Ferreries, a foodie route through its emblematic shops

Ferreries is one of those Menorcan towns that still preserves a close relationship between local commerce, craftsmanship and everyday life. A walk through its streets reveals family-run businesses that have successfully adapted to changing times without losing the essence that has made them part of the town’s collective memory.

For foodie travellers, four of the establishments recognised as part of the “Emblemàtics Balears” programme provide the perfect basis for a small gastronomic route, taking us from fresh fruit and delicatessen products to Menorcan cured meats, traditional siphons and local pastries.

Ca na Clara, half a century of local commerce

We can begin the route at Ca na Clara, on Carrer de Ciutadella. The history of the shop is closely linked to Miquel Morlà Coll, who in 1969 worked at the Es Barrancó orchard, where he grew oranges, apples, plums, persimmons and loquats. To sell this produce, he opened a greengrocer’s in 1974 that would eventually become one of Ferreries’ best-known shops.

Miquel Morlà also collected milk from Menorcan farms to deliver to Coinga and became the cooperative’s distributor in the municipality. In 2000, his children Bosco and Nina took over the business and kept the name Ca na Clara as a tribute to their mother, Clara Allés Pons, co-founder of the shop.

Today it is a family-run store offering fruit and vegetables, organic produce, dairy products, delicatessen foods and fair-trade products. For the foodie traveller, it is a good stop for discovering fresh produce and a way of shopping that still preserves the personal attention of traditional neighbourhood shops.

Foodies recommends: asking for advice and looking for seasonal produce, especially fruit and vegetables, before completing the purchase with a Menorcan delicatessen product.

Carrer de Ciutadella, 14 · Ferreries
Tel. 971 373 547

Carnisseria Barber, five generations behind the counter

The second stop takes us to one of Ferreries’ great butcher dynasties. Carnisseria Barber opened as a shop in 1933, although the family tradition can be traced back to Llorenç Barber Piris, born in Fornells in 1800 and later established in Ferreries as a butcher.

Generation after generation, the Barber family has kept the craft alive. Biel Barber Bagur opened the business in Plaça de Jaume II and began producing traditional cured meats. In 1975, the butcher’s shop moved to Avinguda Verge del Toro, where it remains today, with Aurelio Barber representing the fifth generation of the family.

Here, foodies will find some of the great flavours of Menorcan meat tradition: sobrassada, carn-i-xulla, botifarró, cured ham and other house specialities made according to traditional recipes, adapted to modern production systems while retaining the family’s identity.

Foodies recommends: taking home a selection of Menorcan cured meats. Carn-i-xulla and sobrassada are two excellent ways to begin discovering the island’s charcuterie tradition.

Avinguda Verge del Toro, 52 · Ferreries
Tel. 971 373 011

Cas Xifoner, Menorca’s liquid memory

One of the most unusual visits on the route is Cas Xifoner. In 1969, brothers Antoni and Damià Sansaloni bought the drinks business on Carrer de Sant Bartomeu and registered the brand Anda, formed from the initials of their names. Before then, the factory had produced beverages under the brands S’Auba and Productes Villalonga.

The company has kept alive the production of traditional siphon soda water and carbonated drinks. Sparkling water and siphon soda were later joined by gaseosa and lemon, orange, apple and pineapple soft drinks, all made according to the company’s own recipes. Particularly unusual is the pineapple drink, which the company regards as the first dark-coloured soft drink made in Menorca before the arrival of Coca-Cola.

The museum shop, opened in 2019, displays old siphons and bottles and offers visitors a glimpse into the history of these traditional businesses. Cas Xifoner is now the last active siphon shop in Menorca and still uses glass siphons and bottles with traditional mechanical stoppers.

Foodies recommends: tasting the gaseosa and traditional soft drinks and, above all, taking time to discover the collection of old siphons and bottles. It is an experience that combines gastronomy with industrial heritage.

Carrer Fred, 21 A · Ferreries
Tel. 659 749 581

Pastisseria Artesana Lluís Febrer, sweets with a story

The route can end in the best possible way: with something sweet. Lluís Febrer opened his pastry shop in 1982 as the successor to the prestigious Pastisseria Serra, combining tradition and innovation ever since.

Its history is especially closely linked to the traditional pastries of Ferreries. The business still preserves part of the heritage of the former Pastisseria Serra, including the machine used to make the famous “Besos de Ferrerías”, sweets that became popular during the 1960s. This machine, together with other historic utensils, is on loan to the Museu del Centre Artesanal de Menorca.

Around the year 2000, the pastry shop also began developing a gluten-free range, which over the years has become a very important part of its production. It also holds the “Pa d’aquí, forn i tradició” distinction.

Foodies recommends: asking which traditional Menorcan pastries are available that day and discovering the shop’s wide gluten-free range. It is a good opportunity to take home a taste of Ferreries’ artisan baking tradition.

Carrer Degà Febrer, 65 · Ferreries
Tel. 971 373 345
Web: pastisseriartesana.com

A walk through Ferreries’ gastronomic side

This route can easily be explored on foot and offers a different way of looking at Ferreries. It is not simply about shopping, but about stepping inside establishments that tell part of the town’s recent history.

A greengrocer’s born from a family orchard, five generations of butchers, Menorca’s last siphon shop and a pastry shop that keeps alive the memory of traditional confectioners make this route a particularly appealing experience for foodie travellers.

Because discovering Menorca’s gastronomy does not simply mean sitting down at a table. It also means entering local shops, talking to the people behind the counter, discovering their products and understanding the family stories that have enabled so many traditional flavours to survive to the present day.