Are you looking for a signature cuisine restaurant? Or would you rather find a restaurant for a cheap lunch in Girona? Or somewhere for a romantic dinner? You’ll find plenty of places to eat out in Girona whatever the kind of meal you’re looking for.
Typical dishes from Girona include prime quality products from the land, such as tomatoes, courgettes or aubergines. These vegetables form the basis of a huge variety of salads, casseroles, meat stews and snail dishes, so typical of the Empordà cuisine.
So, here’s our list of restaurants to ensure you eat well in this beautiful city.
Where to eat? The best restaurants in Girona
We cannot forget that the best restaurants in Girona have become some of the best restaurants in the world. So, get ready to enjoy a great gourmet break!
1. Celler de Can Roca, the Roca brothers’ restaurant, famous worldwide.
Without a doubt, this will be a wonderful experience for you in every way. You’ll be amazed at the creativity employed by these chefs in producing their recipes, and the attention to detail in the service they provide, explaining in person the ingredients used in their dishes. It’s well worth spending a bit extra to discover this explosion of flavours.
2. Llevataps:
Located in the heart of Girona’s historic quarter, between Ciutadans street and Cort Reial, making it one of the most popular restaurants in town. This restaurant uses fresh, local and seasonal products. For example, star dishes include cod with beer caramel sauce, fillet of beef from Girona, or boneless suckling pig with smoked cured cheese. What’s more, the wine list is made up entirely of Empordà wines.
Casa Marieta was founded over 100 years ago in 1892 in the early stages of the modernist movement. It offers home-style cuisine (roast lamb, duck with pears, sausages and cured meats, etc.) and there are over forty dishes to choose from apart from traditional seasonal dishes, which include "esqueixada" (salted cod salad) with spring onions and olive pâté, pig’s totters with romesco sauce, or wild mushroom cannelloni with mushroom and parmesan sauce.
4. Le Bistrot:
This restaurant was voted online one of the most romantic places to eat out in Spain. Its location on the steps of Pujada de Sant Martí, like Llevataps, makes it one of the most photographed spots in Girona. Infused with a French bohemian air, which has even been transmitted to its signature dishes: meat filled mashed potato au gratin, roast meat cannelloni, or duck stew with vegetables. Bon appétit!
5. La Brasa:
Located in the centre of Girona, this restaurant offers traditional Catalan cuisine. Specialities include: roasted snails ʽa la llaunaʻ, or snails in spicy tomato sauce, "escalibada" (grilled vegetables), "esqueixada" (salted cod salad), artichokes, asparagus, roast chicken croquettes and charcoal-grilled, designation of origin meat from Girona.
A beautiful ʻmasiaʼ (traditional Catalan country house) located next to the Nestlé factory five minutes from Girona by car, run by two brothers-in-law and their wives. Backed by three decades at the service of its customers, La Masia del Cabrit offers a wide range of dishes and menus from the most select traditional cuisine. Their signature dish: charcoal-grilled kid.
7. Can Manolo:
Located next to the Ter River, this is a great place to eat some tasty chops, suckling pig, fillet steak, eggs and chips with chorizo like grandma used to make. You’ll eat plenty and well and you certainly won’t tire of looking at the enormous number of photos of celebrities, famous politicians and sportspeople that cover its walls. Just to give one example, Dalí and his wife Gala celebrated their religious wedding here in August, 1958, after marrying in secret in the church at the Santuario dels Àngels (they had already been married by civil ceremony 24 years before). The restaurant has a brochure that relates this anecdote.
As you can see, this is one of Girona’s cult restaurants and a well-known reference point, and it has been for years. A tasting menu is also available. You’re sure to go back!
8. Cúrcuma:
This small restaurant near the City Hall is one of the gastronomic gems of Girona. Its piece de resistance are the tapas to share and its dishes are a fusion of traditional and signature dishes, such as duck sweetbreads with Granada vinaigrette, duck with apple, prune and ʻratafiaʽ dumplings, or scorpion fish with lentils, ham and shiitake broth.
9. La Penyora:
Art gallery and restaurant all in one. This restaurant is located behind the City Hall and it offers a personal cuisine, inspired by Mediterranean tradition, experimentation and the fusion of other cultures. Signature dishes with plenty of character presented by chef, Lluís Lamas, who buys his products in the Lleó food market and picks the vegetables from his own garden. Dishes range from veal tataki to monkfish with wild berries. Designed to stimulate the palate.
10. Tokio Teppanyaki
Sushi is in, but make sure you get the real thing. Because not just any sushi will do. Whether you’re looking for a romantic supper or a meal with friends, this Japanese restaurant is sure to impress you. It offers a varied menu with presentation, where you can sit at one of the big teppanyaki tables and a chef cooks your food in front of you.
11. König
This landmark restaurant has undoubtedly gained fame for the best patatas bravas in the city. A restaurant that bears the Girona seal of quality. In König you can find an extensive menu of succulent hamburgers, sandwiches and combined dishes which, served with a good imported beer, always hit the spot.
12. Creperie Bretonne:
On entering this restaurant you’ll be greeted by a blue vintage bus, old posters and advertisements, and antique furniture. The chairs are cinema seats placed inside a space imitating a bus. In fact, if you’re lucky, the table inside the van might be free (the other half of the van houses the kitchen). As for the menu, the star dish is the well-known French crêpe in every possible combination, but specialities include savoury crêpes and “gallettes” served with Breton cider.
13. El Cul del Món:
This restaurant is 5 minutes away by car, or 15 minutes on foot from the Lioness’s Ass statue, and just a few metres from the thousand-year-old Sant Daniel Monastery. It offers Catalan market cuisine with organic and seasonal products. There are deliciously presented salads, toast and selections of cold cuts or meats.
As you can see, you can try a wide range of dishes in Girona’s different restaurants: Catalan, Mediterranean, Asian, market, fusion and signature cuisine, but wherever you choose to dine in Girona, you’re sure to enjoy its excellent cuisine and products from the region.
Got a couple of free days and you’d like to spend a weekend in Girona? Here we recommend a great plan for the weekend.
