Spain is renowned for producing wonderfully diverse and delicious cuisine that has been influenced by its envious climate as well as the mix of cultures that have, at one time or another, had a bloody impact on the country's history and cultural identity.
However, in Girona and around Costa Brava the quality and sheer imagination found in the gastronomy on offer in restaurants manages in many ways to excel that found in other Spanish provinces.
Gastronomy in Girona
There is a wildly creative aspect to cooking in Girona that lends an avant-garde flair to dishes served in even the most humble of establishments. Whether this is as a result of the culinary ground-breaking exploits of world famous chef Ferran Adriá at his El Bulli restaurant or, as some might suggest, due in some part to the electrically charged Tramontana wind that howls through the area inspiring locals in artistic ways (Salavador Dalí was a son of Girona) it's impossible to say. But what is for certain is that visitors to Girona are guaranteed a culinary treat.
Here are five favourite restaurants that are worth visiting and that fully illustrate the sheer range of divinely delicious fare on offer throughout Girona.
El Celler de Can Roca, Girona
At number two in Restaurant Magazine's list of the best restaurants in the world, El Celler de Can Roca is located in an anonymous looking suburb of Girona. In keeping with its surroundings, its façade gives no clue of the restaurant's pedigree. But the three Roca brothers (Joan, Josep and Jordi) have created a shrine to food where art and gastronomy merge seamlessly. The dishes at El Celler de Can Roca astound in both presentation – caramelised olives are presented hanging from a bonsai tree – and in their seductive flavours. Eating at El Celler de Can Roca is an unforgettably sensuous experience which is why there's a six month waiting list to reserve a table.
(Can Sunyer, 48; Girona; +34 972 222 157; Cellercanroca.com)
Hotel Aigua Blava, Begur
An exceptional hotel and restaurant with a spectacularly beautiful location, overlooking an idyllic cove, that has guests sighing with unmitigated pleasure. Thankfully both the friendly service and enticing creations from the kitchen of head chef, Lluís Ferrés live up to the exquisiteness of the hotel's surroundings.
The menu, like so many in Girona and Costa Brava, utilises local ingredients that are given an imaginative make-over. A small dish of succulent and sweet Palamós prawns looks like lovers embracing and that most popular of Cuban cocktails, the mojito, makes an appearance at the Hotel Aigua Blava in the form of a frisky sorbet.
(Platja de Fornells, Begur; +34 972 622 058; Aiguablava.com)
Hotel Restaurant and Chiringuito Cala Jóncols
Set in another delightful cove, the chiringuito (beach bar/restaurant) belonging to the Hotel Jóncols is one of those places where you could easily lose hours. The casual marine décor has a bleached driftwood appearance that makes the whole place look as though it was washed up on the shore. The food here is more traditionally straightforward than in other restaurants mentioned; the speciality dish suquet de peix (a stew featuring an aquarium of different fish species) is cooked in a huge pan in the basic kitchen. But even here there is creativity at work; some bottles of wine are left to mature on the seabed – with interesting results.
(Cala Jóncols; +34 922 972 199 028; Calajoncols.com)
Restaurant Cal Sastre, Santa Pau
Atmospheric old restaurant in a peach of a position beneath stone arches overlooking the charming medieval square of la Placeta dels Balls in Santa Pau. Being inland, the cuisine is slightly more rustic and heartier than the Mediterranean styled coastal cooking; the restaurant speciality is els fesols de Santa Pau (a skinless bean cultivated in the nearby volcanic terrain). But the creative nature of chefs in Girona can't be suppressed and olives at Cal Sastre come encased in gold flavoured gelatine pyramids.
(Cases Noves,1; +34 972 680 049; Calsastre.com)
Restaurant Le Bistrot, Girona
Exuberant French styled bistro in the heart of Girona's Barri Vell (old quarter) that is popular with students and lecturers from the nearby university. With nicotine coloured walls, original fittings that look worn by decades of fun dining and a noise level that explains where the term 'chattering classes' came from, Le Bistrot isn't suited to anyone seeking a genteel dining experience. But for anyone wanting a social, lively lunch and good food this is the place to go. Again the menu features dishes that are imaginatively rustic like boiled eggs filled with tuna served in a Bechamel sauce.
(Pujada Sant Domènec, 4; +34 972 218 803; Cafelebistrot.com)
Ferran Adriá's El Bulli Restaurant hasn't been included in the list of five of the best restaurants in Girona because it closes in July 2011.
Jack Montgomery - Feature writer, guidebook author, copywriter, blogger and photographer specialising in the Canary Island of Tenerife.
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