CAFÉ LLETRAFERIT
Catalan Books and Fresh Squeezed Juice
I’ll admit it; I didn’t know that the Barcelonese spoke Catalan as their mother-tongue until about a month before moving to the city. “Catalan?” I said “What’s that?”
Catalan is the language of Catalonia, an area of Spain stretching along the eastern shoreline from France to Valencia (Catalan is also spoken on the Balearic Islands and in Andorra). News, songs, signs and books are written in Catalan in Barcelona. Such is the case at Lletraferit, a café which meshes reading, coffee, and fruit juice, a combination I adore. Most of the books at the café are in Catalan, so if you read a page and understand nothing, don’t be alarmed. Switch your mind over to French or Italian reading mode (Catalan most resembles these two languages, at least in written form) and try again.
Of course, you don’t have to read at Lletraferit. Set yourself up at a round table by the window and order a vino de la casa as you watch the world go by outside on busy Joaquim Costa street. With over twenty flavors of tea, espresso drinks, fruit juices, cocktails and desserts, the café has a minimal menu and good service. While always busy around 8pm, one can still usually get a table in this ultra-hip bar. While it is cool, it is not pretentious and makes for a great place to meet with friends or even go solo.
Lletraferit also offers workshops, lectures, guest authors and different art exhibitions each month. Located deep in the Raval neighborhood, this area is one of the most diverse in Barcelona and some parts are better than others. Stay on the well-lit, main streets and enjoy!
Where: c/ Joaquim Costa, 43
When: From 4pm to 3am every day
Contact: 93 301 19 61