Restaurants in Girona is a rough and ready A to Z listing. Of course not the complete and exhaustive list of every place to eat in Girona, as new places open, old ones close, or change names all the time but it’s a start! We’ve also mentioned some late night venues below and a few restaurants outside Girona we’ve eaten in.
1900 C/de l’Obra 2, More of a cafe, but well worth finding, down a narrow walkway to the right of the church in Placa Susana, if you are coming from Placa Constitucio. Good for a coffee, teas, chocolate drinks and pastries, it has a pretty, ornate ceiling with colourful, plasterwork flowers, stone walls and a small rear patio area.
Amaranta, C/Del Riu Guell 33, Girona. Opposite the Mercadona supermarket. We’ve eaten here as it’s just around the corner from where we live. The menu is in Catalan but we managed to order some nice vegi-dishes. Modern interior, candlelight tables and busy on Fridays and Saturdays. It offers a set menu lunchtimes for 10.50€, closed on Monday and Sunday.
Abereda, Albereda 7, Girona http://www.restaurantalbereda.com
Alhambra, (closed) C. Riu Guell 18. A recent, new place offering Catalan and moroccan cuisine. It’s near to where we live and looks quite cosy with comfy seating.
L’Spagettheria, dels Alemanys 3, Girona Tel: 972 213 551 http://www.cocolino.cat
Bambalina C/Nou del Teatre,1 Has an outdoor terrace in the summer, and offers an 11€ daily, weekday menu, 15€ weekends.
Blanc C/Nord, 2. Next to the hotel Ciutat, as its name suggests it has a white decor with floor to ceiling shelves full of different coloured bottles-more for decoration I think. We tried it one Saturday night arriving at about 9pm, by 11pm the place was full. Seating is a mix of white sofa-type seats and hard wooden chairs with no padding-something I find uncomfortable if I’m dining out for a couple of hours.
Although there’s a normal full menu we ordered the weekend evening set menu at 20.95€ each ,which includes 3 courses, bread and a bottle of house wine. Service was prompt, the food could’ve been a bit hotter, portions were for diners who’d probably eaten something before leaving home! The courses also appeared a bit too quickly, we tend to like a slightly lengthier gap between courses.
Bo de Bo, C/Adri 15 (Domeny) Girona Tel: 972 081 395
Boira, Placa Independència 18, Girona Tel: 972 219 605
Cal Ros, Cort Reial 9, Girona Tel: 972 219 176. Traditional dishes like Pig’s trotters, Fish and Rice dishes. www.calros-restaurant.com
El Cafe de la Devesa, C/Cerveri 9, Girona Tel 972 208 616. Opened in the summer of 2007 with a ‘new look’ and an interesting food menu, yet to be sampled by us! Outdoor tables during the summer months.
Cafe Parc Migdia, inside park Migdia it looks out onto an artificial lake with plentiful outdoor tables. It can get busy here on a sunny, Sunday afternoon with families eating out on its large terrace or just enjoying a drink. A nice, safe spot for kids to run around as there’s also a playground next to it. Its large open layout inside can mean it gets a bit cold in the winter months. Offers a daily buffet-based vegetarian only, set lunch menu at around 9€.
Cafe B-12, C/Rutla 147-155, Opened in 2008, organic and vegetarian cafe, plus organic beers & drinks. Stopped here once and tried a few of the locally produced Catalan organic beers, which were quite good. Quite a few to choose from and worth a visit if you’re a real ale fan. Closes around. 11.30 pm.
Can Marc, Figuerola 34, Girona Tel: 972 224 929. Looked cosy and intimate, just the thing as I was with my wife but, we stood around too long waiting to be seated so we walked out!
Can Marques, Pca. Calvet i Rubalcaba 3, 17002 Tel 972 201 001 near the daily municipal market building.
Casa Marieta Tel 972 20 10 16 www.casamarieta.com
Cynara, Travessera de la Creu 5, Girona Tel 972 485 109.
