Bono Bono Restaurant is a Hidden Icon.
✅ Bono Bono Restaurant is a recommendation that never fails, one that I always recommend to all the people with whom I share the same taste, because I feel that I recommend them a place where you can eat and feel “like at home”.
While it is true that the typical search cliché is always “watch the sunset”, “eat paella”, and “Italian food”, Bono Bono would undoubtedly head the latter. You can read why in our article here .
▷ In a Snapshot
Authentic Italian cuisine, and the perfect balance between simplicity, authenticity, quality and warmth of a team that achieved its dream and continues to fight for it every day.
#Talking
Like many businesses not only on the island, but in the world, they have had to adapt to new security measures and restrictions that Covid-19 has brought to all of us. While the lockdown lasted, they did for the first time, home service, when they reopened and restored their more “normal” activity added the pizza to their menu, until this summer, they have finally returned to their typical dishes, and their specialties of grilled meat (highly recommended).
Among all these changes, and with the typical Roman “casino” (mess), after one day and another, we managed to make this interview with Diletta. As always, it was a pleasure.
1.-BONO-BONO. How did the name come about? Tell us the story of your restaurant.
The name was inspired by the typical Roman gesture of putting your finger on your cheek and caressing it, which means “Delicious!” Translated into Roman, it means “it’s really good” and to emphasise this, we have repeated it, hence the name “Bono-Bono“. First of all, we were looking for a name that had something in common with the Spanish language, which could have a double reading, and we liked the idea of combining the Roman dialect with the Spanish.
2.- ADN. Who is part of the Bono-Bono team?
We are four friends who were working together in Rome and decided to pack our bags and start this adventure together.
3.- PROJECT. How did you decide to open a restaurant in Palma?
The idea of opening a restaurant in Palma, has been the result of chance, as initially our idea was to do it in Barcelona, then for different reasons, we found ourselves one day suddenly on this island, which we fell in love with and furthermore, we found a place that perfectly reflected the concept we dreamed of for our restaurant, a space that mixed the typical tavern and trattoria of the Roman area of Trastevere.
4.- “COME A ROMA”. Your name and motto say it all. Tell the audience, what did you want to express with your slogan?
The public and our regular customers, appreciate very much our game of words in the name of our restaurant, because they understand that “come” as a verb to eat in Spanish, but that in Italian however means “as in…”, therefore our name in Spanish would mean “eat Rome”, however in Italian, it means “as if you were in Rome”. That little nuance is very important because customers quickly understand that our restaurant is not just an Italian restaurant, it is a Roman restaurant.
5.- FOOD. How would you define your food?
Our cuisine is based on the tradition of Roman cooking, which respects the authenticity of Italian tradition. Bono Bono’s recipes reflect the roots of an ancient past that has been transmitted and has reached our time, through word of mouth, between family and friends, through great-grandparents, grandparents, our parents and that we will pass on to our children, nephews and nieces. Tradition and family are very important in the model of the Roman family.
6.- MENU. Who designs the menu and how do you choose which dish should go or not?
The choice of the dishes on our menu is the result of careful research into old recipes, which we version and update, and which we then taste among ourselves and finally decide which dishes to add or not to our menu. Sometimes we test, inserting new dishes as recommendations, outside the menu to see how customers respond, and once we receive their positive feedback, we move on to add them to our menu.
7.- BBQ. For some time now, you have been adding grilled meat to your menu. In Spain, an Italian restaurant is represented more by pasta and pizza. Why did you decide to open with this option?
Since ancient times, in the Roman family tradition, it has been typical to go on weekends to the “Roman Castles” area for an excursion, to take a walk outside the city, and it was common to go to eat at the popular “fondas”, where the main dishes were based on grilled meat. And as you know we like very much to transmit the tradition and culture of our city, Rome, which is much more than the Colosseum, Vatican or the Imperial Forum. Moreover, the father of our cook, Paolo, had butchers, so we can also say that, “it was in his bones” (laughs)…
8.- 2020. How is this new reopening in Covid’s time?
The reality that the post lockdown opening has been hard, with many sacrifices, but it has been moving to see how our clients, despite all the changes even for them, have returned and has helped to motivate us and give us a lot of strength to continue and move forward.
9.- BONO-BONO ART. How did the idea of introducing art into your restaurant come about?
BonoBono Art was born from the idea of creating a space that went beyond our concept of the restaurant. A different place in the name of creativity. The whole team at BonoBono are passionate about art and regardless of the world of catering our origin comes from the organization of events and therefore we thought it was a good idea to unite Art and Kitchen. In this way we can also meet contemporary artists who are active in Palma.
During exhibition openings we organise contemporary dance performances, theatre, DJ sets and live music, giving life to a concept of a multicultural space, and we have been able to receive and appreciate that our clientele is grateful for this, and for us, this is the greatest satisfaction.
10.- BONO-BONO TOP. Of all your dishes, what do you recommend as your top one?
Our top dishes, naturally, are carbonara and l’ amatriciana, both cooked with the authentic traditional recipe.
HIDDEN TIPS
The team of the Bono Bono restaurant in Palma, tell us about their favourite places, their “hidden places” and “hidden gems” on the island.
For us, one place that we recommend is Alaró, a place that for us offers different possible experiences, from trekking, nature, its landscapes, and naturally gastronomic activities.
If you have the opportunity, we recommend you to visit and enjoy the Alaró Castle, a space that has been created for visitors and where it is possible to enjoy a BBQ in the open air with all its utensils. Another option is to eat in the restaurant located on the way down from the Castle where you can enjoy authentic Mallorcan food, where you can enjoy quality meat cooked in a wood-fired oven, from their own farms. Something that we also love is the “convivium” experience that this space offers, where there are “social tables” installed to share the experience with the rest of the public, and therefore, it is a way to meet local people and people of other nationalities. We find it a very enriching experience.
