The hidden mountain restaurant that charms everyone who climbs up

Seven years ago, Josep and his son Daniel decided to open a restaurant in the heart of the mountains. And we mean that without exaggeration: Mirador de Can Pi is located right on the Sant Miquel route, on the path leading to the Sant Daniel valley, entering through the Sant Pere de Galligants monastery. In this corner surrounded by forest, father and son gave shape to a simple dream: to serve traditional dishes, the kind of home cooking that has always been a tradition. A year later, Josep retired, and Daniel Crespo took on the challenge alone. He didn't want to break with his father's essence, but rather give it a fresh twist: maintaining the tradition, but with a more modern touch. His big idea was to bring back wild plants and give them center stage in the kitchen. "I know it's nothing new, that grandmothers already did it, that they already used them. But I wanted to cook with these natural ingredients, which are readily available here," he explains.

With this philosophy, Daniel has created a menu that combines ancestral wisdom, his father's culinary heritage, and his own ideas. We let ourselves be guided. In the middle of the table, he serves us a salad of seared peach with burrata and rementerola pesto (a type of wild mint). To start, he insists that we can't miss trying the beetroot quiche with crumble rosemary and pimpinella; the sautéed vegetables with white pepper, slow-cooked egg, cracker Sage and blue cheese, and the extraordinary smoked octopus with red pepper foam.

A perfect vision of all Girona

El Mirador de Can Pi focuses exclusively on natural wines from the Catalan Countries. Esteve Naqui, Daniel's right-hand man and head of the winery, recommends an Estrem from Bodega Los Comunes (La Figuera, Priorat), a perfect accompaniment to the main courses: slow-cooked lamb terrine with sweet potato parmentier; wild staghorn with parsnip and wild fennel purée; and Iberian pork rib with hoisin sauce and wild carrot purée. "Let's make a kind of warm romesco with the carrots," Daniel explains as he serves the dish. For dessert, a corn cake (made with tender ears of corn consumed in Mexico and other Central American countries) with toffee and coconut awaits us, and one cheesecake blue cheese with coulis of red berries, which we paired with Esencia, a sweet wine from the Còsmic Vinyaters winery (Agullana, Alt Empordà). It's the perfect moment to look up and enjoy the views: before us, a perfect panorama of all of Girona. "This is the legendary Masía de Can Pi, and with these views, we decided to call it the Mirador de Can Pi," says Daniel, satisfied.

But, above all, his greatest pride isn't the dishes or the scenery, but the people who fill the restaurant. "I want groups of friends to come, spend the day here, for me to cook for everyone, and for them to have a good time. I like a bit of a show. I don't aspire to anything more," he says, laughing.

From time to time, Josep comes to the restaurant and sees how the diners laugh, toast, and enjoy the space they once imagined together. At that moment, she knows that Mirador de Can Pi is much more than a restaurant: it's a legacy that lives on through Daniel. Then, with a full heart, she understands that her son has arrived exactly where he was meant to be.