Divinum, C/ General Fournas 2, baixos, Girona Tel 972 080 218
Draps, Cort Reial 2, Girona Tel 872 080 430http://www.restaurantdrapsgirona.com (site has a nice video) Inside the Old Quarter, gets booked up at the weekends, but also offers a lunchtime set menu well worth trying. Small and cosy.
El Celler de Can Roca, Crta. de Taiala 40, Girona 17007 Tel: 972 222 157 http://www.cellercanroca.com
This 3-michelin-star restaurant has been voted the 2nd best in the world! Can Roca is run by head chef Joan Roca and his two brothers, one of which is the pastry chef. It has a reputation for excellent Catalan food and wines from this region. I’ve heard from many Catalan friends that this is the place for fine dining. But, it helps to book several days in advance, maybe more, and at around 180€ each plus wine, which I’m told includes several courses, it’s too rich for me! It’s about a 5 minute drive from Girona centre in a non-descript, residential area called Germans-Sabat. As it’s just near to the school that my kids attended I often saw the chef’s sitting outside in their white aprons having a break. Closed Sundays and Mondays (presumably to count the takings!).
L’Ap. Small, cosy family run restaurant with bright orange walls, on the edge of the old town, near the Archeological museum.The waitress spoke some English, her husband’s the chef, we liked the food and service. The evening menu with some wine will cost you about 50-70 € for 2. Good Catalan cuisine with a lunchtime set menu at 13€.
Update: February 2008, seems like they have re-named it El Burg, and now also offers a set-price daily and weekend lunch menu.
La Creperie Bretonne.C/Ballesteries in the old town, has its kitchen designed as a mini-bus! Inside it has a couple of bar areas and feels a bit labyrinth-like but plenty of original Breton artifacts adorn the walls. We sat outside facing the street but it also has a side alley with tables. The Menu has a wide choice of crepes (7-8 €) with various fillings and salads (7-9€). We tried both and the crepes were large and tasty, they use buckwheat flour which I’m told is the custom in France. The salads were ample and the coconut ice cream desert was a perfect ending to the meal. Remember to try a bottle of the dry Bretton cider (bit expensive I thought, at about 9€/70cl. bottle). Update Dec.08. We ate inside this time and I felt the table for four that we had was a bit too small and being December it could have been a bit warmer inside. The food was adequate and the salads are big, our bill for 2 adults /2 kids came to 60€.
El mas de la Creu, Pujada Creu de Palau-Cantada C/ Albi, Girona Tel: 972 218 868
La Bistro
El Pati del Rabi In the old town former Jewish area www.elpatidelrabi.com
El Museu del Vi (Girona old town), Cort Reial 4, Girona Tel: 972 213 485. We sat outside on a balmy August evening and had an average meal, the tables are perhaps a bit too near the road! www.elmuseu.com
Els Jardins de la Merce Pujada de la Merce, 10 tel.972 226 845. I’ve had a look inside here and the large interior is tastefully decorated with small dining tables, and seating areas for just drinks with a central, square bar. This area leads out onto a larger patio garden with more tables interspersed between the planted areas, for tranquil dining. It offers a daily lunch menu at 10 euros, including the weekends. We ate here, under its porch, one Sunday lunchtime and had an enjoyable group-priced lunch at 18€ each, which included wine. There’s a DJ that plays music inside most Friday evenings, and it also has a chill-out area outside. We’ve also dined here one Saturday evening, and by 10 pm the place was full.
Enoteca Gastaldi, Placa Sant Pere 5, Girona Tel 972 003 538www.enotecagastaldi.com
FrescCo., Juli Garreta, 6, Girona, near to the train station. At lunchtimes during the week pay just 8.30€ and you can help yourself to salads, pizzas, hot dishes, deserts, coffee and your first drink is all included. All freshly prepared, good value and very nice indeed ! Just go back to the food bar as many times as you want, and only pay if you want more drinks. The price per head rises to 9.95€ in the evenings, weekends and festival days. It gets busy at lunchtimes with locals and office workers. Verdict: We’ve been here and its good value and fresh! www.frescco.com
Garbi, Placa Pompeu Fabra, num.13 tel 972 20 30 36
Il Viaggio, C/Migdia 80-82 Girona Tel: 972 226 969
Konigs. There’s four in Girona by my reckoning and one more in the Espai Girones shopping mall, but the one we prefer is next to St Feliu church steps in the old town which also has outdoor seating. Perfect for an inexpensive snack it has a good, plain menu (even does egg, bacon and chips!) and nice beers like ‘Bitburger’. Oh, and the one in Pl. Independencia is also a good spot, but sit outside as the interior is quite small. Does get busy at peak times like Sunday lunchtime so expect to wait.
