What Rita and Rodolphe did next…

This winter, the rooftop space at beautiful Ibiza restaurant Sa Punta was a flurry of activity. But of course, this was happening while the restaurant was closed for the season, so all we saw were trucks, workmen, tools and equipment, leading to much speculation about what Rita and Rodolphe Sachs – the stylish French restaurateurs behind the famous Ibiza restaurant – were going to do next!

We heard tales of Rita and Rodolphe travelling to China and Bali. We heard stories about them researching cuisine in the most glamorous of capital cities around the world. We heard whispers of bespoke furnishings being created in exotic locations like India, Indonesia and Thailand. And I have to say, for the life of me, I couldn’t work out what was happening on that roof! Save hiring a crane or catapulting myself up there to check it out, I was just going to have to wait – like the rest of Ibiza – until the grand unveiling of Patchwork (as we soon learnt was the name of the concept space) on Friday May 23, 2014. At 8pm sharp.

Rita & Rodolphe jump for joy on completion of their latest project, Patchwork – photo by Jordi Gomez

Frocking up in my finest, I joined an elite cast of Ibiza movers and shakers assembled on the ground floor of Sa Punta, ready to ascend the stairs and discover Patchwork. The opening (and I suspect, much of the vibrant, eclectic-chic decor) had been meticulously planned to coincide with a picture perfect Ibiza sunset, with welcome cocktails of guava and champagne precisely colour matched to the warm hues in the sky. Now THAT is attention to detail, Rita and Rodolphe style.

Patchwork, as it turns out, is a colourful, vibrant and stylish new rooftop restaurant, serving up Lebanese food (the first restaurant of its kind in Ibiza) in a fun, sharing, laidback kind of way. A restaurant within a restaurant really, as it gives Sa Punta lovers even more reason to dine there…

OK. Let me digress for a moment. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I had actually visited Patchwork earlier in the week for a sneak preview. To know more about the style and menu, or to book a table yourself, click here to read my review of Ibiza restaurant Patchwork on White Ibiza.

Back to the party! Stunning dancers were propped up on podiums, with the Ibiza sky providing the perfect backdrop for their long silk robes to float behind them in the wind, while DJ Monica Mira provided the perfect soundtrack to the sunset, building up to a more party-like vibe as more and more guests arrived, with jaws dropping as they took in the beautiful surroundings. Knowing Rita and Rodolphe, we expected nothing less than sheer sophistication.

Handsome waiters manoeuvred their way through the ever-increasing well-dressed crowds, expertly carrying trays of lush Lebanese food… including the best baba ghanouj I have ever tasted in my life, with pretty red pomegranates adding a touch of Ibiza to the dish. Hummus and crudite, amazing chicken bites, falafels that were cooked to perfection (and I’ve tried falafel in a LOT of countries, and trust me, it’s not an easy feat to get the perfect consistency!) and so many more bite sized pieces of yumminess complemented the delicious cocktails.

I bumped into Rodolphe and Rita doing the rounds of the crowd (as I was filling my face with food) and they told me that this was but a mere taster, pardon the pun, for the actual Patchwork menu – I can’t wait to go back and sample more! The couple of the hour looked chic, cool, calm and collected – pretty amazing considering they’d not only just completed an all-new restaurant, they’d also given the existing restaurant space of Sa Punta a fresh facelift for this year. No stress, just smiles.

That’s the thing about Patchwork. It’s just so fun, you can’t help but smile. Open from 7pm until 3am nightly, I have a feeling this is going to become to place to see and be seen, very quickly. You heard it here first folks….

Here we go again!

Here we go again! The wonderful winter has come to a close, and Ibiza is alive with the smell of fresh paint, the sound of suitcases being rolled across the cobbled streets, the warmth of the sun and the energy of all the new and returning visitors, ready to embrace the summer of 2014.

As our favourite restaurants, bars, cafes and hotels prepare to reopen (in fact as I quickly do a mental check while I type, many of them have already opened in time for Easter! Hurrah!), there is also plenty of hype (and rumour) surrounding this year’s new additions to our social scene.

Have you heard the one about the entrepreneurial duo behind our favourite upmarket beach restaurant taking over the old La Sal Rossa (no doubt to be renamed imminently), giving it a new lease on life but also planning to host some cool underground events (like the venue’s famed Cocoon after parties) over the summer?

Or have you heard the one about a certain internationally famed beach club planning on throwing OTT parties on the rooftop of Aguas de Ibiza? Or the slick city sushi restaurant bringing its deluxe vibes to the open-air terrace of La Torre del Canonigo, right at the very top of Dalt Vila?

Did you hear the whispers of the Monday night head-to-head battle between Pacha and Booom!? Is Manumission really returning and do they really have what it takes to rival the new Ibiza Rocks event? Have you heard the one about a certain gangly-armed DJ leaving his long-term Cocoon post? We’re sure you’ve already heard about the Guetta power divorce… and who got custody of all the costumes!

Madonna, Rihanna, Prince, Jamiroquai or AC/DC – who will be the one to headline the inaugural Hard Rock Hotel event? Or grace the stages of our super clubs? Did you hear the rumour that Paris Hilton is on the hunt for a new Ibiza home? We heard that a billionaire Dutch playboy is selling his Dalt Vila palace because the renovations were just too much like hard work… perhaps they should meet!

Speaking of the Hard Rock Hotel, have you heard it is also going to be home to a restaurant where you can expect to pay 18,000€ for a dinner for two? And while on the subject of gourmet cuisine… did you hear the one about Gordon Ramsay planning on invading the island and giving tips to all the British-owned restaurants?

Have you heard the one about White Ibiza being up for sale? (We were pretty amused to hear that one here at the brand spanking new White Ibiza HQ!)

So what have YOU heard? Go on, tell me… I promise I can keep a secret!

P.S. We can’t wait to tell you what we’ve heard about this hot new location… but for now, we’ve sworn to secrecy. More news to come in May…