Tucked away in the neighbourhood of Les Corts, behind the tall office buildings on Avinguda Diagonal and just a few minutes walk from L’illa shopping centre is Plaça de la Concòrdia, a tree-lined pedestrianised square with a mix of restaurants, bars and small businesses.
The plaça is dominated by the Església Maria de Déu del Remei (nº. 1), which dates from the mid-19th century and occupies the whole northern side of the square. Opposite it, are three quite different places to get something to eat: Boages Pastisseria (nº. 10-11), a traditional-style cake and sweet shop; Fragments Café (nº. 12), which serves an original assortment of tapas and a range of mainly Italian dishes—its garden is ideal for al fresco dining in warm weather; and the newest ‘face’ on the square, Rab Bar (nº. 9). Inaugurated in November 2009, with the aim of bringing “something different” to Concòrdia, bar owner Enrique Delgado said he was worried about starting the business in the midst of the crisis, but that so far, things were going well. Open from 8am to 2am, it serves food throughout the day, before becoming a bar de copes around 11pm.
The square is also home to a couple of small cafés—Bar-Frankfurt La Plaça (nº. 8) and Restaurant-Pizzeria Concòrdia (this is officially on Carrer Déu i Mata, but its terrace is definitely in Plaça Concòrdia)—popular with locals for Sunday morning coffee and croissant on their respective terraces.
At number 13 stands the Centre Cívic Can Déu. Now a cultural centre running classes and art shows, it was built in 1898 by the Déu family as their home. The Modernista building was recently renovated and many of its original features are visible, including in the reasonably-priced café at the back that overlooks a large terrace garden.
Finally, the square is also home to a few of those neighbourhood businesses that characterise many streets of Barcelona, managing to survive (and sometimes thrive) despite competition from shopping centres and high street chains, including: the oldest chemist’s in Les Corts at nº. 3 [see ‘A resident’s view’, below], an ironmonger’s (nº. 4), a florist’s (nº. 12) and a convenience store (nº. 14).
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