Food might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Ibiza. The ‘White Isle’ is known for its nightlife, celebrity tourists and drugs probably.

I’ve just got back from a five night trip to ‘Beefa’ with four of my girlfriends. We decided we wanted to go before we turn 30 – argh, horror!

Food to us was just as, if not more, important than the partying and sunbathing and we made sure we got some recommendations before we set off. And we weren’t stuck for choice.

We stayed in Playa d’En Bossa which is a 25 minute walk to Ibiza town and its port and old cobbled streets. This is where we headed on our first night, tired after travelling and the loss of one suitcase (thanks BA!). We knew wine and tapas would sort us out.

We found Ke Kafe – not your typical Spanish name – but it was buzzing and the food looked delicious. After a small wait which gave us time to decide exactly what we wanted, we were seated. We went a bit crazy with the ordering and went for a bit of everything: Iberian ham, patatas bravas, garlic prawns, langoustines, crab and avocado, aubergine and goats cheese.

It was the perfect start to the holiday, all of this lovely fresh food washed down with red wine in a bustling street on a balmy evening and for a price that surprised us after warnings of how expensive Ibiza is.

The next night we followed a recommendation and headed to El Brasero where a few of us planned to have the obligatory paella. This place is up a lovely little street with white walls, restaurants on either side and good views of the Dalt Vila (Ibiza’s castle). Again we ate al fresco and this time just went straight for a main course knowing how hefty seafood paella can be.

The rice came in the typical paella pan with shrimps, langoustines, mussels and squid hidden inside. It was delicious and had some nice crunchy burnt bits of rice which are always a winner with me. Two of the other girls ate sea bream which was also lovely and really light and tasty.

This might sound like a pretty boring trip to Ibiza so far, just tapas and early nights. You will be pleased to read that these were our only two proper dinners out really as we were DANCING for the next three days.

We paid a trip to Blue Marlin but I can’t comment too much on the food here as it was mainly cocktails we were sampling. Their strawberry daiquiris and margaritas were delicious. This is a great place to people watch from behind the safety of your sunglasses. There were some amazing sights (and plastic surgery) to behold and we were joined out on the sunbeds by England football captain Steven Gerrard and his wife.

We did have a bite to eat here to line our stomachs – more Iberian ham and some bresaola sandwiches which were delicious but it was the alcohol which stole our euros here.

The next day we went to another beach restaurant called El Chiringuito which was very stylish and cool but also casual enough for us to turn up in our beach gear. It is also on a nudist beach, not that we let that put us off our food!

The menu was full of fish options which is what most of us opted for. We sampled the calamari fritti which was some of the most tender we have ever eaten, smoked salmon and tuna tartar with an avocado mousse.

For our main courses we had the tuna steak which was huge but didn’t come with much, the king crab and avocado salad and the langoustine risotto. The dishes were all beautifully presented and really tasty.

I’d say the staff could work on their smiles a bit more though – it was all a bit serious.

Ice cream and delicious white wine washed it all down well and left us ready for our disco naps before we headed to Space that night.

On other nights we found some decent sushi and a really good pizza place which re-energised us after six hours at Ushuaia.

I don’t know what our expectations were for food in Ibiza but I think it is safe to say that the variety and quality really surprised us.

Yes, I’m sure some people just eat fast food to fuel their dancing but as, a group of girls who have known each other for 18 years, we wanted to enjoy local food and long meals as well as the music.

Ibiza, I’ll be back for more of everything!