Let’s get out of the city! We all love Barcelona, but there is a whole world of magnificent gastronomic experiences to be had outside of the city. In this post we will focus on four specific, very special restaurants in the Girona area, all perfect for a day trip or even to stay a night or two. The gastronomy in the area is magnificent: it offers all the best from both the sea and the mountains, and is home of many great seasonal and regional ingredients.

This post is part of the series made with Sant Aniol; as you know, we have teamed up with them to discover fun and unique gastronomic offers in Barcelona and surroundings. I find Sant Aniol the perfect partner for this journey; I am so fascinated by their unique water!

First off in our journey is Hotel Alàbriga in San Feliu de Guixols. This gorgeous hotel is right by the sea, with beautiful views and all the amenities you might be looking for, including a library with a fireplace… How dreamy is that?

The Mediterranean-style restaurant Terra at Hotel Alàbriga is headed by chef Abraham Artigas. He brings together traditions from the Empordà region with flavors from the Costa Brava region, creating beautiful dishes preserving the quality of local produce. Their wine cellar is excellent with many interesting wines. They have a tasting menu with 10 dishes, and you can add wine pairings to it if you wish.

Sant+Aniol — *Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.*

Our next stop is by the Pyrenees. Such a fantastic region for gastronomy! Hotel Puig Francó is in the middle of nature, close to the French border, and hosts a spa within its premises. Perfect for a rural escape.

The restaurant, called Mític, celebrates the changing of seasons and all the different produce they bring with them. They serve authentic, local cuisine, with a touch of innovation. The prices are more than fair and the dishes range from rice, fish and seafood, to meat dishes, all focusing on with local ingredients.

Puig Francó is a great destination when you want to get away from the city, close to the nature, and eat all the wonderful, honest food that is on offer.

Our third stop on our gastronomic journey is beautiful Hotel Camiral, PGA Catalunya Resort. This 5-star hotel is only 10 minutes from Girona, and is the perfect escape in a luxurious environment. It is particularly interesting for those of you who play golf, as its golf courses are considered one of the best in Continental Europe. But the resort has plenty more to offer.

Their restaurant, Camiral Bistro, is up to par with the standard of the hotel. It offers an avant-garde kitchen with a clear influence of classic Catalan cuisine using products of proximity.

Their wine list is interesting, with both international and local wines, and now they even have their own wines! A rosé and a white wine called Cami Ral, lovingly created using grapes from their own vineyards on the premises.

The resort has its own garden with organic fruit, vegetables and herbs that the chef uses in his kitchen, and their own beehives, with more than 1 million live bees in 16 boxes, from where they source their own honey. The resort is absolutely beautiful, surrounded by fields and forests. A little piece of paradise.

The last stop on our journey is this marvelous gem: the Les Cols Pavellons Hotel. It is located in Olot, very close to the Garrotxa volcanic nature reserve. This hotel is very unique, and you have probably seen images from its rooms. There are 5 pavilions available, each of them with a private, heated onsen and a futon.

The restaurant Les Cols pays homage to the seasonality of the Garrotxa region where the hotel is located, and it currently holds two Michelin stars. Chef Fina Puigdevall has been managing the restaurant since 1990 (she is both owner and chef), and puts plenty of weight into using ingredients from the area, such as wild boar, truffle, ratafia, and much more. In her work she uses nature and the landscape as her inspiration. Doesn’t that sound beautiful?

They have a beautiful tasting menu available, and on Thursdays (if weather allows) they serve a lunch in their pavilion for a very affordable price. They also have a different, very interesting proposal: a picnic you can buy and take with you to a nearby beautiful, wooden area. The picnic includes a salad, vegetable terrine, marinated chicken, seasonal fruit, Sant Aniol water (which is sourced from the area), local wine, and bread rolls from a local bakery.

Girona offers so many wonderful options for a gastronomic escape, just for the day or for a lovely weekend for two!

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