Pastries at the Hotel Arts
To me -the truth is, I don't care about all that refrain that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper" or something like that, right? I'm not here to talk about carbohydrates or glycemic indices, much less I'm your nutritionist, the only thing missing. I only come here to talk about love.
And it is that it is breakfast where those of us who love gastronomy and simple things we found our true kingdom of Camelot. Our Dorado on a tablecloth with breadcrumbs and a drop of coffee (It was a drop). Because in the silence of breakfast - the passing of the leaves, the spoon slipping into the cup, the crunch of toasted bread - we reconcile a little more with ourselves and with a world that we hardly recognize anymore in the pages of El País. A pause, a few minutes of calm, respect, culture, caffeine and happiness . I can't imagine a better time. Maybe they do. But who understands them?
And the minutes go by -slowly-, the cats stretch and the morning opens like a smile . Wake up the city. Wake up the universe. The pieces of this strange world fit together, one by one, like an essential Tetris. You have to live -yes- but first, you have to have breakfast. These are the best five breakfasts in Spain.
“Only boring people are brilliant at breakfast” (Oscar Wilde)
Royalty Coffee (Plaza de Candelaria, Cádiz ) founded in 1912 (yes, celebrating the Constitution) probably the only historical romantic cafe still standing -and well standing- in Andalusia and one of the best breakfasts I remember, under the roof with Felipe's paintings Abarzuza and English porcelain from the beginning of the century. I speak with Paco González (the cook) who gives me some clues about each of the breakfasts on the menu. Andalusian breakfast : toast with ham and organic orange juice, the village bread is from Olvera. Continental : pastries, juice, coffee, chocolate, toast with olive oil. Americano: Conil eggs prepared in six different ways; scrambled, fried, soft-boiled, fried, mirror-fried or Benedictine and pancakes with cream and maple syrup. brunch : pastries, eggs, sausages, bacon, smoked salmon, salads, to-do.
The romantic breakfast of Cádiz
“I don't think I've ever had champagne before breakfast. With breakfast several times, but never before, never” (Holly Golightly)
Hotel Maria Cristina, San Sebastian . Anyway, what are we going to say about the best city in the world and the renovated Maria Cristina -as my admired Anabel signs, "the hotel looks like a (beautiful) piece of Park Avenue in the Bay of Biscay, and I'm sorry for its Frenchified past". But we are not here to talk about cinema or carpets but about croissants and coffee. And what a moment, to have breakfast in front of the María Cristina bridge on the Urumea the Continental or American breakfast. The best? Donosti, of course -Have I already told you that I'm in love?- and the second best is the fact that practically all the ingredients on the menu are organic. I say yes.
Breakfasts in Donosti
"To eat well in England it is advisable to eat breakfast three times" (William S. Maugham)
Hotel Arts . I know it sounds like I'm in love with some helpful maître, but no. The Arts is "my" hotel and part -a large part- of the fault lies with its breakfasts. What breakfasts. For guests, the club on the 32nd floor: André Clouet, crying croissants, orange juice, Iberian omelette with Comté (prepared to taste, et voilà) and the best views of Barcelona. Perfect service, discretion, international press, magazines, smiles, space and luxury in the most absolutely honest sense of the word "luxury" -so misunderstood, so many times. For non-guests, **thematic brunch on Sundays: dim sums station, table with artisan cheeses, Arola desserts** and -in summer- barbecue on the terrace, where you can grill meat, fish, vegetables to your liking . With a glass of champagne in hand. November's theme is hunting and mushrooms. I don't know what the hell they're waiting for.
Discretion, international press and everything you can imagine on the plate
"Coffee must be black as hell, hot as hell, pure as an angel and sweet as love" (Talleyrand)
Federal Coffee , L´Eixample (Barcelona) . This is the Barcelona that we like. Discreet, elegant, contained (yes, I said contained). The Barcelona we love is a lady who shops at Bel & Cia, meets in Santa Eulàlia, goes for wines at Monvínic, wastes time at La Central and has breakfast at Federal. Madrid is crazy like Barcelona is peace, so that's what we demand of you dear: peace. civics. Intelligence. Good taste. And precisely good taste is breathed in every corner of the Federal coffee, good taste, wonderful cakes, perfect croissants (Did you know that the origin of the croissant is related to the Austrian liberation from the Turkish invasion? No? Well, you already know) and probably the best coffee in the city just four steps from the Mercat de Sant Antoni. So yes, Barcelona.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- All articles about breakfast
- All Tablecloth & Knife items
Champion's breakfast