Granja M. Viader in Barcelona's Raval, open since 1870, invented Cacaolat in 1933 and still pours the chocolate-milk recipe by the glass at the marble counter.
Tip: Open Mon-Sat 09:00 to 21:15. Closed Sunday. Cacaolat by the glass is the dish-shop order.
Address: Carrer d'En Xucla 4, 08001 Barcelona
Laie in Barcelona's Eixample is the bookshop-and-cafe on Pau Claris with the upstairs reading-room feel: cafe con leche, daily lunch menu, all-day quiet seating.
Signature drink: Cafe con leche
Tip: Open Mon-Sat 09:30 to 21:00. Closed Sunday. The menu del dia at 18 euros serves until 16:00.
Tres Tombs in Barcelona's Sant Antoni is the corner-cafe that doubles as the morning-coffee anchor to its evening vermouth-and-tapas bar identity; breakfast bocadillos open at 07:00.
Signature drink: Vermouth and coffee
Tip: Open daily from 07:00. The breakfast bocadillo is the morning order; afternoons switch to vermouth.
Dolso in Barcelona's Eixample is the dessert-cafe by chef pastry team where the chocolate fondant and the daily three-dessert tasting set Barcelona's pastry standard.
Signature drink: Espresso and dessert
Tip: Open daily for tea-time service from 16:00. Book the dessert-tasting set the day before.
Satan's Coffee Corner in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter is Marcos Bartolome's third-wave anchor: single-origin beans, alternative-brewing setup and morning toasts.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Tip: Open daily 09:00 to 18:00. Closed Sunday afternoons; a second branch sits in the Hotel Casa Bonay.
Cafes el Magnifico in Barcelona's Born is the family-run espresso bar founded 1919 by the Sans, roasting beans on-site since the 1980s and pouring the city's tightest espresso.
Signature drink: Espresso
Tip: Open Mon-Sat from 09:00. Closed Sunday. Takeaway window faster than the bar at peak.
Onna Coffee in Barcelona's Gracia is the Costa Rican-born roaster's first cafe: their own farm beans, filter setups and a small daily-bake counter at the front.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Tip: Tue-Sun 09:00 to 17:00. Closed Monday. Outdoor terrace seats are quieter than the bar.
