The Mona de Pascua is one of those crazy sweet traditions of the country of Easter. The story of an uncertain origin says that the word “mona” does not come from any primate, but from the Arabic munna, which would mean something like “provision for the mouth”, a gift that the Moors made to their lords and that was synonymous of fertility, hope and rebirth.
The uncertain legend says that this custom evolved into the godfathers and godmothers having to give their godchildren, at this time, a roscón with an egg for each year that the child was twelve years old. At some point, this progressed to the current model, where bakeries compete with each other to design the best chocolate monkey, the one with the most spectacular shapes and the one that best matches the cartoon or fashion toy of the year.
Whatever the origin, the truth is that Easter is a real tournament of chocolate art, a time of fantasy where confectioners bring out their best skills to build impressive chocolate figures. We bring you some of the best monas in the city so that you can be sure to get it right when it comes to taking care of your godchild.
The 3 best monas of 2025
Foix de Sarrià
This year, the grand prize for Barcelona has gone to the pastry Foix de Sarrià, which has been crowned in the category of chocolate Mona thanks to a spectacular creation in the shape of a gorilla. The piece, 40 centimeters high and four kilos of pure chocolate, can be purchased for 450 euros. It is not a cheap whim, of course, but not every day you have the opportunity to try the best mona de Catalunya. But if you prefer something more affordable, you can always look in the window of his store in Sarrià, where there is no shortage of other chocolate temptations.
📍Carrer Major de Sarrià, 57
Eukarya and the Easter animals of Lluc Clusellas
Lluc Crusellas, one of the best Catalan chocolatiers in the world, has won the second prize for this year’s innovative mona with his own collection of monas inspired by animals that you can enjoy regularly in Eukarya, Eukarya (C/ de Lleida, 23 Vic (Barcelona), Andorra la Vella-Pyrénées Andorra- shopping center (second floor).
📍 Lleida, 23.
💸Easter wreaths – 48€.
L’Atelier
L’Atelier Barcelona closed the podium with an impressive sculpture of a tiger in chocolate that sells for 95€. For sale is, in addition, its Easter 2025 collection, its new line “Monkeys, Monas” with monkeys that emulate human gestures.
In addition, the collection of three colombas made with panettone dough: Classic, Chocolate and Reus. Of course, the cakes: Mona Coco-Pasión and the novelty of our chef Eric Ortuño Mona Choco-Avellana.
📍 Carrer de Viladomat, 140 bis, L’Eixample, 08015 Barcelona
💸Easter wreaths – from 68€.
Mia, the archaeologist monkey
For another year, the Gremio de Pasteleros de Barcelona and the University of Barcelona have joined forces to create a scientific monkey to encourage children to explore this field with interest and curiosity. The creation represents Mia, the central character of the project made of chocolate. It can be purchased in more than twenty locations in Catalonia.
📍 Several locations (check here)ç
Joan Roca’s monas, pure fantasy
From Game of Thrones dragon egg-shaped monas to Moai or Darth Vader monas, Rocambolesc’s catalog of monas is as infinite as you can imagine, so we invite you to visit their website to take a look and try to decide on one.
Brunells: Easter eggs and hens (and monkeys too)
For this Easter, Brunells has created a collection of chocolate hens and their Cristinas or traditional Easter monas, made with fluffy brioche dough, almonds and hard-boiled eggs as topping. Following the custom, each mona will carry as many hard-boiled eggs as the godson or goddaughter has, up to a maximum of 12 for a price of 28€.
The hens are made with three types of premium chocolate: milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate. The small version, ideal for sharing with the family, is priced at 40€, while the large version, perfect for those with a sweet tooth, is available for 58€.
📍Carrer de la Princesa, 22
Bomboneria Pons
65 years of history make Bomboneria Pons one of the deans of the classic monas in Barcelona. Here there are no surprises, colored, personalized or with famous characters. If you don’t know which mona your godchild wants, here they will tell you which are the best sellers so you won’t fail.
📍 Olzinelles 78 and Nau Santa Maria, 3
Pastisseria Carrió
Catalan and Italian tradition. This is the summary of the Carrió’s proposal for Easter. Catalan for the traditional brioche mona and Italian for the colomba, the Easter panettone imported from Italy that has come to stay in Barcelona. Both are accompanied by another classic of the season, the delicious sugar-coated buñuelos de viento.
📍 Bailén, 216.
💸Easter wreaths, Italian colombas – 20€.
Jon Cake
Jon Cake, the creative place of Jon García, its pastry chef and owner, presents for this Easter a personal version of the traditional Catalan mona revisited in a Basque key: butter brioche wreath with cheesecake cream filling and, crowning the center, a chocolate egg.
📍 Carrer de Gelabert, 42/ Carrer de Sant Pere Més Baix, 36
💸Easter wreaths – 27€.
Hofmann and its 70-kilo mona.
Barcelona’s best pastry shop has set itself apart this year with a 70-kilo chocolate mona that pays homage to Catalonia for being the World Region of Gastronomy. They also have their usual monas, a success year after year, so if you doubt, you know where to go.
In addition, they have brought out this 2025 Hofmann reinvents tradition with “La Pandilla de Pascua”, a collection of chocolate figures with a touch of tenderness and adventure, ideal for celebrating Easter in a delicious and special way.
📍 Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 546.
Canal, the classic
Everything in Canal breathes tradition. Although it is a modern bakery that keeps winning awards, entering its cafeteria on Muntaner street and sitting down to have a coffee while the smell of the bakery and the counter make us salivate connects us with those bakeries that we stopped to look at as children walking down the street.
Their mona de Pascua does the same. Its flavor is the same as always, with moist pessic pa, an apricot jam in the middle that gives it the necessary touch, the cream crowning and the eggs and candied fruit on top that remind us that this is a traditional Catalan sweet. They also have chocolate and fantasy versions, but the classics never fail.
📍C/ de Muntaner, 566 – C/ de Calvet, 15