No need to go to Barcelona to discover some of our favourite canteens. We’re telling you about our top spots just 20 minutes from home.
After sharing our best addresses for grocery shopping, satisfying your sweet tooth, or simply enjoying a pleasant moment over a coffee, here are our favourite canteens.
It’s true that Barcelona offers an incredible range of restaurants of all kinds — including some very good vegan restaurants that we’re fond of — but it takes 30 to 40 minutes to get there. So we’ve looked for places near home where we can just drop in on a whim, no reservation needed, and where we feel at ease.
The Lunch Menu Tradition
On a trip to Andalusia 40 years ago, I came across restaurants that were open only for the lunch service, with a regular clientele who had their own reserved table and their own napkin. These canteens served excellent food for just a few pesetas.
Every petrol station had its little restaurant attached. I still remember a journey from Almeria to Granada and a memorable dish of peas, enjoyed at a station lost in the middle of the countryside 🙂
It was the Franco regime that, in 1964, obliged all restaurants to offer a “tourist menu” at a time when tourism in Spain was booming. This menu had to be clearly displayed and consist of a first course, a second course, a dessert, a drink, and a coffee.
This tradition lives on, and many restaurants still offer a lunch menu with the same format. Most of the time it’s home-style, flavourful cooking — and the prices are not high.
Pla de la Calma — Cardedeu
We’ve already told you about Pla de la Calma and its wonderfully pleasant terrace. We’ve been regulars there for nearly ten years, stopping by after our shopping for a coffee and their excellent grilled toast.
Their lunch menu is very well-rounded, consistently offering vegetarian dishes alongside fish or meat options.
For dessert, we recommend choosing the cake of the day.
The cooking is inventive and full of flavour. We’ve never been disappointed.
The lunch menu, served Monday to Friday for €16.50, changes every day. You’ll find it on their Instagram story.
There is also an à la carte menu with plenty of choice, including tapas. Special mention for their succulent “Patatas bravas”.
Reservation by phone: +34 621 28 15 80
Pla de la Calma is open Monday to Saturday.
Monday: 9am – 5pm
Tuesday to Saturday: 9am – 1am
Granollers — A Lively Town
The other spots are in Granollers, the largest town near us. It’s very dynamic and we appreciate it more and more.
Granollers is where we catch the train to Barcelona, the airport, and also to France.
The town centre is very pleasant, with a large pedestrian area that’s lively and full of shops.
Granollers was once both a working-class town and a holiday destination, like La Garriga, Cardedeu and L’Atmella. But during the Civil War, on 31 May 1938, Mussolini’s Italian air force destroyed it in an intense bombing raid that, like Guernica, left nothing but rubble.
Photograph by Bates Winifred – This photograph HU 33129 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 7705-17 )
Don’t hesitate to visit the Granollers museum, located on the main pedestrian street. The interior of the building is beautiful, particularly the staircase with its brutalist style.
Temporary contemporary art exhibitions, often interesting. Roman history of Granollers, quite fascinating. In the evening it’s open until 9pm.
La Vermuteria
This is quite a secret spot we discovered not long ago. We go there very regularly to enjoy their good vermouth or a glass of Cava, accompanied by their tapas — like the patatas arrugadas, potatoes served with Mojo sauce, a Canarian speciality, or their irresistible salted fried almonds…
The menu is well-stocked and the prices are incredibly low.
Don’t be put off by the gruff appearance of the team, who turn out to be very friendly. The place draws a big crowd and is mostly frequented by locals (the Granolleris). You’ll need to be patient to find a table, or arrive before the rush.
You can come for a quick aperitif, or have lunch or dinner with tapas. No reservations.
You can also browse their small grocery section, where you’ll find a good selection of wines and other treats.
Don’t miss their Instagram account — it will make your mouth water!
This rather unique spot is open every day.
Monday – Thursday: 11am–3pm | 6pm–10pm
Friday – Saturday: 11am–3pm | 6pm–11pm
Sunday: 11am–3pm
Casa Cantoniera
One of our more recent discoveries, now our Saturday morning canteen.
Set peacefully on a square reached through the pedestrian streets, Casa Cantoniera is a kind of Italian deli and grocer’s. There are tables available and a small terrace.
A selection of sandwiches is on offer, as well as boards of Italian cheeses and/or Italian charcuterie.
We love the place because the products are top quality and the owner and his assistant are charming.
This is where we buy excellent pasta — 100% made in Italy — as well as special flour and semolina for making our homemade pizzas and pasta. Their shelves are well-stocked with a variety of quality products.
We haven’t tried it in the evening yet.
Casa Cantoniera is open Tuesday to Saturday: 9am–2:30pm | 5pm–10pm
Garden Pizza
Another place we discovered recently. We’d been desperate to find a good pizzeria nearby — turns out we hadn’t looked hard enough 🙂
The pizzeria is not in the pedestrian centre of Granollers. It’s a large building, most likely a former factory, with high ceilings and different spaces. It’s very pleasant because even when the restaurant is full, you don’t feel on top of each other. There are also other spaces for groups and a large terrace.
There’s a whole philosophy around product quality: the Petra flour comes from Italy and the dough is sourdough with an extended fermentation time.
The pizzas are truly delicious, with vegan options. And the dough is really perfect.
There is also a good selection of artisanal pasta.
The service is quick and very friendly.
See the menu: gardenpizza.cat
Online booking available at: gardenpizza.cat/en/restaurants/
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 8pm–11pm. Saturday and Sunday also open 1pm–4pm.
Fonda Europa
Fonda Europa is the bar-restaurant of the hotel of the same name. The building is splendid with its Modernista facade.
It is located on the main pedestrian street in Granollers.
A little piece of history: this hotel has belonged to the Parellada family since it was founded, 250 years ago.
Service runs non-stop from 7am to midnight, from breakfast through to dinner.
You’ll enjoy traditional Catalan home cooking. Find the menu here, with a wide choice of tapas and main dishes.
We love the atmosphere, with a mix of regulars of all ages and a more cosmopolitan clientele.
The covered terrace, looking out onto the pedestrian street, is very pleasant.
Tsuruta Ramen
It was the very colourful shopfront and the manga theme that drew us in.
It’s a ramen restaurant with the advantage of being open every day.
Excellent value for money.
Not quite in the same league as Umami Plant Based, which is absolutely excellent but located in the Gracia neighbourhood of Barcelona.
Tsuruta Ramen is open Monday to Sunday, 12:30pm–4pm and 7:30pm–11pm.
Booking recommended: +34 612 27 07 41
Please note: you won’t find a restaurant serving from 12 noon or 7pm in the evening. The average lunch hour is around 2–2:30pm (it can be 3pm or later at weekends). For dinner, it’s around 8–8:30pm (it can be 10pm or later at weekends).