L’amfora, Forca 15, tel 972 20 50 10
L’Argada, Av. Ramon Folch 7, Girona Tel: 972 218 405
La Catedral, Carrer Lluis Batlle 4, Girona Tel: 972 218 388
La Forca Vella, Forca 4, 17004
La Poma, Cort Reial, 16, Girona www.lapoma.net
La Terra, C/Ballesteries, Girona old town. Inexpensive cafe/restaurant with a limited menu, good for burgers and Quiches. If you sit at the back you’ll have views of the River Onyar. Open till late.
La Taverna de L’Abat, Placa de Santa Llucia 6, Girona Tel:972 219 704
La Til.la (vegetarian), Avda. Sant Narcis 65, Girona Tel:972 234 545 www.til-la.cat
Las Padules Up a narrow side street near Girona’s city hall. An old, established restaurant serving a range of cheep and cheerful tapas dishes. Basic wooden tables and chairs, try the house white wine (no label).
Llevataps, Cort Reial, Girona old town. What used to be the Excalibur pub is now a restaurant serving an interesting mix of Catalan dishes.
Mar Placa, Placa Independència 3, Girona Tel:972 205 962
Massana, Bonastruc de Porta 10, Girona Tel: 972 213 820. I’ve read about this place as it boasts a Michelin star. www.restaurantmassana.com
Mimolet, Pou Rodo 12, Girona Tel:972 202 124 www.mimolet.net
This small, cosy place is down a narrow path near the St. Feliu church and well worth finding if you like fine dining. We booked several days ahead which was wise, as we saw people getting turned away as we arrived. We chose the 10 pm Saturday sitting and while there’s a normal menu, we tried the ‘menu degustacio’ at 45€ each, excluding wine, which consists of 5 small courses and 2 deserts, spread over about an hours eating.
While each portion is small, it’s a nice way to spend an evening and even the house white wine was only around 10€ a bottle. The only gripe was waiting a bit too long between some of the courses.
Mozart, Pl. Independencia, Tel 972 207 542. Pizza’s mostly.
Occi, C/ Mercaders 5, Girona 17001 tel 972 22 71 54. It’s in a narrow back alley (car free) in the old town area and we tried it one Friday night, choosing one of the few outdoor tables. We could look straight into the kitchen area and watched the chefs at work. The interior looked pleasant and modern, and the menu interesting. We chose a tasty starter of grilled, large prawns wrapped in ham and asparagus tips. Portions were on the small side. I might feel a tad cheated if I came here starving, but the food was well presented by friendly staff, who did speak a little English. The meal for 2 with wine came to nearly 70€.
Raco del Pernil, Pl. Poeta Marquina,5. I’ve often passed this place on the way to Bar Nuria and it always has plenty of diners inside.
Pati Blau. Near the Hotel Carlamany with a small shop front so be careful or you’ll miss it! Offers a daily lunch menu at 11€ which we’ve tried. Inside the decor is pastels and peaches with a pretty, rear conservatory. We had a nice pumpkin soup followed by fresh sardines, all good and it included wine, bread and a dessert. We’ve since been back here and enjoyed the set lunch menu,
Sant Ponc, Avda de Franca 36, Girona Tel: 972 214 201. If you’re staying at the Costabella hotel nearby you’ll bound to walk past here. Near to the Carrefour supermarket. and also Girona’s main hospital, Trueta. We’ve been here and it’s more of a place just for a quick coffee or snack with a limited food menu.
