Hidden in the pine woods of the east coast, Cala Mastella is a tiny cove, barely fifty metres of shoreline, that you only find if you are looking for it. Turquoise water, fishing boats, reeds: the setting has hardly changed in forty years. And at the end of a path, a wooden shack still serves the island’s most legendary dish, El Bigotes’ bullit de peix .
It is in the municipality of Santa Eulària des Riu, near Sant Carles, on an indented, wooded coastline. Cala Mastella is an inlet sheltered by cliffs and reeds, almost unreal in its beauty for such a secluded spot. The shore mixes pebbles with a little sand, and the water is calm and transparent. It is not a beach where you spread out: it is a place you come to for the atmosphere, and often for lunch.
About Cala Mastella
Cala Mastella fits into a few square metres: a small natural harbour, colourful boats, water that shifts from turquoise to crystal-clear depending on the light. It is protected by the surrounding hills, which makes it one of the calmest coves on the east coast, even when the wind picks up elsewhere. A postcard spot, but without the crowds of the bigger beaches.
Given its size, you do not come here for mass bathing but for the atmosphere: settle on a rock, dive into limpid water, watch the fishermen. Snorkelling is pleasant along the rocky edges. For a more classic beach day in the area, Cala Llenya and Cala Sant Vicent are not far.
El Bigotes, the cove’s institution
You cannot talk about Cala Mastella without its restaurant, the Cala Mastella, known to everyone as El Bigotes, “the moustache”, the nickname of its founder. For more than forty years, the house has made its bullit de peix with the catch of the day, and what started as simple meals among friends has become a true island institution.
The principle has never changed: a small boat goes out fishing near the shore every morning, and the bullit de peix, followed by a creamy rice, is served as a single dish, cooked over a wood fire, usually around 2.30pm. The house serves only a limited number of covers a day, at a price that remains surprisingly reasonable for Ibiza.
The downside of this success: you have to plan ahead. El Bigotes has no website; you book by phone or WhatsApp, ideally two to three weeks in advance. You reach the restaurant along a small path of about twenty metres on the left bank of the cove. Without a booking in summer, you risk leaving hungry.
Access and good practice
You reach Cala Mastella by car from Sant Carles, on a small road that winds down through the pine woods. Parking is limited and informal, in keeping with the size of the cove: arriving early is more than a tip here, almost a must in high season. Once down there, everything is on foot.
Bring only the essentials: there is no sunbed hire, little shade apart from the trees, and space is tight. It is the kind of place people love precisely because it has stayed simple and authentic. To combine the cove with other discoveries in the north-east, our guide to activities in Ibiza and the Ibiza hotel guide will help you plan the rest.
