The Best Pastry Shops in Spain

Roscón season

The busiest weeks in a Spanish pastry shop are around 6 January, Three Kings' Day, when families eat roscón de reyes, a ring of sweet, brioche-like dough. Queues at Marea Bread in Madrid run over an hour in early January, and reservations for its roscón open in November, although the shop sells it all year. Panem and Moulin Chocolat, both beside Retiro Park, have the same January queues. Nazaré Hojaldrería in León makes its Christmas roscón from puff pastry filled with cream, and it has to be reserved too.

Puff pastry

Hojaldre is puff pastry, and a hojaldrería is a shop that specialises in it. Estela Hojaldre in Madrid sells palmeras, the Spanish palmier, in chocolate and egg yolk versions, along with mille-feuilles and savoury empanadas, all to take away. Moulin Chocolat is known for a chocolate palmier with a thick coating. Nazaré Hojaldrería, near León Cathedral, serves its coffee with a complimentary almond tile or small pastry.

Madrid bakeries

Madrid has a group of small bakeries that sell sourdough bread and French-style pastry at one counter, mostly to take away: Panem, Alma Nomad Bakery in Chamberí and Santo Bakehouse in the centre. Customers at Alma Nomad often carry their pastries to the nearby Plaza de Olavide. Motteau in the Barrio de las Letras is a small café with tables, where the pastry chefs work behind glass.

Barcelona and Palma

Forn Mistral in Barcelona's Sant Antoni district is a bread bakery known for ensaimadas, the coiled pastry of Mallorca, and for cocas. Customers take a number at the entrance and pay at a separate counter. Pastisseria Hofmann in the Born lets six people in at a time and sells a mascarpone croissant coated in sugar. In Palma, Fika Farina is a Swedish-style bakery with cinnamon and cardamom buns.