Brunch in Barcelona

“Why buy it if you can make it?” Such is the philosophy at Caravelle, a creative café and restaurant on Pintor Fortuny. The brainchild of Zim and Poppy, an Australian-British couple who owned gastropubs in London before coming to Barcelona, this place pairs a minimalist, seemingly effortless style with a varied American-European menu based on homemade ingredients.

Hot sauces, jam, ice cream, cola, craft beer… it’s all made from scratch, and it all tastes amazing. The menu changes seasonally, but must-tries have included the mouthwatering fried chicken, slow-cooked carnitas tacos, double cheeseburger or salmon poké bowl. The Full Spanglish brunch (available in veggie form too) will make your weekend – pair it with a flat white from the La Marzocco machine.

And it’s never too early for Caravelle’s own craft beer – Galactic pale ale, Mixtape New-World Pilsner, Midnight IPA, or many more – all brewed onsite with brewmaster Ben.

“Knowing when and where to stop makes the difference” – a fitting motto for a place called Paradero (a stopping point). On Comte Borrell, at the edge of Sant Antoni, it’s earned a steady weekend line for doing two things well at once: serious specialty coffee and a brunch worth lingering over.

The coffee comes from local and international roasters, pulled on La Marzocco machines, so the cup holds up next to the plate. And the plate is the draw. The kitchen runs a tight, made-to-order menu with plenty for vegetarians and vegans: avo toast on sourdough with guacamole, feta, confit tomato and pomegranate; huevos benedictinos on brioche; Turkish eggs poached into spiced yogurt with smoked paprika and dukkah; a mushroom toast with smoky eggplant and goat cheese. For bigger appetites, the roast beef focaccia with pickled cabbage and Gruyère does the job.

The room is homey and unhurried, which is the point – they don’t take reservations, so turn up early or be ready to wait with a coffee in hand. Worth the pause.

“Feel good. Be good.” is the tagline of Barcelona’s newest brunch spot. The Egg Lab, the first completely egg-based restaurant in Barcelona, now has three locations in the city: Sepúlveda, Bruc and Lluís el Piadós.

Its mission is simple: to offer a sustainable, healthy and unique brunch. To this end, they collaborate with local producers and artisans (their free-range eggs come from the Sant Lluís farm in Dosrius and the bread is made at the Forn de Sant Josep). And, of course, a good brunch always starts with a good coffee. Their supplier is the Tornado Coffee Roasters, a micro-roaster in Granollers, that roasts coffee exclusively for them.

Starting with two main ingredients – eggs and bread – this bruncherie shows that even with the simplest of ingredients, we can enjoy an exceptionally varied and delectable menu. If one of the eight different egg sandwiches doesn’t do it for you, we recommend trying the sweet apple pancakes or the french toast.

A welcome addition to the city’s hip and healthy (and, of course, Instagrammable) cafe scene, Bloome by Sasha brings conscious living and good food under one roof.

With two locations in the city center – Passeig de Sant Joan and Via Laietana – this beautifully decorated cafe offers the perfect respite from the city’s bustling streets. The menu serves up all of our brunch-style favorites. From avocado toast to eggs benedict, acai bowls to classic porridge, there’s something healthy for everyone. And, let’s not forget, there’s matcha, signature coffees, juices, smoothies and much more to wash the food down with.

The great thing about this place is that there’s communal tables for workers on-the-go. So bring your laptop, pick up a specialty coffee and while away the afternoon at Bloome.

If you haven’t yet been to La Papa, you’re seriously missing out. One of the newest and most aesthetically pleasing additions to the city, this cafe-cum-brunch place is a must visit.

Aside from being beautifully designed and decorated, it is also incredibly conscious in its approach to sustainable living. Some of the highlights on the menu include the waffles, French toast, mushroom ceviche, avocado and eggs on toast, and the labneh. What’s more, there are gluten free and vegan options and they can adapt the meals to suit your diet preferences and allergies – simply ask at the counter. Wash it all down with a kombucha or specialty coffee – or gin and tonic if you fancy it – and you’re good to go.

Aside from the main cafe space, through to the back there is a little market selling sustainable clothing and homeware.

This place is a little different than your average brunch place. Eating brunch at Faire, on Carrer Girona, means having a positive impact on the planet. The team at Faire tries to protect our Earth by embracing sustainability, cooperation and care.

They’re committed to serving healthy, locally sourced, organic food that is sustainable for the environment where possible. You can find an excellent vegetarian brunch experience with local specialty coffees and delicious homemade dishes. We recommend trying the benedict avocado, chia and acai pudding bowl and the avocado and omelette toast.