Tastapans, (now a Chinese buffet place called Wok) Ctra. Barcelona 48
Update, Spring 09: It has now changed into an all-you-can-eat Chinese/Japanese food buffet restaurant.
Vinil, C/Cort Reial 17 Girona old town. Trendy looking interior, also offers a daily menu at 10.40€.
Check Hotel Prices & Availability in Girona
Other cuisine.
Kebab take-aways seem to be springing-up all over the place lately, with at least 2 in C/Rutla. Can Kebab (Old Town)-Take away only. A bit on the small side but nice, it’s more of a ‘wrap’ than the usual pitta-bread UK style one, so order two if your’e hungry. Easily the best kebabs I’ve tried so far. There’s another kebab restaurant inside the Espai Girones shopping mall, but it wasn’t that good and the portions were a bit small.
Turkish: El Bosforo, C/del Carme, 147 tel 972 203 972 www.elbosforo.com
Japanese: Tokio, Ronda Ferran Puig. I find most of the Chinese and Japanese served up here quite bland, boring and samey, except for this place. The interior really looks the part and even has private areas for groups. I’ve had the daily lunch menu a few times which is good value at 11.95 € (excl. drinks and VAT). Here’s a review from one of our friends: Make sure they give you the menu del dia, it’s on a white plastic card, they don’t automatically give it out, yes it’s about 12 euros. From this you can order what you want, as much as you want and then if you want more you just order more. it’s all in the price. Drinks are extra, if you have Japanese tea and want a top up make sure that you ask for more hot water and not more tea or they will charge you double. The food is excellent, really fresh, small portions, sushi takes a while to make as it’s fresh too, it usually comes at the end but it is all really good. The manager speaks English very well too, the staff are typically polite and attentive, a little too much sometimes.
Girona Bars & Nightlife. These are a few that I’ve tried and know about.
Buddha Club c/Pedret, 118 Girona.
Doll, Pujada de Sant Feliu, Girona old town. A different approach to drinking, there’s a normal bar but there are also tall, round tables that you can sit around, that have their own beer tap. The idea is to pre-pay for a plastic card from the bar for say, 10 or 20 euros. Each table has a sensor, placing the card on the sensor activates a small light on top of the beer tap which means you’re ready to pour beer into you own glass. The twist is that each time you do this a large TV type screen displays your name, quantity drunk and the remaining money left. Naturally this promotes drinking contests, hence the attraction for students, making it quite noisy and busy on weekends. Food is also available, we had some acceptable tapas dishes.
Cafe Lux, C/ Figuerola 50, sometimes has live music acts, opens late till early (5am) which last time I looked was only Thursday, Friday and Saturdays.
Sunset Jazz club Near the old town and facing the river, this small venue has a cosy, dark interior with a small stage (live music on most Fridays and Saturdays), but does’nt open till late. Admission charges apply when they have live acts. When I tried it one night it had a group of musicians just jamming (1st Sunday every month) so entry was free. Check their web site for future players and dates.
www.sunsetjazz-club.com (n.b I’ve also heard that the City Arms pub in nearby Banyoles also has Jazz nights).
Cafe el Cercle, C/ Cort Reial (old town, nr. the city hall) I liked its long, narrow layout which led to a larger side room and a bar area. Quite interesting, with cosy lighting, good sounds, a youngish crowd and English bitter! Snack menu available. Closes around 2 a.m
La Llibreria cafe, C/ Cort Reial (old town) Set inside a bookshop. Nice, quiet place with tables outside in the narrow alley. (closed)
Lateral
L’Arc
La Sala de Cel
Blau http://www.blauclub.com, and Mas de Nit (now called Sauvage) are nightclubs slightly outside Girona. www.sauvage.cat
Lola Cafe, C/ De la Forca 7, (old town). Open Mon-Sat from 7 pm to 3 am, Sundays from 6 pm. www.lola-cafe.com
La Platea. I’ve heard it’s good for the likes of me (young, middle aged!) on Saturdays and a younger crowd on other nights. Also has comedy nights, usually on a Sunday. www.localplatea.com
La Mirona is a popular venue for bands, located in Salt, look at their website for current listings www.casadelamusica.cat/ca/mirona/
Millennium is a club venue outside Girona www.cosmicclubmillennium.com/
Many Girona bars combine both drink and food and personally I’ve found these to be nice places.
