Federal Café
Americano, Iced Coffee with Sugar and Cream
Chocolate Caramel Bar, Apple Streusel Cake, Raspberry Coconut Cake
Serrano, Comte and Basil Croissant
Warm Ginger-Banana-Hazelnut Bread with Whipped Espresso Butter
Located within walking distance of ARTiSA, its address at Passatge de la Pau 11 in Barri Gòtic making the restaurant quite popular with international visitors, it was in continuation of Breakfast that two guests sat down at Federal Café just past 10h00 on Saturday, the menu offering everything from Avocado Toast to Pancakes easily the most “American” found in Barcelona, the fact that Federal Café is part of a chain with locations in several Spanish cities only found out later, but really not surprising.
Intended to reminisce of a city in Australia where “there’s not much to do but dream, and watch the rain fall on quiet streets and the phonebox,” an odd description for the open floor-planned space with modern design and a soundtrack playing Silversun Pickups at a volume that can be heard outside, it was after perusing the Pastry Case that the decision was made to take a seat and although the place fairly busy for the weekend service was mostly efficient, Coffee and Pastries delivered in less than ten minutes with hot items from the kitchen ready in about twenty.
Celebrated by fans for the exact reason that diners seeking authenticity may wish to forgo a visit, the menu not remotely ‘Spanish,’ it was with high hopes of seeing how an Australian ‘idea’ planted in Europe would execute foods from back home that first bites were taken of the Jammy Coconut Cake that tasted wholly natural and thus mild but elegant while the Apple Strudel unfortunately went a bit too heavy on the buttery Crumbs and thus came across one-dimensional and heavy, though not in a good way like the Chocolate Caramel Bar which was essentially a wedge of soft Toffee topped in a thin layer of Ganache.
Breaking up the sweets with one savory, “Neck of the Woods” still playing loudly overhead from beginning to end, it was with a far better base than at ARTiSA that Federal Café built it’s Breakfast Sandwich with a thin layer of Serrano, lightly melted Comte and a Basil Leaf, the Croissant maintaining its crunchy exterior atop soft layers while the griddled Banana Bread was moist and delicious with plenty of spice notes and lightly sweetened Espresso Butter.
http://www.federalcafe.es/barcelona-gotic/