To talk about the Costa Brava is to talk about the Mediterranean, small fishing villages and a cuisine deeply connected to its surroundings.
Fish and seafood, rice dishes, seasonal produce and recipes rooted in local tradition make gastronomy one of the great reasons to discover this part of the Empordà.
If you're spending a few days in Llafranc, Calella de Palafrugell or the surrounding area and wondering what to eat on the Costa Brava, here are some of the flavours and dishes worth discovering during your stay.
From rice and fresh fish to special menus created for summer evenings, gastronomy is also a way to discover the traditions and produce of this part of the Mediterranean.
The relationship between the sea and gastronomy has long been part of the history of the Costa Brava's coastal towns and villages.
For generations, the fish available at different times of year and produce from the surrounding area have shaped a cuisine based on seasonality and local ingredients.
That tradition remains present in many of the Empordà's dishes and recipes today, from fish and seafood to rice dishes and traditional seafood stews.
And although its cuisine has evolved over time, the quality of the ingredients remains at its heart.
No guide to what to eat on the Costa Brava would be complete without mentioning the produce of the sea.
The proximity of fishing ports such as Palamós means the region has access to a wide variety of fish and seafood closely associated with Mediterranean cuisine.
At El Far Hotel Restaurant, the menu draws precisely on this seafaring tradition, using fresh produce from the Costa Brava and highlighting fish and seafood from the Palamós fish market.
It's a way of enjoying cuisine that is closely connected to the landscape right in front of you.
Rice dishes have an important place in Mediterranean cuisine and are also one of the specialities at El Far Hotel Restaurant.
They're particularly enjoyable when shared over a leisurely lunch overlooking the sea, combining rice with different ingredients from the Mediterranean and the surrounding area.
In fact, rice dishes and fish are two of the main pillars of El Far's gastronomic offering.
If you're looking for somewhere to enjoy rice on the Costa Brava during your stay, this is one of those dishes worth setting aside time for.
Among the recipes most closely associated with Catalan seafaring tradition is suquet de peix, a traditional fish stew.
Its origins are linked to fishermen's cooking, when stews were prepared using the fish available after a day at sea.
It is precisely this relationship between produce, seasonality and tradition that continues to inspire part of the Costa Brava's cuisine today.
At El Far Hotel Restaurant, for example, fishermen's suquet has featured on its themed menus alongside other seasonal ingredients, reflecting how the restaurant adapts these menus to the flavours and produce of each time of year.
Not everything comes from the sea.
Vegetables, meat, fruit and other local produce complete a cuisine that changes with the seasons.
At El Far Hotel Restaurant, alongside fish and seafood, the menu also incorporates locally sourced meat and vegetables.
This emphasis on seasonality can be seen particularly clearly in its themed menus, which at different times of the year focus on specific seasonal ingredients.
As a result, the restaurant's gastronomic offering evolves throughout the year, providing an opportunity to discover new flavours and combinations with every season.
Gastronomy isn't only about what's on the plate. Where you enjoy a meal can completely transform the experience.
El Far Hotel Restaurant is located in Llafranc, on a cliff 175 metres above the Mediterranean and beside the Sant Sebastià Lighthouse.
Its panoramic terrace allows you to enjoy the restaurant's cuisine with the Mediterranean as a backdrop.
It's a particularly special setting in summer, when lunch can stretch into the afternoon overlooking the sea or dinner can coincide with the final hours of daylight.
During July and August, El Far Hotel Restaurant also offers its special Summer Nights menu, created for enjoying summer evenings overlooking the Mediterranean.
The experience begins with a glass of cava and a welcome bite by the sea, followed by a selection of dishes to share that reflect El Far's seafaring cuisine: prawn croquette, cod fritter with quince aioli, fried sand eels with pan de cristal and tomato, La nostra clova —with cockles, razor clams and rock mussels— and sautéed red prawns.
The main course is grilled monkfish with sliced potatoes and vegetables, followed by a dessert of white chocolate, passion fruit and coconut ice cream. Fish and seafood once again take centre stage in a menu that feels particularly at home on a summer evening by the sea.
The menu is available every evening throughout July and August and is served for the entire table.
If you'd like to turn a meal overlooking the Mediterranean into more than just a visit to the restaurant, El Far Hotel Restaurant brings together gastronomy and accommodation in one of Llafranc's most distinctive settings.
The hotel occupies a former 18th-century inn beside the Sant Sebastià Lighthouse and has nine rooms. Four feature south-facing terraces overlooking the Mediterranean, while other rooms offer views towards the Empordà, the Pyrenees and the sunset.
Its clifftop location makes it possible to combine a stay in Llafranc with gastronomy, the sea and some of the most iconic places in this part of the Costa Brava.
A dinner at the restaurant can therefore become part of a more complete experience at El Far Hotel Restaurant.
Costa Brava cuisine is closely connected to the Mediterranean and local produce. Fish, seafood, rice dishes and traditional seafood stews such as suquet all form part of its gastronomic heritage.
El Far Hotel Restaurant, located beside the Sant Sebastià Lighthouse in Llafranc, offers a menu rooted in seafaring tradition, with rice dishes, fish and seafood from the Palamós fish market among its highlights.
During July and August, El Far Hotel Restaurant offers a special summer evening menu beginning with a glass of cava and a welcome bite by the sea, followed by a selection of seafood-inspired dishes to share, grilled monkfish as the main course and a white chocolate, passion fruit and coconut ice cream dessert. The menu is available every evening throughout July and August and is served for the entire table.
The restaurant offers different themed menus throughout the year, created around seasonal produce. There is no monthly themed menu in August, when the restaurant's summer gastronomic offering takes centre stage.
No. You can book a table at the restaurant even if you're not staying at the hotel.
Discovering the Costa Brava isn't only about exploring its coves, villages and coastal paths.
Its cuisine offers another way to experience the region: tasting fish and seafood, sharing a rice dish, discovering recipes rooted in seafaring tradition and seeing how local produce changes with the seasons.
At El Far Hotel Restaurant, this connection between gastronomy and landscape can be enjoyed overlooking the Mediterranean, with a cuisine rooted in seafaring tradition, Costa Brava produce and one of the defining features of this corner of the Empordà: the sea.