The River Cafe, (Girona Old Town). Just beside the steps of St Feliu church, with a friendly atmosphere, it gets very busy with a young crowd on Fridays and at weekends. It also has a side room with comfy sofas and nice, easy listening music, a few outdoor tables and a daily food menu is also available. Open till late.
Bellini. Open daily for breakfasts and I’ve tried the set lunch menu at 10.80€ which was good, but it’s known as more of an evening bar offering cocktails, and has an up-market feel about it with a trendy, well-to-do young crowd. Very near to this place are 2 more popular, late-night hangouts called Casino Girona, c/Ramon Folch,3 www.casinogirona.com and Paparazzi Passatge Josep Canalejas,2 Girona. Dress code for these three would be smart casual.
Boheme. Overlooking the open plaza near the Girona main justice (Jujats) building, it has a rather garish red-velvet interior and serves a nice range of Cocktails. Plentiful outdoor seating is available if you can’t stand the colour scheme inside!
Bar Nuria faces the busy C/Barcelona but the outdoor seating is set away from the road and it”s next to a fenced-off kids playground so we find it’s a good place for an outdoor drink and you can watch the kids playing next door. It offers a daily lunch menu at around 9€ or a selection of Tapas. The surrounding trees, now pruned used to attract huge flocks of birds at dusk.
Las Carpas, Parc de la Devesa (early May to late Sept.) You should really get along here and experience this place if you are in Girona during the summer months. Devesa park plays host to a handful of outdoor temporary bars with floodlights that illuminate the tree canopy above. Sit amongst the tall plane trees, walk or stumble from one bar to another and listen to cool music till the early hours. Walk into the park from anywhere along the Passeig Devesa and you’ll see the bars or hear the music, it’s a great way to finish-off the night. Weekly live music (Wednesdays mostly) in at least one of the bars.
English and Irish Pubs in Girona. Not that many to choose from really.The City Arms, C/ Del Riu Guell. This chain of ‘English’ themed pubs is Catalan owned and has City Arms pubs in other towns like Banyoles (this one has jazz nights) and Olot. Looks OK inside but not a great selection of English beers, more German and Belgian to my mind, and not exactly cheap at around 4€ a beer. Outside the summer months it gets busy at the weekends (which start on a Thursday here) with a young student crowd, so gets a bit loud. Often has comedy nights (in Spanish tho’). Opens about 6pm and closes about 2am.
Cafe Irlandes, C/ Ciutadans 20, 17004 Girona (closed). Just around the corner from Excalibur. This Irish Bar and Cafe has the usual Guinness offering, English food menu and gaelic sports TV. Open 5pm-1am Mon.-Fri, Sat.noon-1am, Sun. 4pm-1am.
Mckiernans (Taverna Irlandesa), Rambla de la Libertat 30-32 (Girona Old Town) tel 972 220 141. This opened in the Summer of 2007, it’s an authentic recreation of an Irish pub and not just a clone of one of these ‘chains’ of Irish bars. I’ve tried it a few times, the Guinness (5€/pint) is good and the owner Linda is very welcoming and offers a reasonably varied food menu which includes soup, sandwiches, nachos, burgers, curry, salads and an all-day-breakfast, available till late. Outdoor seating on the Rambla, open until about 2am.
Restaurants outside Girona. There are of course many, these are a few we’ve tried. Many of the country restaurants get quite busy, especially for Sunday lunch as mums tend not to cook, preferring to eat out or buy-in ready cooked meals.
Can Xifra, Mas Artigues, 17199 Cartella, tel 972 42 85 46. It’s situated amongst lush, pretty countryside in a village called Cartella, near St. Gregori which is just outside Girona and one place that I’ve heard about from quite a few locals who say it’s the best place for a Sunday lunch with the family but book ahead.
