Get that pick-me-up only a perfectly brewed cup of coffee can give in the best coffee shops and cafés in Barcelona
Foto: Neo Coffee House
Written by Ricard Martín
Editor de Menjar i Beure, Time Out Barcelona
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Coffee lovers, rejoice.You can find all kinds of cafés in Barcelona, fromclassic hipster jointsto temples where coffee is practically worshipped. For espresso, lattes and Barcelona’s favourite shakerato, there’s pretty much a café on every corner, but only some of them are really worth your dough.
Nowadays, there’s a new kind of coffee shop that we love here, which focus on first-class product anda sort of traceability through the process of how it’s made. These are places where you can (learn to) enjoy high-quality and freshly roasted coffee, where fruity and herbal nuances are light years away from the burnt horror you might otherwise be served if you're not paying attention. Whatever you’re into, here are the best cafés in the city.
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Ricard Martín is the food and drink editor at Time Out Barcelona.At Time Out, all of ourtravel guidesare written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see oureditorial guidelines.
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Barcelona's best coffee shops and cafés
- Cafés
price 1 of 4
This is the speciality coffee shop in Poblenou,the headquarters ofhigh-end coffee importers and roasters Nomad. Part shop, part café and coffee roaster, this is a place to learn about coffee as much as enjoy it. Here they select the beans, toast them and serve them in every way you can imagine, and they really know their stuff. Minimalist in decor, the space sticks to bare wood, steel and glass. ‘We teach everything we do’ says Nomad’s Jordi Mestres. ‘The focus is not on the pictures on the wall, but on how to make and serve coffee. We do only one thing and we aim to do it very well.’
- Coffeeshops
- Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera
At this coffee shop and roaster that first opened in 1989, you'll find straight-up coffee, wholesale of single-origin coffees and exceptional blends – from hot tocoldbrew toshakerato.But the space is also just a lovely place to enjoy a cup of coffee. It’s not cheap, but the high quality of the coffee is worth the extra coins once in a while. The cappuccino is especially delicious.
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3.La Roseta
Find La Roseta nearthe beach, a tiny spotwith seriously good pastries and desserts; brownies, doughnuts, cakes, sandwiches, vegan and gluten-free options.The place is exquisite; white tiled floors, exposed brick walls, wooden furniture, newspapers and magazines. And outside, there are tall stools to watch life go by. The coffee is great and reasonably priced: don't expect fancy terms or overpricing, just three options: black, with a dash of milk, or with milk.
- Coffeeshops
- El Raval
Grab an amazing coffee to go at Dalston Coffee, a one-man establishment which barely has room for a bar, but does it anyway. That’s where Borja Rossellóserves up magic with anespresso machine and a Moccamaster filter; the espresso, filter, flat white, capuccino and cold brew are all very good.
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5.NEØ Coffee House
A dynamic French couple with a penchant for veganism, zero waste philosophy and speciality coffee. The NEØ Coffee Housein Sants offers up a proper brunch of scrambled tofu, smoked beans, roasted mushrooms with miso sauce, crispy vegan bacon, cashew cream with chipotle, green sauce and dukkah. Oh, and avo toast (their version includes baked chickpeas and savory granola). Light wood furniture and floors, large windows, abundant natural light, plants, a central table with benches, and small bars on the walls means this place exudes tranquility. A delightful spot indeed.
6.Right Side Coffee Bar
After Satan’s Coffee Corner closed in 2023, Barcelona needed something to fill its shoes. Luckily, Right Side openedin its spot. And we love it; on the table you’ll find a small menu with tasting notes for the coffees they have in rotation, like the Ethiopian chenji challa with hints of rose, currant, and orange, or the cortado they servewith aliquorice flavour and the unmistakably fresh taste of a herbal infusion.
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7.Öss Kaffe
Thiscoffee project was born in Buenos Aires with a branch in Madrid. You’ll find the usual coffees at Öss Kaffe (flat whites, cappuccinos, that sort of thing), and you’ll also find some specials, like the chocomarley (espresso, chocolate, milk, and Jamaican pepper), the orange espresso (double espresso with orange juice), and the extra virgin espresso (espresso, milk, olive oil). Oh, and if you’re hungry, choose between sweet (carrot cake, brownies, coconut macaroons, Cubanitos) and savoury (pão de queijo and toast).
- El Gòtic
With only a couple of tables,Bon Mercat is not a place to sit for a leisurely cup of coffee. But this small café deserves a visit when you’re in the mood for a good brew. Its tiny bar isverypopular and if you stop in, you'll know why. They toast the coffee themselves, bright and early every day, and in addition to the usual flavours, you can try their special ones, like the Hawaiian blend. Let the expert staff advise you, and if you like what they suggest – and you will – you can buy a bag of it, ground in a moment and ready to take away.
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- Cafés
- Gràcia
It's hard to classify this space that’s not so much a café or coffee shop as it is a workshop with its doors open to the public. With the beautiful Giesen roaster in plain view and a small and lovely interior patio space, they open their workshop so everyone can taste seasonal coffees from around the world. They’re enthusiastic and, if you want, they'll explain in detail whatever you want to know about the production, origin, the thousand nuances of coffee, and everything they work with (bread, oil, milk...). This is exactly the kind of project we all need right now.
- Coffeeshops
- Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera
Jordi Mestres studied design at Elisava in Barcelona, and then emigrated to London, where he discovered the world of speciality coffee, and had his own mobile coffee cart called the Nomad. When he got back to Barcelona, and in record time, Mestres had established Nomad – coffee roasters, café, wholesale and retail shops, training – as ground zero zone of speciality coffee in Catalonia. At the Nomad Coffee Lab & Shop, they experiment with coffee, and you can go to try brews that are prepared in a variety of ways, such as espresso, flat white, V60, aeropress, cold brew or cold drip.
Oh, and here’s what to order...
Cafè americà
Spanish: Café americano
English: Hot water and espresso
If you’re not familiar, an ‘americano’ is espresso combined with hot water. Far more common than filter coffee in Barcelona, the strength depends on the ratio of shots of espresso to water. It’s a fairly typical coffee house option in many other countries as well, including, yes, the USA.
Cafè amb llet
Spanish: Café con leche
English: Espresso and milk in equal parts
At any café in Barcelona you'll find cafè amb llet, a delicious combination of equal parts espresso and hot milk. It’s served piping hot, but a good one is worth a tiny tongue blister if you’re a coffee devotee.
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Cafè sol
Spanish: Café solo
English: Shot of espresso
A cafè sol (or simply a ‘cafè’) is a single shot of espresso, plain and simple. The bitter coffee is usually presented with a packet of sugar in a short, clear glass.
Cigaló
Spanish: Carajillo
English: Coffee with alcohol
If you want a little extra something-something in your java, this order will get you a small coffee with a splash of alcohol. Though the Catalan word is ‘cigaló’, almost all locals use the Spanish term, ‘carajillo’.Typically, you can order it anywhere that serves both coffee and liquor. Try it with Baileys (‘carajillo de Baileys’) or with rum (‘carajillo de ron’), two popular options.
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Tallat
Spanish: Cortado
English: Espresso with a bit of milk
Between a cafè sol and a cafè amb llet lies the tallat – an espresso ‘cut’ with milk. (‘Tallat’ and ‘cortado’ both literally translate to ‘cut’.) It’s still comprised of primarily coffee, but it’s a creamier and less-bitter choice than straight-up espresso.
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