Streetlife: Viladomat

VELOCIUTAT. Viladomat 14.

Open for a little over a year, Velociutat sells, rents and repairs bikes. Their speciality is quintessential racing bicycles from the Seventies and Eighties. “It’s great to get customers in here who are interested in these classic bikes and love them as much as I do,” said owner Carles. “Plus, I think the style is very good for riding in this city.”

MERQUÉN. Viladomat 36.

Merquén is a smoked chili pepper used as a condiment in the Mapuche cuisine of central and southern Chile, and southwestern Argentina. Dry and spicy, this powder is often mixed with other ingredients in the preparation of special dishes at the restaurant Merquén. Serving empanadas galore, along with cremas, chorrillana, cazuela de pollo and more, this authentic spot is the perfect mix of Chilean soul and Mediterranean aroma.

TARANNÀ. Viladomat 23.

With a brunch menu of baked eggs and quiche variations, chef-suggested dishes, and a genial atmosphere, this bar/café is the perfect place to chill solo or mingle with friends. “The first thing that drew my attention to this place was the Italian coffee machine,” said Kaori, from Japan. “The coffee didn’t disappoint, and they have menus in English, which is perfect for someone like me, who recently moved into the neighbourhood and doesn’t know that much Spanish or Catalan yet.”

LA DONUTERÍA. Parlament 20 (corner with Viladomat).

From the street, passersby can see American pastry chef Richard Bies making small batches of his dough in La Donutería’s open kitchen every morning. The dough of his large, dense, artisanal donuts has an intense flavour due to his triple fermentation process. Ten different concoctions are available each day, some as sweet as chocolate cream with a pear glaze, others as surprising as a citrus donut with pistachio crumbles. Which one will you choose?

VALNOT. Viladomat 30.  

This tiny shop sells some of the quirkiest vintage trinkets in town. Where else can you find porcelain tigers, stitched nature murals, bowling pins and an old-school salon hair dryer? There is also a workshop visible above the showroom floor, where the staff are busy restoring worn-out furniture.

ZUCKERHAUS. Parlament 17 (corner with Viladomat).

This cutesy pastisseria is nestled behind the preserved teal and black tiled facade of an original hair salon. After years of baking with her mother and sister at home in Germany, owner Manuela sort of fell into this profession and opened Zuckerhaus four years ago. The interior is decorated with stack upon stack of delicate teacups and saucers—some for sale, but most from her father’s collection—and filled with heavenly scents. Manuela always bakes from scratch with seasonal ingredients. She admits Christmas is the best time of year, however. “There are so many holiday recipes, and everyone wants to eat cookies and cake, not like in the summer when people are watching their weight,” she explained with a smile.

[‘GALERI]. Viladomat 27.

[‘galeri]  is part shop, part exhibition space. The shop at the front offers items created by international artists and designers currently working in Barcelona. The exhibition space in the back extends into the garden, which ends at a brick wall used by urban artists as a canvas during their exhibitions.