In Barcelona, you just HAVE to have their traditional Spanish hot chocolate! We decided on the famous La Granja Viader (4 Carrer D’en Xuclà, Barri Gòtic, Barcelona). It has the honour of being titled Barcelona’s oldest milk bar, opened in 1870. Chris immediately noted that it looked like the inside of a Hong Kong old-school cafe, LOL! Relaxed and casual, it makes for a lovely place to rest your weary feet after all that walking.

Of course, the Hot chocolate with whipped cream is a must-have. It’s totally different to regular hot chocolate in other areas of the world. It comes piping hot in a coffee cup, with a very very very thick consistency – kind of like a chocolate pudding. You use your spoon to eat it, as it’s not meant to be sipped from the cup. It’s not as sweet as regular hot chocolate, and is actually pretty unusual! It comes with a WHOPPER dollop of whipped cream, thick and slowly melting into the hot chocolate. We use a spoon to scoop a bit of the hot chocolate, then scoop a little of the whipped cream. Mmmmmm…………

Spanish hot chocolate is best eaten with some Melindros, a typical Barcelona cake. They’re similiar to “lady fingers”, the cakey-biscuits you find in tiramisu. The combination of the Melindros dipped in the hot molten chocolate is explosive – the flavour of the sweet cake and the thick chocolate made my tastebuds sing. It is SO GOOD!!!

La Granja Viader

Spanish hot chocolate with whipped cream, and Melindros

Thick lusciousness….

Another typical drink is barcelona is Orxata. Orxata is a summertime delight in Barcelona. It’s a milky-textured drink served icy cold, and made with tigernuts, water, and sugar. The result is a sweet and milky drink that is utterly refreshing in the warm summer months. I drank this all the time because it was flat-out delish! The other drink I liked was Cafe Bombon, which is simply an espresso served with condensed milk at the bottom. It reminded me very much of traditional Singaporean coffee 😉

Cafe Escriba

The simple interior

Orxata (on the left), a cream-filled pastry, and Bombon coffee

Inside the buttery pastry

Incredible, buttery toasted bread with bits of veggies

Their large selection of pastries