We tried it on a week-day, without booking and had a very good lunch for a modest 36€ (for 2) for two courses with wine and coffee. I had the Escalivada which is grilled vegetables, followed by home-made sausage called butifarra. It’s a pretty, well kept, large, stone house with a big interior dining space with smoking and non-smoking areas, plus a terraced area outdoors.
Traditional Catalan fare at its best, notably its meat dishes like wild boar stew, which I had on a subsequent visit. If you’re traveling from Girona towards St. Gregori you’ll see the yellow Can Xifra sign on the last roundabout before you enter St.Gregori. www.canxifra.com We’ve been back here a couple more times, and it’s now one of our firm favourites.
El Restaurant Can Roquet, Romanya de la Selva (nr. Sta. Cristina D’Aro) Tel. 972 833 081 www.canroquet.com
From Girona take the road towards St. Feliu de Guixols (C-66) towards the coast and after about 25 mins. take the turn-off for Santa Cristina then lookout for the Romanya sign and turn left. This small Catalan village is about 6 kms up a hill. Can Roquet has an exquisite interior with views out onto the rolling, verdant Catalan countryside below and the surounding hills.
We were here one hot, July, Saturday afternoon and sat outside, it had several tables some under the shade of trees, with pleasant vistas and a clutch of healthy-looking chickens running around its courtyard. Strangely, when I tried to order roast chicken for the kids I was told there wasn’t any? The food was fantastic and the service friendly and efficient. Each dish was delicious and well presented, a real onslaught on our tastebuds. The desert menu should be totally re-written, the descriptions didn’t do justice to what you got, pure creations on a plate. Our young waiter spoke good English, as did the maitre-d, and the chef was Belgian. We were told the restaurant’s location is a popular spot for tourists to stop and take good pictures of the sunsets.
Simply one of the best meals we’ve had, but not cheap at around 150€ (2 adults, 2 kids) as we all had three courses each, a bottle of wine, coffee and kids drinks, but we truly had a memorable few hours here ! Top-notch and one to re-visit or bring friends to.
I’ve also tried it’s next door neighbour Les Gavarres a couple of times, also run by the same owners as Can Roquet. It’s long, wide dining area also has a re-furbished terrace now enclosed with views out onto the pine forests below. Interesting menu with a ‘daily suggestions’ sheet which I chose from when I had lunch here eg, Bacalao Ratatouille (cod) 18€, and my wife had a steak (solomillo) 25€ which was ‘superb’. Good, quality food in a pleasant setting with attentive service. Tel. 972 833 060 www.lesgavarres.es
La Barca de Bescano (signposted as you enter Bescano) C/ La Barca de Bescano Tel: 972 440 131
Bescano is a pleasant, small satellite village just a few kms. west of Girona. La Barca (the Boat) is down a long side street off the main road that runs through Bescano and you’ll see La Barca next to the river. This large restaurant was recommended to us by a Catalan friend, and we had the Calcots which is a traditional dish around February and March when the Calcots are in full-season (I have seen them for sale in December). Here’s an interesting and more detailed article I found about Calcots http://eatwords.blogspot.com/2007/02/not-just-bunch-of-old-onions.html
They’re like very large spring onions, about 60cms in length and when cooked over hot ashes they’re served in a large upturned ‘roof tile’ and you’re given plastic gloves and a bib because it’s quite messy work, pulling off the blackened outer leaves and then dipping the Calcots in a special home-made sauce. Very nice, with pleasant service (he spoke a little English- btw a Sherlock Holmes fan) with smoking and non-smoking dining rooms. Well worth a return visit. Update, June 07. We had another great meal here with some friends. eg. Cod with mushrooms (bacalao amb bolets).
Restaurant Monells, C/ Vilanova, Monells Tel.972 630900www.restaurantmonells.com
The village of Monells itself is worthy of a visit if your’e in Girona and you have a car, as it’s about a 25 minute drive. The restaurant is next to the Arcs hotel but seperate. We sat outside with a large round table, as we always prefer this option in the summer and the place was busy. The food was good but could have been better cooked especially my wife’s monkfish and, the sevice bordered on slow. A bit pricey but then it was the tourist season and out-of-season many of these places simply close-up for the winter.
