Chidas Bar and Cantina

There is a motto that the team at Chidas Bar and Cantina live by that perfectly sums up the dining experience here: every taste tells a story. It’s an idea that’s intertwined in everything they do, from tacos and salsas to cocktails and tequila – each element is treated with the same sense of love and respect, and duty to do its unique history justice. It’s an ethos that’s made this Ibiza restaurant one of the hottest hangouts in Ibiza town. Loved by locals and tourists alike, it’s grown from humble roots as a traditional cantina to a full-blown, bustling restaurant.

Andreas Tsanos and Salvatore D’amico are the brains behind this Ibiza restaurant and the lively, welcoming atmosphere they’ve created should be celebrated. The pair first met at cocktail school in London but their friendship continued in the ensuing years and after separate sojourns across the globe, they reunited in Ibiza to launch Chidas Bar and Cantina. The aim was for it feel like someone’s kitchen, a place where people can watch the magic unfold. So, the bar was built lower than usual to specifically provide a clear view of creamy avocados being bashed and zesty limes being added to smashed ice in the glass.

It’s a recipe that proved addictive and after a few years, with Julien Beceren now on board, Chidas Bar and Cantina was extended, becoming a full-service Ibiza restaurant. Now, main courses like ribs with coffee and chocolate mole and tamales wrapped in banana leaves sit alongside deliciously moreish burritos, quesadillas, ceviches and tacos of course — it’s hands down the best Mexican cuisine you can find anywhere on the island. If you’re brave, you might even try some if the insect-inspired dishes like the sorbet with toasted almonds, black ants and olive oil, or play it safe with summer melon.

As much as feeding their guests well is the main priority at this Ibiza restaurant, the real passion at Chidas Bar and Cantina is for agave spirits. Andreas and Salvatore curate the selection themselves and are always happy to educate their diners, who congregate en masse in one of Ibiza town’s coolest and buzzing off-the-main-strip plazas just for a taste of it. Together, they sip on mezcal and listen to a fusion soundtrack of funk, jazz, soul and tango, the perfect accompaniments to the warm Ibiza night. In Mexican, chidas is a slang word for cool, and once you’ve visited, you can’t argue that this place is anything less than that.