Café Gótico, the Mallorca bar where Yoko Ono and Johan Cruyff went

PalmIt will surely be remembered as one of Palma's most beautiful and emblematic bars. Juan Carlos Palou opened the bar Gòtic in 1992, when the atmosphere at Gomila was beginning to decline and many establishments were letting down their barriers. "I came from working as a DJ at La Polilla and thought about opening my own bar, but I didn't know where," says Palou. That's when he found out that the souvenir which was located in the Plaza de la Lonja closed and transferred the premises.

"The surprise came when we started the renovation, since after chipping away at some walls, we found five Gothic arches and a 13th-century fresco that is currently in the Museum of Mallorca," says Palou. "Here I knew that the bar had to be Gothic, to pay homage to the arches of what years ago had been a cooperage, where bottles were made," he explains. "The place was so special that it didn't need much more than a bar and the corresponding lighting. We bought the furniture at the legendary restaurant El Patio, reupholstered it and that's it, the bar was set up," he says.

"Many of the customers who were selling were ex-gomiles who were looking for other places to go out and have a few drinks. There was everything, both the gentlemen and the progress", he recalls with humor. "When we opened, there wasn't much of an atmosphere in that area, there was just the Café Llotja, the Xampanyet, where journalists and a few others went." "We always played jazz, with a few exceptions; we even programmed live music," he explains. "Many of the people who came from Gomila were surprised to see me in such a different environment, if they knew me from La Polilla, and some complained that we only played jazz and not rock, punk or other musical styles," he points out.

Inside the Gothic it was common to hear Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Bill Evans and Billie Holiday, among others. "There were all kinds of customers, progress, young gentlemen, musicians, teachers, people who liked jazz... There was also a significant number of people who came because of how nice the bar was," he recalls. "There were people who told me that when they had visitors from Barcelona, ​​they liked to take them to the Gòtic because it was unlike the aesthetics of the bars of that time, which was there, which, often, which was. They were famous when they visited the island, surely because of the area and the architecture of the place. "Yoko Ono, Johan Cruyff, Infanta Cristina, Arturo Pérez-Reverte, among others, have all played here," he points out.

"The truth is, a lot of people came, but we didn't pay any attention to them. In Mallorca, it's very easy for famous people to come if you have a business," he says. "I remember the day Princess Cristina came, I saw that a large group of people had suddenly entered and that there were police officers, but I hadn't seen the Princess yet, who had her back to the bar. I asked her what she wanted. She turned around and said nothing," he recalls. "She was accompanied by friends and snobs, all from Madrid and rude. The police drank Coca-Cola, and when they left, one of them left his gun on the bar and had to go back," he explains.

"Business was good for the seven years it lasted, until it almost closed, which was mainly because the area had changed a lot and they were selling more to tourists who made lattes and spent hours on the terrace than to Mallorcans who came to listen to music and have drinks," he says. "It wasn't worth it anymore, and I thought it was time to close down," he explains.

The bar responds

What music used to play?

— Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Bill Evans, Billie Holiday...

What drink was most requested by customers?

— Especially mixed drinks, single malt whisky, Scotch, etc. Lots of rum and vodka, and gin and tonic too, but it wasn't that fashionable yet.

What would you say was the brand of the bar?

— I'd say the architecture: it was a very beautiful and distinctive space. When we took it over, all we had to do was install the bar and the lighting.

Any anecdote that makes you laugh when you remember it?

— The day two girls came to the launch of a book by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. They were sitting at the bar, and one of them was complaining that she hadn't been able to get the autograph her brother had asked for. So I asked her if she wanted me to sign it, that I wouldn't suspect anything, and so I did. "Sincerely, Arturo Pérez-Reverte," I wrote. The customers left, and minutes later, Pérez-Reverte appeared through the door. I couldn't believe it.