Can Po, Rocabruna Tel 972 741 045
This place is a bit off the beaten track but we were invited there by some good Catalan friends who know the area. Head out of Girona towards Banyoles, following the signs for Olot, and up towards the pretty mountain town of Camprodon and continue along the C-38 following signs for Beget. The road past Camprodon narrows but the views are stunning out across the hills. We eventually arrived (3pm) at what looked like someone’s private house from the outside. Our friends booked as it was a Sunday and the place was packed. It’s quaint with buckets of rustic charm and low wooden beams, a log fire and intimate dining areas.
Ours was a private, seperate room with a large round table, its walls adorned with signed photo’s of famous past diners. A place noted for its meat dishes the meal was very good. The home-made starters of humous were exquisite.
El Cincuanta Cinc C/Riera 4, Peratallada tel/fax 972 63 42 92 about 30 minutes by car from Girona. We stumbled upon this place as a result of a recommendation by a Catalan friend. We found ourselves in the lovely, stone village of Peretallada on a sunny afternoon thinking of having lunch somewhere. This little village has quite a few restaurants, some with outdoor tables but we found Cincquanta cinc (55) just on the edge. We sat outside as it has a shaded, terrace area next to a small, grassy area which our kids enjoyed playing on. We both had the set menu of 20€ each and thought it OK with plentiful helpings, but if we found ourselves here again we’d try somewhere else.
Mas Sorrer Jazz Bar.
Situated on the road from Parlava to Torroella de Montgri as if you were going to Estartit from Girona, and opposite the pitch n’ put golf course. There is a small yellow sign, and it’s well worth a late night drink here. The place doesn’t get going till quite late and open till the early hours., we still saw people coming in at 3am as we were leaving! Also has a cocktail bar (10€ ea.), pool tables, a crepe van and a restaurant area. The bar areas are all outdoors, many with small fires, and to enter Mas Sorrer you walk through an illuminated avenue of tall sunflowers. I visited one late, Thursday night and it was quiet, apparently Friday’s and Saturday’s get very busy. Nice jazz music in an ambient setting making it a nice ‘cool-down’ zone. It also hosts concerts with well known Jazz musicians during the summer. Not sure of whether it closes during the winter period or just the restaurant is open.
Cotton Club, Castell de Peralada.
A late night place for drinks set inside the castle in Peralada, opens from late June, Thursdays to Sundays from 10pm.
Casanova, Banyoles old town. Near the Placa Major main square in a narrow street, that offers freshly made pizzas (9-11€) and pasta dishes. With a nice, stone arched interior, we had a pleasant pizza lunch here in an almost empty restaurant.
Ocells Perduts C/San Medr, s/n 17080 St Gregori. www.oscobe.com A pleasant country house (masia) restaurant just outside Girona, which serves traditional Catalan cuisine. We had a really good set-price xmas day lunch here for just 25€ each including wine, which we felt was good value as the few places that are open on the 25th of Dec. do charge a lot more. In a tranquil setting with outdoor tables in the summer means its one place we’ll be returning to.
La Vila. Bar/restaurant on the edge of Pals, a pretty, inland, medieval village. We sat outside one Saturday night even though it was early October, and enjoyed a selection of tapas mostly.We did order a local dish I’d heard about, arros a la cassola (rice and sepia) which was good but did bump up the final bill!
Catalan Food Recipes.
The Catalan kitchen is very much a distinct cuisine of its own and was once described as ” looking outward towards Europe and the Mediterranean rather than back into the Iberian interior”.
Some say its heritage lies in its history, dominated first by the Romans and later by immigrants from France and Italy but Catalans are proud of their cuisine.
Ingredients in the main include the following: aubergines, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, olive oil, onions, fresh fish and shellfish, wild game, pasta and wild mushrooms, red and white beans, broad beans, chick peas and nuts like almonds, hazelnuts and pine nuts, bread and wine…of course! The region has its fair share of red and white wines and the famous sparkling Cava wines. The Catalans love to eat and take their food seriously!
Some Catalan recipe’s will feature soon!
