Café Aquarium
Café · Girona
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Riders roll onto Café Aquarium's terrace at Passeig Darder having just finished, or about to start, Rocacorba, the 13.8 km climb at 6.5% average gradient that put this stretch of Banyoles on every serious cyclist's map. David Millar used to stop here for coffee before hitting the climb hard as a pro, and the Scotsman's long attachment to Rocacorba later gave its name to his cycling and dining club, Velo Club Rocacorba. The café sits right on the shore of the lake, its tables spilling onto a terrace that looks straight across the water. Its kitchen runs on locally sourced (KM0) ingredients for breakfasts, rice bowls and salads, with speciality coffee that has kept it a fixture for Girona's cycling crowd well beyond the pros.
Millar's coffee stop turned into something bigger: after retiring, he built an invitation-only cycling and dining club around the climb, Velo Club Rocacorba, whose members mark the year with a cava and jamon summit gathering. The cafe's own coffee has a story behind it too, roasted from beans that Stean's Beans sources directly from smallholder farmers in East Africa, including Rwanda, rather than through the usual commodity trade. The kitchen runs non-stop, so there's no cutoff between the breakfast and lunch menu: order whenever you roll in, whether that's straight off the climb or before you've even started it. Hours stretch later in summer, staying open until 11pm in July and August, so on a warm evening it becomes a place to sit out the day rather than just refuel and go. It's pet-friendly, and cyclists lock up at dedicated bike racks rather than propping frames against the railings.
Practical
Open 9am to 6pm September through June, 9am to 11pm in July and August. Bike racks on site, pet-friendly terrace.
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Common questions
- Why stop at Café Aquarium on a bike ride?
- Riders roll onto Café Aquarium's terrace at Passeig Darder having just finished, or about to start, Rocacorba, the 13.8 km climb at 6.5% average gradient that put this stretch of Banyoles on every serious cyclist's map. David Millar used to stop here for coffee before hitting the climb hard as a pro, and the Scotsman's long attachment to Rocacorba later gave its name to his cycling and dining club, Velo Club Rocacorba. The café sits right on the shore of the lake, its tables spilling onto a terrace that looks straight across the water. Its kitchen runs on locally sourced (KM0) ingredients for breakfasts, rice bowls and salads, with speciality coffee that has kept it a fixture for Girona's cycling crowd well beyond the pros.
- When is Café Aquarium open?
- Open 9am to 6pm September through June, 9am to 11pm in July and August. Bike racks on site, pet-friendly terrace.