Photo: Glovo
If you love medialunas and haven’t yet been to Alfar, this spot needs to be at the top of your list. A specialty medialuna-only café in the Dreta de l’Eixample, Alfar sells truly authentic medialunas made with a recipe straight from Mar del Plata, Argentina. Offering a range of fillings both sweet and savoury, Alfar’s medialunas are the perfect treat any time of the day.
What are medialunas?
For those who aren’t familiar, Argentinian medialunas are similar to a French croissant but are typically smaller, with a denser texture compared to croissants. They come in two main varieties: “de manteca” (with butter), which are soft and sweet, often glazed with a sugar syrup, and “de grasa” (with lard), which are savoury with a stronger flavour. Medialunas can be plain, or filled with sweet fillings like dulce de leche, and savoury fillings like the classic ham and cheese.
From Alfar, Mar del Plata to Barcelona
The story of Alfar begins with Valentina and Mariano, a couple from Buenos Aires who moved to Barcelona in 2020. During a visit one year from Mariano's father, he mentioned that he could never find a place with good medialunas. This sparked the idea to open a medialuna-only shop, focusing on doing one thing and doing it well. The café's name honors a neighborhood in Mar del Plata, a city near Buenos Aires famous for its medialunas and where Mariano's family vacationed every year at his great-grandfather's house.
Their plan was to strictly follow the Mar del Plata style of medialunas, with their Uruguayan pastry chef sent there to try medialunas from 15 different places to develop a recipe that matched the one they wanted. The café also has several other references to Mar del Plata, including a mural of the iconic lighthouse, also depicted on their takeaway cups. "We want to be the brand that makes people associate the medialuna with Mar del Plata," Mariano said in an interview with La Nacion.
In a city that has many, many Argentinians, Alfar is a welcome taste of home, and is winning over Catalans and foreigners alike. "I would say that 50 percent of our customers are Argentinians, 30 percent are Spaniards, and 20 percent are foreigners. It's amazing because many people didn't know about the medialuna concept, but once they try it, they say, 'This is great.' Especially when comparing it to a croissant, it's totally different," said Mariano.
Alfar also serves specialty coffee from On y Va at their café so if you’re not into mate, or you’re simply looking for a place to have a quick pitstop, Alfar is the perfect choice.
Buy Alfar medialunas
Alfar medialunas are available in a range of flavours including plain, dulce de leche, chocolate, pistachio, Kinder Bueno, and ham and cheese. Mariano says, "The most popular medialuna is the plain one, followed by the dulce de leche-filled one, which Argentinians love. Non-Argentinians try it and go crazy for it."
For those who can’t (or don’t want to) visit the Eixample café in person, you can also order Alfar medialunas through Glovo. Buy them individually or as a box of 6 or 10 units. Priced from €10.50 for 6 plain medialunas, these boxes are the perfect treat to share (if you want!), or to give as a tasty gift. Your Argentinian friends will thank you!
Whether you’re a medialuna aficionado, a sweet tooth, or you’re simply looking to try something new, Alfar’s authentic Argentinian medialunas are definitely one for the books. Let us know what you think!
Find them at: C/ de València, 342, L'Eixample, 08009 Barcelona
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