Granja M. Viader

Granja M. Viader is one of the oldest and best-loved granjas in Barcelona. A granja is a traditional Catalan dairy café, and this one traces its story to 1870, when Rafaela Coma opened a dairy in an alley on the edge of the old walled city. The Viader family later bought the business, and over five generations it has become a city institution. In the early 1930s, after the family encountered a new milk and cocoa drink at a fair in Budapest, they developed and patented their own version, Cacaolat, which went on to become one of Spain's best-known chocolate milk drinks. In 2022 Barcelona City Council gave the granja its award for emblematic businesses, noting that its workshop is one of the few still producing dairy goods inside the city.

The old-fashioned room has changed little over the years. Order a cup of thick hot chocolate, on its own or as a suís topped with whipped cream, perhaps with churros, or try crema catalana, mató with honey and walnuts, or leche mallorquina, a cold drink of milk with cinnamon and lemon. A cold Cacaolat with whipped cream is a nod to the family's invention. Cheeses and other dairy products are sold at the counter to take away.

In June 2026 the granja passed from Mercè Casademunt Viader to her son Marc Espuny Casademunt, the fifth generation, who has said he will keep the recipes and the chocolate formula unchanged. Opening hours may be adjusted under the new management and are not published online, so check before going; the granja traditionally rests on Sundays and closes for part of August. It is small and fills up on cold afternoons, so be prepared to wait for a table.

Viader suits families, couples and anyone who wants to experience an old Barcelona tradition at a modest price. It is especially welcome on a winter afternoon, when a cup of chocolate makes a good break from sightseeing.

Carrer d'en Xuclà is a short lane between Carrer del Carme and Carrer del Pintor Fortuny in El Raval, a few minutes from Liceu station on metro line L3. La Boqueria is just around the corner on La Rambla, and the Cafés El Magnífico shop on the same street sells coffee beans.