We are in high season for sweets. Roscones de Reyes, panettones, nougat marzipan… We may like some of them more or less, but there is one sweet that unites absolutely all mankind: chocolate.
Fortunately, to live in Catalonia is to be in one of the nerve centers of chocolate. The city has a love story with sweet and brown gold and, not for nothing, the best chocolatier in the world is Catalan. Chocolate is part of the identity of Barcelona and therefore, snacking on chocolate with churros in Petritxol street or in one of the dozens of chocolate shops in the city is one of those traditions that certify us as Barcelona locals.
But just as all that glitters is not gold, not just any store is a great chocolate shop. So, to help you separate the wheat from the chaff (or the tablet from the bonbon), we bring you a list of the best chocolate shops in the city to enjoy a great afternoon in Barcelona.
Table Of Contents
- Hofmann Pastry Shop avant-garde desserts at home
- The chocolate shops on Petritxol Street
- Chocolates Bresco, from Huesca to Barcelona
- Learn about the history of Catalan chocolate in the Chocolate Museum
- Viader Farm the parents of Cacaolat
- La Nena, family board games
- Chök the chocolate kitchen
- Oriol Balaguer luxury chocolate palms
- Escribà a classic among classics
- La Pastisseria Barcelona, signature desserts and chocolates
- Lluc Cusellas' pastry shop, the best chocolatier in the world
Hofmann Pastry Shop avant-garde desserts at home
Miquel Guarro builds desserts with chocolate that are truly avant-garde in the city. His most outstanding works are La Rosa, a flower-shaped dessert made with raspberry petals combined with dark chocolate and other flavors. We also want to highlight the Volcànic, a real volcano rock, which of course is dark chocolate with hints of macadamia nut.
📍 Flassaders, 44
The chocolate shops on Petritxol Street
Petritxol street is the most iconic street in the Gothic Quarter where you can go to have a chocolate with their churros. One of the places of worship is the Dulcinea Farm. Celebrities for its crema catalana is a traditional place where you can have one of the most famous cups of hot chocolate in Barcelona.
A few meters away, you will find Granja la Pallaresa. A place with traditional essence and cozy atmosphere where you can have breakfast or a snack and taste one of the best chocolates in Barcelona. There are also Swiss, creams, pastas of all kinds and homemade desserts. All of excellent quality and unmatched flavor.
📍Granja Dulcinea C/ de Petritxol, 2; Granja la Pallaresa, C/Prritxol, 11
Chocolates Bresco, from Huesca to Barcelona
The little brother of Chocolates Bresco from Huesca settled in Barcelona less than a decade ago. Despite its short life in the city, the tradition that precedes its products remains. Nougats, ‘teclitas’ and truffles are some of its most traditional and typical products, but the most special of its workshop, of course, is its wonderful chocolate in bars and chocolates.
📍 Carrer de Casp, 48
Learn about the history of Catalan chocolate in the Chocolate Museum
Chocolate can become a real passion for some people, and for that reason, many want to go beyond the simple tasting of it, to learn how to make it themselves and go one step further in the obsession with this delicacy. This is what the Museu de la Xocolata offers, where apart from being able to buy chocolate and visit the factory, on weekends there are workshops where you can learn how to make handmade chocolate.
📍 C/ del Comerç, 36
Viader Farm the parents of Cacaolat
Another classic among the chocolate shops in Barcelona, where you can have a cup of hot chocolate with churros. The particularity of this place is that they are the proud creators of Cacaolat. It is an impressive historic venue, which has remained true to its flavor and style since 1870. The chocolate shop is always overflowing, which means either go early, or sacrifice your patience to taste one of the best hot chocolates in town.
📍Carrer d’en Xuclà, 4
La Nena, family board games
If you want to have a family snack, this is your place. What makes this place special and makes it a perfect place to go with children are the board games that you can use while enjoying their menu of snacks. Catan, Trivial, Parcheesi… there are dozens of games to choose from, as well as many types of cakes and sweets to accompany your cup of chocolate. If your intention is to occupy an afternoon of your winter vacations, visiting La Nena in the Gracià neighborhood is your best option.
📍C/ de Ramón y Cajal, 36
Chök the chocolate kitchen
Cocoa is the main protagonist of this pastry shop that arrived in Barcelona in 2013, but its offer includes products of all kinds. Premium artisan pastries, pastries, cakes and, of course, its iconic gourmet donuts, which are handmade donuts with original toppings such as pistachio or fruit. Despite its young age, it has carved out a place among the great names of historic pastry shops in the city by offering traditional products but reinvented and modernized with new flavors, techniques and products.
📍Carrer d’Astúries, 93
Oriol Balaguer luxury chocolate palms
With several locations throughout Spain, the premises that carry the true soul and spirit of the Catalan master pastry chef Oriol Balaguer, are in Barcelona. Visiting its chocolate shops is an experience somewhere between luxury, modernism and pleasure. Chocolate bars and chocolates are their specialty, but over the years, their chocolate popsicles have gained popularity to the point of being one of their best-selling products.
📍Plaça de Sant Gregori Taumaturg, 2; Travessera de les Corts, 340; Carrer de Benet Mateu, 62.
Escribà a classic among classics
In addition to to be masters of the “roscones de Reyes they are by far the best national and international master pastry chefs. Every Christmas, apart from panettones and roscones, their Christmas-themed chocolate figurines become their best seller.
📍 La Rambla, 83
La Pastisseria Barcelona, signature desserts and chocolates
It is one of the most prestigious bakeries in Barcelona, promoted by the pastry chefs Josep Maria Rodriguez Guerola and Ana Lucía Jarquín. Through their recipes they seek to reconcile tradition and innovation, experimenting with new flavors and combinations and resulting in exquisite signature cakes.
For this Valentine’s Day they bring a succulent series of figures and chocolate bars of the most loving, like their dark chocolate bar “Love Noir” or their figure “Love Portion Red”, a dark chocolate heart with crunchy dark chocolate pearls inside.
📍 Carrer d’Aragó, 228
Lluc Cusellas’ pastry shop, the best chocolatier in the world
On October 31, 2023, the Catalan pastry chef Lluc Crusellas, only 26 years old, became the best chocolatier in the world. It did so at the World Chocolate Masters of Paris, a prestigious competition organized by Cacao Barry, beating candidates from 17 other countries with an impressive piece: a huge chocolate elephant. This huge figure traveled from Paris to be exhibited in the pastry shop of El Carme, in Vic, where Lluc is the head of the bakery.
📍 Rambla de les Davallades, 21, Vic