Cadaqués' two trendy bars that combine Empordà wines and cocktails with Catalan cuisine by the sea.

CadaquésCadaqués's two trendy bars have monosyllabic names, are located next to each other, serve Catalan cuisine, have a good Empordà wine list and a good drinks list, and have one special feature: the owners of each bar know each other, get along, and have managed to keep all their guests' tables full. They are called La Sal (pl. des Portitxó, s/n), by the cocktail bartender Manel Vehí and Josep Alà, and El Set (pl. des Portitxó, 8), by the Cadaqués native Joan Rodés.

Let's start with La Sal. Behind the bar is Manel Vehí, who had worked at the El Bulli restaurant in Cala Montjoi in Roses, and who until now worked at the family beach bar that Bar Boia closed its doors forever last January.After the defeat and disappointment of losing the bar his great-grandparents had opened, Manel has moved the bar from Boya to La Sal. He is one of the best mixologists in the country, preparing drinks à la carte, always requesting the desired alcohol content. Cilantro, ginger, jalapeño pepper, marine plankton, lime, and lemon foam. Each cocktail costs eleven euros, except for the non-alcoholic ones, which cost eight euros.

To accompany the drinks, a menu of Catalan dishes and tapas includes seafood meatballs; wild boar bomba with its juice; garlic shrimp casserole with quail eggs; and tomato salad with pickled onions and olives. Among the tapas, our recommendations: the truffled potato omelet with tomato bread and the trikini with Iberian ham, cheese, and truffle. Each dish costs either eight or twelve euros, and nothing beats this price.

The bar's name, inspired by the family dog

Meanwhile, a few meters away is the El Set bar, which has one of the most attractive terraces in Cadaqués shaded by a nearby olive tree. "I've always wanted to create a bar like the ones of old, with iron chairs and a friendly and comfortable decor," explains Joan Rodés, who adds that he opened El Set during the pandemic and that the name refers to the family dog, hence its drawing on the menu. It's a fun icon, and one that raises smiles as soon as you see it dressed in a trench coat.

At the El Set bar, Joan has opted for natural wines, those from the DO Empordà, and Catalan cuisine, which can be enjoyed at all times of the day: for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On the lunch and dinner menu, you'll find salads (such as tomato with tuna), scrambled eggs with white and black sausage, fish of the day, omelets, and tuna carpaccio. And for breakfast, one of the meals El Set also carefully curates, sandwiches with good, crunchy bread are paired with oatmeal and bowls of freshly cut fruit. The coffee is high quality (worth noting in a world where coffee is sometimes made haphazardly), and there are vegan breakfast options.

El Set's menu exudes a passion for the region, as Joan Rodés confirms. "I met with winemakers from the DO Empordà to create the wine list; we also use extra virgin olive oil from Cadaqués; the fish we use is from here, caught in Cadaqués," says Rodés, who also manages the room rentals located above El Set, which have views of the sea, like the sea itself.

The interesting thing about El Set is that the bar has no sign, its name isn't written anywhere, but it's quickly recognizable by the nearby olive tree, in a small square that connects to the probably most photographed modernist house in Cadaqués, popularly known as Casa Blaua. The building that houses El Set was formerly an anchovy factory, one of the town's favorite dishes, which the bar also offers à la carte from a local producer, and which is a must-try alongside a fresh lemonade, which they make themselves.

Standing on the terrace, at La Sal or El Set, you can feel like you're dreaming of a summer night: both are cheerful meeting places, with good Catalan cuisine and deeply rooted in the land. What more could you ask for? Something more, yes: both have the endless horizon of the sea.