
There are a thousand ways to position yourself when it comes to breakfast: sweet or savory, coffee or tea, sandwich or toast…. There are many options, but Barcelona has long since taken a stand: the city’s quintessential breakfast is the croissant. The heritage of French pastries has taken hold in the city, and there is no doubt that the most traditional thing you can have for breakfast on a sunny terrace in the morning is a café amb llet with a good fresh croissant.
It doesn’t matter if it’s made of butter, with French inspiration, or of lardo, the traditional one here, the fact is that Barcelona is the capital of the crescent moon of pastries, and there are many pastry shops that do it well.
And as in any capital, here everyone wants to be the king. In the nerve center of the croissant there is a fierce competition to see who takes the throne. We don’t know who the winner is, but to help you decide here is this list, which brings together some of the best croissants in the city of croissants.
Brunells, croissants with 200 years of history
Brunells pastry shop has earned in a hurry a place on this list. In 2020, just a few months after its reopening, it won the award for the best butter croissant in Spain. Its secret lies, on the one hand, in the fact that one of the partners in the reopening is Canals, pastry chef of another of the usual award-winning bakeries. On the other hand, that bicentennial oven, as big as a room, which has been in the same place for almost two centuries. Brunells is a century-old bakery, and although it has now reopened, its history is the same as that of the Barcelona. From the mouth of the oven come out delicate and crunchy croissants that seem to have a thousand layers, a delight that makes you understand the reason for its award.
📍 Carrer Princesa, 22, el Born.
Pastelería Canal, seventies croissants
If Brunells is the heir to the Canal croissant, Canal could not be missing on this list. With several pastry shops located in the upper area of the city, this pastry shop born in the 70s has won the award for Best butter croissant in 2016 and 2019. If they keep winning it every three years, this year it’s their turn, so you have to follow them closely. Their croissant, similar to Brunells’ (they are cousin-brothers for a reason), is also light, with a very fine honeycombed interior. Be careful because it is not the only pastry they work with, so be prepared for a hearty breakfast.
📍 Carrer de Calvet, 15, El Putxet
📍 Carrer de Muntaner, 566, Sant Gervasi
Forn Mistral, pleasure in mini format
Forn Mistral has earned its fame. Curiously hidden in the hustle and bustle of Plaza Universidad, this bakery, whose most attractive shop window is at the back door, has one of the smallest pleasures recognized by those who know about sweets in the city. The mini croissant, regular or chocolate, is a bite-sized vice, a gourmet bite of which one buys a few out of moderation and ends up going back to buy more when one sees that they have run out in a few steps. It is not his only talent. The rest of the croissants, made with lardo and not with butter, in the traditional way, are at the same level, and their pan de pagés has already won several awards.
📍Ronda Sant Antoni, 96, Sant Antoni
📍Torres i Amat, 5, Raval
📍D’asturies, 35, Gràcia
Hoffman, haute cuisine croissants
They are not the only gastronomic croissants in the city, far from it, but they are undoubtedly one of the most iconic. From their small store in the Born, they dispatch croissants that have fascinated locals and strangers for years with fancy fillings that find the delicate balance between a crunchy croissant that sustains with a talented filling with a gooey and sweet tooth. The mascarpone is one of their flagships, but the chocolate classic is close on their heels. No wonder in a pastry shop that has won the last two awards for the best pastry shop in town. A necessary place to understand the city’s cruasanterismo.
📍 Carrer dels Flassaders, 44, el Born.
Sant Croi, by Albert Roca, croissants far from the center.
The headline is literal and figurative. Albert Badia’s croissants are far from the city center, with a luxury pastry shop opened in an unlikely place, on the border of L’Hospitalet. But his croissants are also far from orthodoxy, always looking for innovation. It is not strange, in someone who has the name of the best pastry chef of the Bulli and the surname of the best of the Celler de Can Roca. Banal coincidence, but in any case, from his hands come cakes that are fantasy and delicious croissants that, attention, can be ordered at home in breakfast packs, to eat one or give as a gift to others. Their croissants, attention, are award for the best butter croissant 2009 and 2018, so we already have a plan for tomorrow’s breakfast.
📍 Carrer de Bassegoda, 56, La Bordeta.
Escribà, the king in the royal streets.
Escribà is the superstar of Catalan pastry, the Ferran Adrià of sweets. A man who has taken pastry to another level, whether for his gigantic and absurd creations, for his crossovers with the art world or for his television appearances. With two mythical premises on the Ramblas and Gran Vía, he sells a butter croissant that he was one of the first to introduce in Barcelona. It is one of his star pieces. If you manage to find them without getting lost admiring the fancy cakes on their counters or the work of the workshop open to the public you get the prize of tasting a delight.
📍 La Rambla, 83, el Raval
📍 Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 546, Eixample Esquerra
El Prat-Can Carriel, from Roda de Ter, best croissant 2023

The sixteenth edition of the award for the best butter croissant fell in 2023 to the Prat pastry shop “Can Carriel” of Roda de Ter (Barcelona), the brand new winners of the ‘Best Artisan Butter Croissant of Spain 2023’. It is the second time that this pastry shop wins the contest after winning for the first time in 2017.
Its croissant has been the most valued among the sixty or so entries. The jury members have especially highlighted its flavor and the honeycombing of its interior, in a contest where the jury has scored the croissants according to the following criteria: taste (40 points), honeycombing (15 points), leafiness (15 points), color (10 points), format (10 points) and finish (10 points).
L’Atelier Barcelona
More than a pastry shop, L’Atelier Barcelona is a laboratory of sweet creativity. Behind this project are Eric Ortuño, former pastry chef at the Hofmann school, and Ximena Pastor, former head pastry chef at Albert Adrià, who have turned their space into a benchmark for innovation and excellence in pastry and have not stopped winning awards.
On the subject of croissants, they have dared to give an unexpected twist to the croissant, transforming it into a puff pastry cone filled with irresistible flavors: mascarpone, lemon pie or pistachio. And when the heat arrives, they take it to the next level with an iced version: hazelnut praline, vanilla ice cream, salted caramel and Reus chocolate cookie. Pure fantasy in every bite.