Sunset Cala Conta

Sunset Ashram sits on the low headland above Cala Comte, on Ibiza's west coast, which is the practical reason it exists: this is one of the few places on the island where you can sit at a table and watch the sun drop straight into open water behind the islets of S'Espartar and Es Bosc. The beach below is fine pale sand broken by flat rock shelves, and the water over the sandbanks reads an almost implausible pale turquoise in the middle of the day. The venue runs on a split system. During the day it is a self-service counter, so you queue for juices, salads and grilled plates and carry them to a table or take them down to an umbrella on the sand. From mid-afternoon it converts to a seated restaurant with table service, and that is when the sunset bookings matter. The atmosphere is more barefoot-bohemian than club: cushions, low tables, driftwood, a crowd of families in the early afternoon giving way to a slower, drink-in-hand audience by seven. Note that the operation now trades as Sunset Cala Conta, though the old name is still what most people say and what most signage and map listings show.