Antiguo café y billares, Barcelona

When Josep Xifré i Cases, a Catalan businessman who had made his fortune in Cuba, built the Casa Xifré opposite Barcelona's Chamber of Commerce in the mid-1830s, he stipulated the ground floor of this residential block should accomodate a prestigious cafe. The Café de las 7 Puertas (or Café de les Set Portes in Catalan) opened in 1836. It is said there was no sign yet on inauguration day and a journalist, who was reporting on the event, simply counted the number of doors through which customers could enter. An eighth door was reserved for staff and goods.
It was the third owner of the Café, Bertomeu Grau, who introduced in 1914 billiards and card tables. In 1929, the year of the Barcelona International Exhibition, the name was changed from Café to Restaurante de las 7 Puertas by the new owners, Sr. and Sra. Morera.

Antiguo Café y Billares

Antiguo Café y ...

As the signs painted on the pillar refer to the former (antiguo) cafe and billiards, one can assume they date from around 1929, when the cafe became a restaurant.

Under the Moreras the Restaurante de las 7 Puertas became the haunt of politicians, journalists, artists and other famous people, attracted by its famous arroz parellada. However by the late 1930s the restaurant was in decline. Needless to say the Civil War and its heavy toll on the Catalan capital played a major part. In 1942, a group of aficionados convinced Paco Parellada, the owner of a famous restaurant in the small Catalan town of Granollers, to take control of the Restaurante de las 7 Puertas. Since then it has been one of Barcelona's most popular restaurants, well worth a visit for its signature dish, the paella parellada.

To find out more about The Restaurante de las 7 Puertas and its history, you can visit its very good website.

Location: Passeig Isabel II / Pictures taken in October 2011