We all know well enough that Barcelona is having wonderful sites of interest, delicious jamon, and that it is loved by football fans and trendies. Nevertheless, few people know that in the second largest city in Spain, there is a lot of excellent pastry shops with unusual desserts. The croissants, cakes and biscuits, which are baked in Barcelona, are eaten short. Even if you’re not a fan of the bakery goods, they worth a try. Here is some food for thought – the list of Barcelona confectioneries, which you will surely like a lot. After the buying of some of these delights take-away- arrange a sweet picnic, lying on the grass under the warm evening sun of Spain, enjoying your dessert in the nearby Park. Isn’t it tempting? Hire a car at Barcelona Airport and make your stay in this city even more comfortable.
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Mistral (bakery and confectionery)
Location: Carrer de Torres i Amat, 7
Working hours: Monday-Saturday: 7.30-21.00
Mistral was opened in Barcelona in 1879. Now there are working the grandchildren of the Bertrand family, who own the business in the fifth generation. In addition to the bakery, the café with the same name is working in the alley nearby. You should definitely come there for a delicious breakfast with coffee, pastries and an orange fresh.
In the bakery, you will be agreeably surprised by the large selection of bread from different types of crop plants. This bread is ecologically certified and prepared in a wood stove by hand only. For example, non-yeasted bread from dinkel wheat whole-grain flour, and the bread from kamut flour, which is so fashionable today. Of course, the prices for these types of bread are above average, if you compare them with the bread from an ordinary type of wheat, but their benefits for the health and digestion is as well higher.
Primarily, in the Mistral Cafe, you should try mini-croissants with chocolate, and the ensaimadas. These are popular Mallorcan buns, prepared from the airy dough in the form of a spiral. During their cooking, the pig fat is used, so, unfortunately, they don’t suit the vegetarians. You may try the ensaimada with different fillings: cream, “angel’s hair” and chocolate. The “angel’s hair” is a filling, made up from pumpkin fibers, which, after the caramelization, look like the golden angelic curls.
In a spacious cafe, you make an order in the display showcase, sit at a table and, in the end, pay in a check on the check-till near the exit. The interior of the cafe has kept a pleasant entourage of the past eras, – it is a real retro corner in the center of Barcelona.
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Hoffmann confectionary
Location: Flassaders, 44
Working hours: Monday-Saturday: 9.00-14.00; 15.30-20.00. Sunday: 9.00-14.30
This confectionary is hidden in the narrow alleys of the El Born district. The best croissants in Barcelona, which became the prizewinners of numerous competitions, are baked there. Every day, the extensive variety of croissants is different. There are the classical ones with butter, as well as with almonds, mascarpone, tiramisu, mango, chocolate or raspberry.
The Hofmann confectionery was opened in 2009 by the famous restaurateur May Hofmann, who has founded in 1983 one of the best culinary schools in Barcelona. The style of the school is characterized as dynamic, experimental and creative. It is one of the most famous Spanish schools for future cooking maestros. Since the formation of this School, various bars and restaurants, in Barcelona, have been opened by the restaurateur’s team.
Opening the door to this fabulous confectioner, you will be covered with chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, berries’ and caramel flavors. It is impossible to resist these tasty aromas, and it is extremely difficult to choose something specific. In addition to delicious croissants, there are many other types of baked goods. Their assortment is very wide: the Lemon Cake, chocolate bars, vanilla and chocolate cookies “H”, macarons chocolates, Brownie cake with creamy chocolate, Black Forest and different cakes and pies. It is worth trying the local Sacher-Torte, cheesecake and the rolls with cinnamon.
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Escriba confectionary
Location: Rambla, 83; Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 546
Working hours: Monday-Saturday: 8.00-15.00; 17.00-21.00
For more, than a century, Escriba confectionery pleases those, who are having sweet tooth. Here the masterpiece pastries are prepared since 1906. Many kinds of original romantic sweet gifts, as well as the unique cakes, made to order for birthdays and any other holidays and events, are sold there. Tasty rings of caramel for avowals of love, chocolate cards, edible slippers and other sweet surprises could be found in the confectionary. Try their chocolate bars, candies, cups with fruit mousse, cakes and croissants.
Christian Escriba, (the owner of the confectionary) was named best confectioner in Spain, he is engaged in his favorite process with true passion, as baking is the business of his family in the third generation already. The main principle of Christian’s work is that the imagination does not have limits. He believes that any unusual and bold dream could be put in its sweet form in his confectionery.
The prices for the baked goods and cakes are above average, but this is completely justified. The works of art of the Escribá brand arouse the admiration of the kids and adults. They are a tickle of the palate!
There are two Escriba confectionery shops in Barcelona. One is on the Rambla next to the Boqueria market, and the second is in Gran Vía district. The first is famous not only for its delicious products, but also for the building itself, which is the real gem of Catalan modernism. There is a small terrace, although in summer, because of the abundance of tourists, it is usually crowded, but you may buy any sweets and coffee take-away, and go down the Rambla to the port, where you can have a tasting with a look-out over yachts and seagulls. In the second confectionery in the Gran Vía, it is usually much quieter and more spacious, mostly locals come here, and, by the evening, there is still good selection of sweets and bakery.
Designer confectionary Bubó
Location: Carrer de les Caputxes, 10
Working hours: Monday-Thursday: 10.00-22.00; Friday-Saturday: 10.00-00.00
Bubó confectionery looks like a jewelry store, where every cake is a real work of art. The spirit captures, when you are looking at the shop window, as you want to try the whole range of incredibly beautiful sweet masterpieces. There you could buy nuts in chocolate, cookies, the chocolate with various natural additions, and there is many beautiful and tasty products, which could be bought for a gift.
There is a big team, working on the baking. The head of this team, the Catalan confectioner Carles Mampel, which is known all over the world, is always checking his creative potential or strength.
Sweets from Bubó impress even those, who are generally indifferent to such type of meal. Unusual shapes of cakes, bright colors, glossy surfaces and the explosion of flavors, textures and aromas, when you are eating this miracle, sustain that the designer sweets are as well very tasty. In fact, any product of this confectionery deserves high praise, as they are preparing the masterpieces without the unnecessary additives. Here is, for example, the composition of “Green Berry” cake: almond shortcake, pistachio musk and the natural strawberries.
The cafe is having a nice terrace, where it is possible to overlook the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar.
