On the night of 23 June, Barcelona empties onto its beaches and rooftops for Sant Joan, and almost everyone is carrying the same thing: a flat, wide cake topped with candied fruit or pine nuts. It costs between €16 and €35, and it is the only one of the four Catalan festive cakes that has not gone up in price this campaign.
The coca de Sant Joan is a flat, wide cake eaten on the night of 23 June across Catalonia, and it comes in four distinct versions. Which one to buy depends on where you plan to eat it, because half of them will not survive a night outdoors.
What is the coca de Sant Joan and what does it cost? The flat cake eaten on the night of 23 June for Sant Joan, in candied fruit, cream and savoury llardons versions. Artisan prices run €16 to €35, with a family size for four to six people at around €20. Some houses sell it only on 22 and 23 June.
Four versions, and where each one works
Candied fruit is still the classic of the verbena and the one that holds up best out of the fridge. It is the coca for the beach or a terrace at two in the morning. Carrió and Morreig make the traditional version.
Cream fillings are the opposite. The custard version, Carrió’s mató and honey, and Bubó’s mascarpone with apricot all need to stay cold. For a table at home they work; for a twelve-hour street party they do not.
Llardons with pine nuts is the savoury one, eaten before dinner rather than as dessert. Faixat came second in Catalonia in that category at the eighth edition of the competition.
The creative ones are where the workshops compete. Hofmann took first prize in the creative coca category with a pistachio and citrus version.
| Version | Keeps out of the fridge | Eaten as | Where it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candied fruit | Yes | Dessert | Beach, terrace, all night |
| Cream, mató and honey, mascarpone | No | Dessert | A table at home |
| Llardons with pine nuts | Yes | Before dinner | Either, savoury course |
| Creative, pistachio and citrus | No | Dessert | A table at home |
Where to buy one
Pastisseria Hofmann, Carrer dels Flassaders 44, El Born. Four versions — pistachio and citrus, llardons, brioche and tiramisu. The pistachio and citrus took first prize for creative coca at the most recent competition, the only current title on this list. Phone 932 68 82 21.
Pastisseria Faixat, l’Antiga Esquerra de l’Eixample. Llardons, fruit and cream, with its llardons version placing second in Catalonia. One detail sets it apart from every other house here: it has the coca available from Dijous Gras, months before the June window.
Pastisseria Carrió, Carrer de Provença 139. The fullest list of the ten with five versions: fresh fruit, mató and honey, custard, llardons and chocolate. It opens daily 10:00 to 20:30, so it is one of the few where you can buy without ordering on the 23rd itself.
Bubó, in Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. Mascarpone and apricot, llardons with chocolate, and the classics — the most contemporary reading of the date, the same approach it brings to the panellets covered in the panellets guide.
Paul sells it only on 22 and 23 June, which is the tightest window of any house in the city.
The timing problem, and how to get round it
Sant Joan is a fixed date and the demand is concentrated into about 48 hours. That produces two practical rules:
- Order ahead if you want a specific version. The award-winning ones go first, and several houses only produce for the window itself.
- Carrió is the walk-in answer, open every day 10:00 to 20:30, including the 23rd.
For a visitor, this is one of the easiest Catalan traditions to join: buy a coca in the afternoon, take it to the beach at night, and you are doing exactly what the city is doing. The seasonal context is in the best time to visit Barcelona, and Sant Joan is the busiest night of the Barcelona summer.
Where it fits in the Catalan sweet year
Four dates carry their own cake in Catalonia, and the same bakeries make all of them. Panellets for All Saints in November, the tortell for Kings’ Day in January, the mona at Easter, and the coca for Sant Joan in June.
Carrió is the clearest example, covering all four. The tortell half of that calendar is in the tortell de Reis guide, Easter is in the mona de Pascua guide, and the houses behind them are in the historic pastry shops guide.
Worth noting for anyone comparing years: the coca is the one that has held its price while the rest of the calendar rose. If you are budgeting a June trip, that makes it the cheapest festive tradition to take part in, alongside the wider costs in the Barcelona travel budget guide.
Frequently asked questions about the coca de Sant Joan
What is the coca de Sant Joan?
The flat cake Catalans eat on the night of 23 June, the shortest night of the year, at the Sant Joan street parties. It comes topped with candied fruit, filled with cream, or in a savoury version with llardons and pine nuts eaten before dinner rather than after.
How much does a coca de Sant Joan cost in Barcelona?
Between €16 and €35 for an artisan one, with a family size for four to six people at around €20. It is the only one of the four Catalan festive cakes that has not risen in price this campaign.
Which coca survives a night outdoors?
The candied fruit version, which holds up best out of the fridge. Cream, mató and honey, or mascarpone fillings all need to stay cold, so they work for a table at home but not for a twelve-hour street party on a June night.
Can you buy a coca de Sant Joan outside 23 June?
Rarely. Paul sells it only on 22 and 23 June. The exception is Pastisseria Faixat, which has it available from Dijous Gras, months before the June window that the rest of the city works to.
Buy candied fruit for the beach and cream for the table. The mistake is doing it the other way round.