Most vegan bakery guides stop at cupcakes, which is fine until you want to eat what the city actually eats. Barcelona’s two calendar cakes — the tortell de Reis on 6 January and the coca de Sant Joan on the night of 23 June — are built on egg-rich brioche, and for years being vegan meant watching. Both now have a plant-based version, made by houses that are not vegan bakeries at all.
Are there vegan versions of the Catalan seasonal cakes? Two. La Pastisseria Barcelona makes the only vegan tortell de Reis in the city, and Takashi Ochiai does his coca de Sant Joan on vegan brioche.
The seasonal ones worth planning around
La Pastisseria Barcelona — Eixample. Makes the only vegan tortell de Reis in the city: a light brioche ring filled with chocolate truffle. The tortell appears in the first days of January and disappears immediately after the sixth, so it is a date rather than a menu item.
Takashi Ochiai — Comte Urgell 110. Builds his coca de Sant Joan on vegan brioche, in a coconut and mango version, reserved through the website. Sant Joan is the night of 23 June, and the whole city eats coca that evening.
Neither house is vegan. Both made a version because enough people asked, which is a more reliable signal than a label.
Three words that are not interchangeable
Vegan excludes every animal product: egg, dairy and honey. It is the widest of the three and the one that changes the recipe most, because egg and butter are what give structure. Four of the twelve houses here are vegan throughout.
Dairy-free is narrower and can still contain egg, so a dairy-free cake does not serve a vegan table. HelMa Cakes, Pastelosofía, Pepina Pastel and Casa Lupita cover this.
Sugar-free changes where the sweetness comes from — date, fruit or a sweetener — rather than removing it. It says nothing at all about whether the cake is vegan.
Ordering in Spanish, the word that does the work is vegano. Sin lactosa will get you the wrong cake.
The four that are vegan throughout
La Besnéta — Gràcia. The city’s first fully vegan patisserie, working from a single workshop with fresh, local, seasonal produce. It also makes gluten-free or sugar-free versions to order, which makes it the one address for a cake that has to satisfy two conditions at once. It sits in Gràcia.
Pastelería Vegana Artesanal Castillo — carrer de Pujades 74-80, unit 10, Poblenou.
Arwen’s Vegan Bakery — own workshop.
El Obrador de Carme — artisan bakery and patisserie.
Clorawfila is effectively a fifth, vegan and gluten-free at once with bean-to-bar chocolate, but its workshop is in Sant Cugat del Vallès, outside the city. Worth knowing before setting out.
The ones with a vegan line
These are conventional workshops that run a plant-based range alongside everything else, and between them they cover most dietary combinations.
HelMa Cakes — Descartes 32, phone 620 90 14 95. Certified gluten-free, with vegan, dairy-free and sugar-free versions.
Pastelosofía — Ferran Turné 16, La Sagrera. Entirely gluten-free, and covers vegan, dairy-free and sugar-free within that.
Pepina Pastel — online, WhatsApp 673 27 68 13.
Casa Lupita — carrer del Coronel Sanfeliu 10, Sant Martí.
All four also appear in gluten-free cakes, because the two circuits overlap more than they diverge: a workshop set up to remove one thing tends to be set up to remove another.
Reference table
| House | Fully vegan | Also gluten-free | Also sugar-free | In the city |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Besnéta | yes | to order | to order | yes, Gràcia |
| Vegana Artesanal Castillo | yes | ask | ask | yes, Poblenou |
| Arwen’s Vegan Bakery | yes | ask | ask | yes |
| El Obrador de Carme | yes | ask | ask | yes |
| Clorawfila | yes | yes | ask | no, Sant Cugat |
| HelMa Cakes | vegan line | certified | yes | yes |
| Pastelosofía | vegan line | entirely | yes | yes |
| Pepina Pastel | vegan line | ask | ask | online |
| Casa Lupita | vegan line | certified | yes | yes |
| Foix de Sarrià | no | ask | no fast sugars | yes, Sarrià |
Two rows solve two conditions at once: La Besnéta on request, and Clorawfila as standard — at the cost of a trip out to Sant Cugat.
The one that needs no notice
Foix de Sarrià — Major de Sarrià 57, phone 932 03 07 14. The historic house, open since 1886, makes pastries without fast sugars alongside its classical repertoire, and opens seven days a week from 8am to 9pm.
For a visitor that matters more than the range does. The dedicated vegan workshops mostly run on commission with days of notice; this is a counter you can walk into on a Sunday. Its place among the city’s older houses is in historic pastry shops.
Around the order
Frozen rather than baked is a separate list, in vegan ice cream, and full meals in vegan restaurants. For lead times and what drives the price of any commissioned cake, see ordering a cake; for getting one to an address, cake delivery.
Frequently asked questions about vegan cakes in Barcelona
Are there vegan versions of the Catalan seasonal cakes?
Two of them. La Pastisseria Barcelona in the Eixample makes the city’s only vegan tortell de Reis, a brioche ring filled with chocolate truffle, and Takashi Ochiai builds his coca de Sant Joan on vegan brioche in a coconut and mango version, reserved through his website.
Which bakeries in Barcelona are entirely vegan?
Four: La Besnéta in Gràcia, which was the city’s first fully vegan patisserie, Pastelería Vegana Artesanal Castillo in Poblenou, Arwen’s Vegan Bakery and El Obrador de Carme. Clorawfila is a fifth but its workshop is in Sant Cugat, outside the city.
Is a dairy-free cake the same as a vegan one?
No, and it is the mistake that ruins a vegan table. Dairy-free is the narrower claim and can still contain egg. HelMa Cakes, Pastelosofía, Pepina Pastel and Casa Lupita cover dairy-free, which is not the same as covering vegan.
What does sin azúcar mean on a Spanish cake?
That the sweetness comes from somewhere else — date, fruit or a sweetener — rather than that the cake is unsweetened. Foix de Sarrià, open since 1886, makes pastries without fast sugars alongside its classical range.
Can a cake be vegan and gluten-free at once?
Yes, but the list is short. La Besnéta makes gluten-free or sugar-free versions to order, and Clorawfila is vegan and gluten-free throughout, with bean-to-bar chocolate, though its workshop sits in Sant Cugat del Vallès rather than Barcelona.
Where can a visitor buy vegan pastry without ordering ahead?
Foix de Sarrià opens seven days a week from 8am to 9pm and keeps a counter, so it is the one address on this list that works without notice. The dedicated vegan workshops mostly run on commission.
Addresses, opening hours and product claims taken from each bakery’s own published information, consulted on 1 September 2026. Seasonal items appear only in their weeks and should be reserved ahead.