Girona’s Best Cycling Cafes
Along with its charm and gothic architecture, Girona is very well known for its cycling culture. Cycling and coffee are known to go hand in hand, so it's no surprise that the coffee culture in Girona has boomed as well. Girona is spoiled for choice when it comes to coffee shops, and as a cyclist it’s an obligatory requirement to stop at some point pre, during or post ride for coffee. So in no particular order here are our favourite cafes of Girona.
La Fabrica
The OG of coffee shops in Girona, La Fabrica is a go to stop and a must when visiting. Founded and still owned by former professional Christian Meier and his wife Amber, this was the first modern coffee shop to open in Girona, taking inspiration from coffee shops abroad such as in Australia and the UK.
La Fabrica offers a good selection of breakfast/brunch options from waffles to bircher muesli and your staple avocado/eggs on toast. Our personal favourite is the boss breakfast. All dishes come very well presented with a unique style of plating. At one point in time La Fabrica was by far the best coffee in town, however with increased competition from other cafes we believe it no longer holds this title, with others having lifted the game.
La Fabrica offers a good amount of bike parking with racks conveniently located outside, next to their outside seating. If you want to sit inside we recommend bringing a lock as your bike will not be in eyesight. In the afternoon the terrace does not get sunlight and in the colder months of the year it's preferable to sit inside. Girona is generally pretty safe, but bike theft does happen.
With the location, menu and coffee considered we would recommend La Fabrica as either a post ride stop or without the bike at all, as it's more than likely you will spend 30 min -1 hour.
Hidden Coffee Roasters
Despite its name, Hidden is in a great location on the Rambla de Llibertat, originally opening in Barcelona with a store and roasters, they expanded to Girona, buying out what used to be known as Coffee and Greens.
Hidden is a great place to go if you are looking for a coffee and something small to eat as they do not have a kitchen like most other coffee shops in town. They offer a good selection of cakes, cookies and pre-made sandwiches which can be toasted, our favourite cookie choices are either the pistachio or the New York cookie dough.
The coffee is some of the best in Girona, and is a great place to stop for a pre-ride coffee, as the coffees are made pretty timely. The outside seating does not see a whole lot of sunlight during the day so in colder months it's usually a good idea to sit inside. If coming by bike and you would like to sit inside you can kindly ask the staff to park your bike inside to the left of the coffee machine, usually they are more than obliging.
La Comuna
Located on the edge of the old town La Comuna is owned by well known former triathlete Jan Frodeno. La Comuna has become a popular meeting place for road cyclists, gravel riders and runners alike. Its location at the edge of the old town and its proximity to Sant Daniel and gravel trails is a good reason for this.
La comuna is great for both the pre-ride and post ride stop, you can feel comfortable sitting and having only a coffee but if you prefer to have something more substantial there are a number of good breakfast/brunch items on the menu, our personal favourites being the apple pie pancakes and the acai bowl, the avocado toast is also one of the best in town. Sweet treats like the chocolate brownie, lemon cake and carrot cake are also great if you’re not looking for a full meal.
Bike parking outside is a little precarious, needing to lean your bike up against the stone walls or a singular tree, take care in leaning your bike and you should have no issues. La comuna is one of the better cafes for sitting inside and still being able to see your bike outside with several large glass windows looking outside, parking your bike inside is simply not an option. The outside terrace see’s a good amount of sunlight in the mid morning, however in mid summer you will more than likely want to sit inside.
Oniria
Potentially the best coffee served in town. If you are a coffee snob and want to try a good coffee, we highly recommend visiting Oniria. Like Hidden Coffee, Oniria also does not have a kitchen, but they usually will have a couple of freshly baked cakes or muffins available. Arrive too late in the day and there is a good chance you will go without, the cakes and pastries are usually gone by the early afternoon.
Oniria is a popular coffee shop for the pre-ride shot of caffeine, but with the lack of cakes/food it does not make for the best post ride place to stop and refuel, unless you are content with a good cup of coffee.
Bike parking is non-existent and there is not much wall space to lean bikes, outside seating is limited to one small wooden bench, so when visiting it is advisable to bring a small lock or have someone from your group keep an eye on the bikes outside.
Federal Cafe
Federal is another establishment in town owned by a former professional cyclist, this one being owned by Rory Sutherland. We would suggest Federal as a coffee shop to stop after a longer day on the bike, or if you want a bigger breakfast to fuel up before your ride. Its location is in the heart of the old town on Carrer de la forca, the main street leading to the cathedral.
The menu offers quite a lot to choose from, with both breakfast and lunch options plus a good selection of cakes made by their kitchen. At lunch the yellow curry is a popular choice and definitely one of our favourites, the portion size is really good and great for a post ride meal, for breakfast the pancakes or the eggs benedict are hard to say no to. Overall the food is really good at federal, however the quality of coffee does lack, by no means is it terrible, but it certainly could be improved.
One big advantage of Federal is that it's right across the road from Velotec! Another is that they have a lock up room where bikes can be stored/hung, this is great for peace of mind when sitting inside. You may need to ask them to open it up for you, but usually they will come and do it as soon as they see you are there with a bike.
Summary
There are still a number of great places that we have not mentioned in our list such as Espresso Mafia, Idle Hands Cafe, Hors Categorie, Tramuntana and more. We are simply spoiled for choice in Girona and we’d need a book to write about them all.
Visiting Girona and looking for advice on your travels? Be sure to pop in and say hey at our Velotec store we will be more than happy to help you out, whether it be about saving watts on the bike or asking for a local recommendation.