Brots Del Vi

A perennial question: where do we go for an early (by Catalan standards) dinner that’s not pizza or tapas? The answer is often inevitably Brots Del Vi. They are open all afternoon for wine and nibbles and start serving the full menu at 7:30pm, year round. They serve a small but wonderful range of simple Catalan grilled dishes but also have a few wonderful big bowl salads and toasts (open-faced sandwiches for the Americans).

The last time Dan and I went to Brots I ordered my usual, the delicious Secret Pork, swapping out the potatoes for a side of grilled veggies. Dan ordered a lamb burger and chips, and we shared an Iberico & Brie salad to start. Simple but tasty flavours… they don’t mess around too much with sauces but rather let the meats and ingredients do the heavy lifting. Good quality meats, veg, salt, pepper and some olive oil. Bueno.

Brots has an under-appreciated lunch menu, coming in at €15 for three courses + a glass of wine, water and coffee. This is a local favourite and many a 3-hour conversation has started over one of these lunches and ended up a few bottles of wine down.

One stand-out about Brots is their menu of wines and selection of wines available by the glass. They have an awesome range of local Emporda bottles and it’s worth asking to try if you’re unsure.

Unless you’re early and a tiny group, you should probably book in advance as the place usually fills up by 8:30 every night