What’s special about this place is that they promise to plant one tree per receipt. Yes, that means that your daily coffee will help reforest the world and support local communities! Every choice they make is a conscious effort to evolve into an inspirational food community that supports the world with care, harmony and positive energy.

Eat My Trip is a brunch spot opened in 2018 that ties together the inspiration of travel and food through the fusion of flavors from around the world. Founder Genia, trained as an economist, has always loved baking and after her home brunch sessions for friends took off she decided to swap a life crunching numbers for cracking eggs. The concept has been so successful she opened a second location in Madrid earlier this years.

The daring cafés give eggs Benedict a new look and taste, swapping the core identity of the brunch classic – Hollandaise sauce – for a special Thai curry topping. Don’t panic people, this swap is so delicious your faith in traditional eggs Benny will be left shaken. Sweet tooth? How about the Magic Waffle with with salted caramel, sour cream and tropical fruits, hidden under a display of pink cotton candy? There are plenty of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and healthy options too, such as a Tahini-dressed Quinoa Buddha Bowl with veggies, hummus and roasted peanuts, or the Açai Energy Bomb packed with fruit, coconut milk, granola and nuts.

Latte lover? How about swapping your caffeine for a blue Matcha, rose Barbie or golden Turmeric hot drink? If you can’t let go of your routine for caffeine, Eat My Trip still have you covered with their perfectly brewed coffee, sourced from arabica beans grown on a microlot in Colombia and roasted on a weekly basis in Catalunya. For special occasions they’ll prepare made-to-order cakes and sell their own homemade cookies, granola and nut butters. The interior continues with the handmade inspiration – everything was made by Genia and her friends with objects they found or fashioned themselves.

Now there’s even more reason to stop by: on weekends, Bottomless Brunch is available. Mimosa anyone? Calling all brunch and café enthusiasts – you need to visit Eat My Trip.

Outdoor seating is available

With appetite for brunch showing no signs of abating, it’s good news that Citizen Café serves its brunch the whole week through. A spot with a variety of seating from tables to plush leather sofas worthy of their own sitcom, there are plants and defunct TVs set up to look like an eccentric aunt’s front room.

The menu is extensive and offers many a healthy option with an accompanying range of fresh-pressed juices. Eggs come in various formats, including the Hollandaise-drenched Benedict or scrambled in a bun with salmon. There are stacks of pancakes or avocados depending on your predilection. And specialty coffee, with a microlot espresso or cold brew of the month made on a La Marzocco.

From 4pm, the menu shifts to include dishes like tacos and sea bass ceviche. They make sure to give it a twist, so the ceviche comes with fresh papaya and crispy yuca chips. Just to make sure they are ticking all the boxes, they have live jazz on Thursdays.

Tucked away in the lesser-known corner of Galvany in Sant Gervasi, within strolling distance from Gràcia, Rex Café is a suitably charming space in which to work, socialize and indulge your senses.

Sink into one of the plush, red velvet chairs to start your day with specialty coffee, ham-and-cheese-stuffed croissants and tostados adorned with fresh avocado and scrumptious scrambled eggs. The excellent selection of cakes, cookies and double-choc brownies also make this a great spot for a merienda between meals. And if you hang around long enough, you can explore the stellar selection of local wines and craft beers.

All in all, this cool but quaint little café is the perfect antidote to the maddening summer crowds elsewhere in the city – an oasis of calm you may well want to keep to yourself.

There are a couple of streets in Gràcia that are endowed with more than their fair share of distinctive eateries, including Carrer de Sèneca. From the partners behind Loup & Filles cold-pressed juices, Les Filles joins them just down the street from Berbena restaurant.

You enter by way of a plant-filled courtyard with linen parasols. Exceptionally well-designed, the interior is painted a deep marine blue with Nanimarquina rugs underfoot and lighting design by The Light Squad Studio. So good-looking, you would be forgiven for mistaking the space for a showroom. Rest assured, there is food, as the open kitchen will attest.

The breakfast menu is comprised of hipster greatest hits like homemade granola with yogurt or an avocado tartine. Lunch takes a turn for the European with a good dose of Italian and lots of veggies. Meat is organic, and coffee is sourced from nearby SlowMov. Lovers of interiors will find nirvana here.

Opened by the trailblazing team behind Milk and Firebug, applauded for their brunches, cocktails and attentive staff, GiGi’s is one of those places where every day feels like Sunday.

