The promenade is dense with restaurants, most of them catering to the German market with hearty German food and local Mallorcan standards. Quality varies, but several places serve genuine island cooking among the tourist fare. Look for restaurants slightly set back from the first row of promenade tables — they tend to offer better value and fewer hard-sell tactics from the door.
Mallorcan staples worth ordering wherever you see them: pa amb oli (bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil), frit mallorquí (a pan-fry of offal and vegetables), and any fresh fish from the local catch. The S'Arenal end of the strip has a cluster of restaurants near the marina with better-than-average seafood.