Casa Lhasa

For Cassady Sniatowsky, co-owner of Casa Lhasa, a natural wine bar and restaurant in the heart of the quaint village of San Lorenzo, appreciating the origins of produce is an integral part of all meaningful dining experiences. This is why every encounter at this Ibiza restaurant begins with a conversation: by sharing stories – Cassady hopes to serve as a conduit between client and product, paving the way for new love affairs to bloom and connections to be forged among people and plate. It’s a philosophy that’s proven popular; locals can’t tear themselves away.

A sommelier by trade, Cassady switched to the study of natural wines when he realised that regular wines lack an ingredients list. Discouraged by the absence of transparency, he pivoted on his path and alongside partner, Ben Sphunt, created Casa Lhasa, an Ibiza restaurant that celebrates the diversity and heritage of natural wines and pairs them with local, unpretentious food cooked incredibly well. Sustainable is one way to describe that approach but for Cassady and Ben, it’s more than that. The ethos here is about being conscious of the food and drink we ply into our bodies, and that’s apparent in everything they do.

The menu, for instance, changes daily depending on availability of ingredients. The Ibiza restaurant works closely with three farms located less than a ten-minute drive away from Casa Lhasa, so ingredients are seasonal, local and organic where possible. Fish and meat are sourced seasonally too, with an emphasis on using offcuts from the latter in creative, inventive ways. Think grilled lamb sweetbreads with labneh, pickled chilli and za’atar, or roasted pig heart with salsa verde. Meanwhile, oysters are a mainstay, and other simple but delicious dishes include radishes with anchovy butter, barbecued courgette and pesto, and Ibizan red prawns sizzled in brown butter.

The menu was originally devised by renowned chef Gareth Story, who has helmed Parisian restaurants for the past decade. Today, Marci Mikola is the current chef de cuisine at Casa Lhasa, where he’s further instilled the mantra of putting extraordinary flavours at the fore. The result is a truly unique Ibiza restaurant serving dishes unlike anywhere else on the island, all in a setting that sings with rural charm. In summertime, guests dine beneath the boughs of plentiful fruit trees, while in winter, it’s about cosying up in front of a roaring fire.

The final piece of the puzzle at Casa Lhasa is a natural and low intervention wine cellar acurated with attention to detail and love. Featuring a list of hand-picked, holistic wine makers from across the globe, it spans countries with long natural wine-making histories like Georgia and Italy to places taking first steps like France and Spain. Regardless of provenance, what’s most important at this Ibiza restaurant is that it passes the taste test: everything else flows from there.