Start your morning with a Popeye’s Punch smoothie (spinach, banana, OJ) and Turkish eggs with whipped garlic-infused Greek yogurt on rye focaccia. Vegetarians will also love the bagels and meat-free burgers, including the Veggie Beast with portobello mushrooms, sauerkraut, pickles & tarragon mayo. For dinner, work up an appetite with tapas para picar, followed by beautiful cheese and meat-laden salads, fresh fish dishes and a commendable array of vegetarian options. Sip quality coffee or signature concoctions like the Sheikh le Beet mezcal cocktail with lime, Chambord and Bénédictine.

Whether you’re in need of a lazy morning graze, an evening feast with friends or somewhere for drinks, you’ll want to file GiGi Von Tapas away in your mental Rolodex.

Just when you thought you’ve seen everything when it comes to brunch in Barcelona, the Little Fern café opened its doors. It’s refreshingly out of place smack in the middle of Poblenou, giving off an authentic, New Zealand-vibe with a nod to the island’s famous café culture.

It’s not just the décor and the attention to detail that sets Little Fern apart. The menu is different, too, offering dishes like the pea and avocado smash with cashew mint pesto and poached eggs, or the charred-corn fritter stack. Oh, and those kimchi pancakes – a perfect blend of sweet and sour with a kick of probiotics from the world’s healthiest fermented food.

If you manage to take your eyes off the simple but glorious food creations, make sure you get a hot drink, too. Nothing beats a creative New Zealand-style coffee or a matcha latte. If you’re in for a special treat, give the turmeric or the charcoal latte a go.

Hidden on a quiet street behind the Rambla del Raval, Morning Glory is the kind of place you’re glad you stumbled on. It’s a small, eco-minded brunch café in one of the city’s most diverse quarters, built around healthy, ecological food and craft coffee – a calm start to the day a few steps from the bustle of the Rambla.

Owners Juanma and Rocio Peñalver run it with evident care. Beyond the expected avo toast and eggs Benedict, the menu leans on quiches, pastries and tarts homemade by Rocio’s mother, the sort of from-scratch baking that’s harder to find than it should be. There’s a serious tea program too, with high-quality Japanese and Moroccan leaves for anyone who wants something other than coffee, and the cooking keeps a green, seasonal bent throughout.

It’s as much a neighborhood hub as a café. The week carries a rotating roster of events – early-morning yoga on Saturdays for the disciplined, live music scattered through the week for everyone else – giving the room a looser, more communal feel than the average brunch spot. Those after a fresh, unhurried way to start the day will find it more than worth seeking out.

When you ask the good people at Elsa y Fred what their philosophy is, it’s no surprise the answer is taking care of people. At this charming bistro in the Born district, with its warm, living room-like atmosphere, Argentine sisters Camila and Sofí and Catalan chef Ramón have made it their mission to make their guests feel like family.

Lucky for us, their kitchen is open all day. The weekend brunch is a local fixture, offering staples like pancakes and Eggs Benedict. They have a set menu at lunch, while dinner is a tapas style affair with dishes like burrata & beet salad, crispy grilled octopus, crab burgers, steak tartar, Pastrami sandwiches and patatas bravas.

Finish with the apple crumble or chocolate coulant, or simply cozy up to the bar for a glass of wine – maybe their own Elsa white or Fred red – or one of many gin & tonics and make yourself right at home.

With its impressive patisserie selection, elegant French café feel, efforts at sustainability and loving nod to the heritage of the owner’s native city, Bristol Café has many reasons to pay it a visit. Hailing from Mar del Plata on Argentina’s east coast, the grand Bristol Hotel was a feature of bourgeois life there.

Now the walls of its namesake are graced with antique photos and dish names on its menu pay homage to the beaches and squares nearby. They serve from breakfast to dinner, and whether you start the day with a French croque monsieur, share a typical Catalan or Argentine tapa, enjoy a fresh sandwich, salad or burger or indulge in a large slice of dulce de leche meringue, expect everything to be homemade from high-quality local produce.

Bristol Café are keen to keep waste to a minimum too. There’s no plastic bottled water here; instead it comes filtered and mineralized from the tap, served in their own branded, reusable glass bottles.

This outpost of the Brunch & Cake opened in 2016 just minutes from the beach and remains as popular as ever with Barcelona’s growing brunch crowd. Founder Manex wanted to bring healthy food to his own neighborhood of Barceloneta, something difficult to find in the area.

Their handmade, organic menu embraces the group’s philosophy, with dishes like a quinoa-based Protein Salad Bowl and Healthy Bowls with superfoods like açai berries, dragon fruit or goji leaves. Other standouts include the Chicken Supersandwich and a By the Sea Combo featuring a mango, raw hazelnut spread and fruit toast alongside a poached egg salad.

