Garden Pizza is already in Barcelona

Today, pizza! Who doesn't jump for joy when it's on the menu? And even better if it's freshly made, cooked to perfection, and can be enjoyed in a great atmosphere. This is the recipe for success at Garden Pizza. After eight years of growing outside of Barcelona, with locations in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Terrassa, Granollers, Igualada, and l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, the Catalan brand is making the leap to the capital, backed by 50 Top Pizza, which ranks it as the 25th best artisanal pizza chain in the world and the 3rd in Spain.

In the Eixample Dret of Barcelona

Number 401 of Consell de Cent street, between Girona and Bailèn, is the address chosen by Garden Pizza to debut in Barcelona with its most ambitious location to date. A flagship that brings to the city the essence of a brand that was born in 2018 in Sant Cugat, inside an old garden center at the foot of Collserola.

Open since the month of May, it is the first Garden Pizza restaurant in Barcelona and the sixth of the group in the province. And the location is no coincidence. Consell de Cent has become one of the most unique arteries of the new Eixample after the urban transformation that has turned it into one of the city's green axes: a pacified street, with more prominence for pedestrians, trees, benches, and terraces, and especially valued by the neighborhood.

The premises have a capacity for 120 diners and an outdoor terrace, and it recovers the spirit of the old garden center where Garden Pizza was born, with a hydroponic garden inside and plants at street level. In the heart of the green axis, the restaurant presents itself as a meeting point to enjoy with family or friends during the day, on weekends from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Also from Wednesday to Friday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. and on Fridays at noon from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Artisanal dough and limited editions

At the table, and also for takeaway, delicious artisanal dough pizzas are served. Made with Petra flour, from organic farming and partial germination, stone-ground and not with cylinders, which preserves all the aroma of the wheat, and its nutritional value, the dough is made with only four ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast.

The quality of the dough also ensures that the pizza arrives home as if it had just come out of the oven. The long fermentation withstands reheating, maintaining the same texture, so buying for delivery –at gardenpizza.cat, Glovo and Uber Eats– also becomes a magnificent option.

The pizza is baked in a stone oven at 400 degrees for about 90 seconds. A very high temperature and a very short cooking time allow for a thin base and a puffed cornicione, cooked on the outside and tender on the inside. And on top, the ingredients of classic Neapolitan pizzas and the house's own creations, with Italian PDO products and local raw materials.

Limited editions also have a place on the menu, which is renewed according to the season and seasonal products. In September, for example, figs take on a special prominence among the ingredients, some coming from occasional collaborations with small producers.

Garden Pizza organized Pizza Around the World, an event in which four restaurants brought their cuisine to a pizza: the Peruvian Warike, the Japanese Osaka Bang, the Indian Achaar and the Catalan Santa Gula. Some of those creations will be recovered later as limited editions.

Appetizers for every taste

With a renewed menu, all kinds of appetizers are offered. To the firm's classics, such as the Garden Pizza style bravas potatoes and the XXL marinated olives with mojo picón, new proposals to share are added, such as the crispy corn ribs Cajun with parmesan, the fried sweet potato sticks with cheese sauce and the homemade roasted chicken croquettes with confit garlic aioli.

Chili con carne nachos also gain prominence, baked in a stone oven and accompanied by jalapeños and melted cheddar; roasted carrot hummus with ricotta, toasted hazelnuts and bread saltimbocca, and the escarole salad with curry Caesar dressing, avocado, semi-dried tomato and parmesan.

Among the freshest proposals is the zucchini carpaccio with goat cheese, semi-dried tomato, honey vinaigrette, mint and toasted hazelnuts, and the parmigiana of eggplant with homemade tomato sauce and parmesan, gratin baked in a stone oven.

Pasta, like pizza, is also handmade and joins the table. The rigatoni to the gorgonzola are the most recent addition. And, for dessert, two sweet pizzas by express request of the customers: the vegan Nutella one with roasted almonds and the pistachio cream one with mascarpone and lemon zest. The tiramisu in a baking tray, prepared at home and served from the tray like in Italy, and the passion fruit cheesecake with mascarpone cream, cinnamon crumble and coulis, are added to the list of classics.

The vegan option and more

At Garden Pizza there are options for all tastes. Eight vegan pizzas with artisanal soy-based mozzarella or homemade vegan sobrassada, a menu of appetizers also designed for those who don't want pizza, the option of gluten-free dough (not suitable for people with celiac disease, because the kitchen and oven are shared) and artisanal pasta complete an offer in which long fermentation is one of the distinctive features.

As Nacho Núñez, CEO of Garden Pizza, comments, "we don't want to be the vegan pizzeria or the gluten-free pizzeria. We want to be the pizzeria where everyone can go. We are very clear about our principles and we want to take them as far as possible, but without becoming a niche proposal. The idea is that people with different tastes, sensitivities or needs can share a table and that no one feels they are missing out on the experience."

Artisanal dough, classic Neapolitan pizzas and original creations made with Italian PDO products and local raw materials define Garden Pizza's proposal. With eight vegan pizzas, a gluten-free dough option—with traces—, artisanal pasta and a menu of appetizers to share, also designed for those who don't want pizza that day, Garden Pizza takes care of every detail. Including those of your pet. At their dog friendly locations, the menu holds one last secret: an ice cream for the furry ones.