Can Cortada

Can Cortada is a historic Catalan farmhouse in Barcelona’s Horta neighbourhood, surrounded by gardens and serving traditional cuisine. Its castle-like silhouette brings a rural setting into the city. Quadrangular stone façades rise beneath a sloping roof, with arched windows, paired windows, and a broad entrance.

Roman villa remains found in 1987 place the site’s origins in the middle of the first century. A circular watchtower followed during the eleventh century. In 1505, Mateu Capdevila transformed the medieval fortification into a masia, and later renovations added eastern and northern wings. The medieval watchtower still crosses the house. Inside, barrel vaults, wooden beams, brick vaults, and a timber roof structure preserve its changing construction.

The farmhouse became a restaurant in 1994. Traditional dining centres on calçots, grilled meats, local wine, tomato bread, beans, and crema catalana. Romesco sauce accompanies the traditional grilled calçots here. Private dining rooms and a terrace extend the restaurant into its garden setting. Herringbone stonework, walls about two metres thick, and a basement cool room cut into the ground complete the experience.