Although they don’t carry the famous cupcakes, there’s nevertheless an impressive selection of cakes, including gluten- and sugar-free choices, plus smoothies, specialty coffee (from local roasters Cafés El Magnífico), craft beer and organic wine. Grab a seat on the open-air terrace and enjoy the sun with a brunch to keep even the most health-conscious happy.

Located on one of those quiet little back streets in Gràcia that you’re always happy to stumble across, Bicioci Bike Café is the work of Andrea and Fabrizzio, two Italians who’ve combined their passions for bikes, brunch and pizza to create one of the most charming cafés in BCN.

This intimate space is flooded with natural light and brought to life with colorful racing jerseys, hats and beautiful bikes that hang from exposed-brick walls. The vibe is lazy, and the cosmopolitan crowd flit between English and Spanish while tipping back potent Bloody Marys and revitalizing juices made from fresh carrot, ginger, apple, orange, celery and beetroot.

Brunch standards include French toast with devilish dollops of Nutella, tostadas with avocado, cream cheese & smoked sardines, and eggs Benedict or Florentine. Hang around until dinner for proper Italian pizzas and ice-cold bottles of craft beer. Bring your bike and burn it all off on your way home.

Ah the elegant and relaxed bistro, once Parisian, now international.

Opened in 2014, this gorgeous space combines vintage and modern interior design elements and serves up a menu of casual dishes with international flair. You’ll find tapas (croquettes, crunchy chicken fingers), salads, sandwiches (Hungarian Pastrami) and wraps, a Nebraska Angus burger, ceviche, chili con carne (a rare find) plus an enticing array of American-style desserts (carrot, lemon pie, cheesecake).

Factor in brunch, fresh-squeezed juices, coffee by the award-winning Cafés El Magnífico (try a flat white or AeroPress filter) as well as craft beers and you’ve got quite the appealing mix.

Copasetic is American slang for “completely satisfactory,” and that has been the house promise since Omar and Therry opened their vintage-dressed corner of the Eixample in 2013: comfort food, honest recipes, portions that satisfy. The sourcing does quiet work underneath – sourdough from Baluard, organic beef from Pyrenees cooperatives, free-range chicken, organic eggs and fair-trade coffee.

The brunch canon runs from Eggs Benedict, Hemingway and Florentine through crepes, pancakes and organic burgers, with the Greek plate – Cretan cheeses, feta dip, Kalamata olives, Cypriot pita – as the sharing order and a nod to the kitchen’s Hellenic streak. What really sets the place apart is dietary breadth: every crepe and pancake comes gluten-free, lactose-free milk is the default, there’s a vegan bread option, allergen codes sit on every dish and even the beer list carries gluten-free bottles – as complete a gluten-free menu as any in the city.

The rhythm has shifted with the years: brunch is now an afternoon affair, starting at lunchtime and handing over to cocktails – a Bloody Mary with a “secret sauce” among them – as the light goes. The room still fills, so book ahead.

As many a sweet-toothed Barceloní will tell you, Brunch&Cake’s sugary treats are among the best in the city. The group pioneered brunch in Barcelona 2012 with its brunch and dessert concept inspired by trips around Europe and North America. Founder Manex, an interior designer by trade, took a month-long expedition to find the best homemade desserts to bring back to Barcelona, scouting hundreds of cafés from New York to Portland under the Brunch&Cake motto: “in grandmothers we trust.”

The result is an all-too-tempting spread of homely recipes – Eggs Benedict, pancakes and bagels alongside Latin-inspired plates like a chicken sandwich with pico de gallo and chipotle mayo. For dessert, the picture-perfect cupcakes are a safe bet, but don’t overlook the pumpkin pie or the gourmet donuts, all washed down with a Valrhona hot chocolate or an award-winning espresso by Cafés El Magnífico. Bliss.

Perhaps you’ll find yourself seated next to green-haired girls chatting over organic juice and kale chips. Flax & Kale is trendy but its cuisine is rooted in nutrition and 35 years of culinary experience. The restaurant comes from the Feel Good Food Group, owners of Teresa Carles, and pioneers since the ‘70s in vegetarian cuisine in Barcelona.

Eager to innovate, the family-run group brings another healthy-eating concept to fruition: the first flexitarian restaurant in Spain. A legend on Flax & Kale’s menu classifies each dish under Raw Food, Gluten Free, Plant Based, Oily Fish or combinations of the four. Director Jordi Barri recommends the grilled watermelon with goat cheese, the raw vegan zucchini lasagna and the spirulina tagliatelle.

Also popular are the organic juices, though not nearly as much as the weekend brunch, which packs a full house.