old sweet potato or grain – as fast as the fresh fruit and veggie deliveries come in to the restaurants, they are prepped, cooked and sent out on your plate. “You can really taste the freshness in our food,” says Lana. “Everything is prepped and made to order daily.” For Lana, the most appealing thing on the Passion menu for lunch is being spoilt for choice. “I get told off by my chefs and management for the menu being so big,” Lana laughs. “But it works. The variety is at the core of what the Passion concept is. We understand vegetarians and vegans still want to be presented with options, and to leave feeling full, after eating nice big a plate full of flavours and textures. A lot of thought has gone into the menu. It’s like a matrix behind the scenes here, with such a huge amount of ingredients – fruit, vegetables, grains, tempehs and tofus, Haloumi, herbs – being prepped and stored. But there is something for everyone and on the rare chance you can’t find something you want, you could curate your own dish with everything we have available.”

Each and every Passion has a different ambience by night, but the one thing they have in common is food that feeds the soul. At Passion, you can grab an early dinner after you’ve been on the beach all day or tuck into something healthy and light that won’t make you tired before you hit the dance floor later. Sit beneath the stars in front of the sea and soak up the romance in Santa Eulalia or in the Marina, dine on clean and healthy cuisine after a luxurious afternoon in a spa or grab a takeaway meal – served in environmentally friendly vegware of course – if you just want to get home fast but don’t want to compromise on quality. “One of the things people really appreciate at Passion for dinner is the abundance,” says Lana. “You get a great sized portion for the price – you very rarely need to order three courses as our mains are so big. It becomes very affordable for a night out. It’s also a lot lighter than a lot of other restaurant food – our meals won’t make you feel tired before you go out. You’ll feel satisfied.” Organic wines and beer are available however Lana says most of Passion’s after-dark clientele aren’t looking for a boozy dinner. “People come to us to get the things they can’t get anywhere else – they still drink green juices and protein shakes with their dinners!” Over the years, Passion has become famous for its delicious desserts and if you are still peckish after your meal, the carrot cake or decadent chocolate brownie with ice cream are perfect to split between a few friends… or take home for later! “We’re starting to see a lot more people come to Passion for dinner this year,” says Lana. “Passion is no longer just considered a breakfast or lunch destination. A meal at Passion is like a special event, no matter what time of day.”

It would be remiss not to give a special nod to the Passion drinks menu – with two pages dedicated to amazing beverage concoctions (a whopping 150 drinks in total across the venues). Drinks at Passion can range from a lush, fresh juice to wash down your brekkie with or a meal replacement style protein shake. Superfood smoothies, cutting-edge hot drinks and health-boosting shots are all part of the Passion package. “The menu would be even bigger if I could fit more on there,” Lana admits sheepishly. The scope for delicious liquid refreshment is endless in her eyes. “When I first opened Playa d’en Bossa, we had an A4 menu of drinks, but it was mostly juices and smoothies. Over time, it’s evolved to include elixirs, what I like to call ‘trendy lattes’, hot superfood drinks, healthy shots, parfait shakes and so much more. This year we’ve also introduced a new range of Passion cold-pressed juices that have 1.5 kilos of fresh organic fruits and vegetables in each serving, and due to the high-tech machine they are made with, they last for up to 30 days because all the bad bacteria has been eliminated in seconds during the making.” This means Passion lovers can now stocks up their villa or boat fridges, or curate their own detox without having to drive to the restaurant each day for their health fix. You can also enjoy them at Agroturismo Atzaró, whoe were so impressed with the new Passion cold-pressed juices that they are now serving them as refreshing, healthy drink alternatives for their guests. Impressive. Last of all, Passion’s own coffee blend – a custom roast by the island’s own organic coffee masters Café Mekes that was presided over by self-confessed coffee addict Lana – has become somewhat of an institution around the island. “I almost can’t get my head around the insane amount of takeaway coffee we sell these days,” says Lana in disbelief – thankfully her takeout containers and cups are all eco-friendly so this increase is sustainable. “We only use organic milks – you’ll never have a GMO soy with a fake vanilla taste here – and we go through cartons so quickly (every couple of minutes), there’s no chance of the milk spoiling.” The Passion coffee machines are also state-of-the-art, and are cleaned and maintained with the precision of a Formula One car to ensure total coffee perfection.

The Passion promise goes beyond just offering healthy eating options. Lana is also passionate about creating awareness within the Passion community, which tends to also be made up of like-minded conscious souls. Takeout is served in the aforementioned sustainable veg-ware, vegan and vegetarian options are a plenty and fruit, veg and meat is all organic where possible. Quality, above all, is premium. Large portions, exceptional produce and creative taste sensations are accessibly priced – offering value for money is another of Passion’s practices. On an island where healthy-based gimmick restaurants are popping up like mushrooms after a rainstorm, it’s good to know there is one (or six, as the case may be!) you can always trust. With 16 years of experience to draw from, it’s not about trends or fads – it never has been. Everything on the Passion menu has been researched thoroughly, sourced ethically, and tried and tested passionately before being added to the menu. Open from 9am until midnight daily, that’s all the more reason to indulge your Passions, my dears…