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. It belongs to Josep Alà and has as a partner Manel Vehí, who is collaborating with Boia Nit this summer. Manel had worked at the El Bulli restaurant in Cala Montjoi in Roses, and until now he worked at the family beach bar that Bar Boia closed its doors forever last January.After the defeat and discouragement of losing the bar his great-grandparents had opened, Manel has moved the bar from Boia to La Sal. "Look, I've just finished preparing ratafia," Manolo explains behind the bar, showing a large, beautiful crystal pitcher filled with alcohol and a thousand and one aromatic herbs, along with the essential nuts. Manel is one of the best mixologists in the country, preparing drinks à la carte, always requesting the desired alcohol content. He prepares cocktails with different bases: vodka, gin, tequila, mezcal, non-alcoholic, and two special ones: the Gala Dalí, made with Campario, white vermouth, orange juice, and rosé cava; and the Ciudad de Perú, prepared with pisco macerated with 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, a fact confirmed by Joan Rodés. "I met with winemakers from the DO Empordà to create the wine list; we also use extra virgin olive oil from Cadaqués; the sea, like the bar itself."

The interesting thing about El Set is that the bar doesn't have a sign, its name isn't written anywhere, but it's quickly recognizable by the nearby olive tree, in a small square that connects to what is probably the most photographed modernist house in Cadaqués. Anchovies, one of the town's favorite dishes, are also on the bar's menu from a local producer, and are a must-try paired with a fresh lemonade, which they make themselves. What more could you ask for?