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The croissant master now winning over Barcelona with ice cream
Barcelona has a new sweet stop right in the centre. Albert Roca, known for his award-winning artisan croissants, has swapped the ovens for the cold to focus on El Gelat, an ice cream shop that is already attracting those looking for more than just a classic summer scoop.
The venue is on the covered terrace of Casa Candela, a few steps from Plaça Catalunya. The location helps, but the main draw is Roca's name: a pastry chef who twice won the award for Spain's Best Artisan Butter Croissant and who now claims ice cream as his true passion.
His move has not been improvised. Roca grew up among workshops, cakes and family display cases, but had spent years exploring ice-cream making. He first did so through his Sant Croi patisseries in El Putxet and Sants, and then with an increasingly clear commitment to his own techniques, textures and recipes.
The change was fully consolidated after several accolades in the world of ice cream. He was chosen Best Ice Cream in 2021 and national champion of Artisan Ice Cream in 2022, before closing Sant Croi at the beginning of 2025 to focus entirely on El Gelat.
The menu moves through four lines: classics, seasonal flavours, chocolates and special collections that change every few months. There are vanillas from different origins, Reus hazelnut, Lleida pistachio, crema catalana, summer fruits and more intense proposals for those looking for an ice cream with personality.
One of the lines that attracts the most attention is the so-called detox range, with low-sugar recipes, vegan fats and plant fibres. Combinations such as raspberry with beetroot and ginger, or pineapple with fennel and coconut water, bring ice cream closer to the territory of functional smoothies without losing the pleasure of dessert.
The pastry chef's eye is evident in the precision. Roca works with very carefully selected ingredients, high-priced vanillas, products from the Pyrenees and aromatic twists that change with the season, such as thyme in summer or honey and ginger in winter. The result seeks depth rather than spectacle.
The project also looks towards training. In his workshop in Sant Boi, Roca has created a school where he teaches pastry techniques applied to ice cream, an unusual crossover that explains part of his approach: exact formulas, carefully handled texture and flavours conceived with the mindset of haute pâtisserie.
The story leaves a very Barcelona image: a recognised artisan who decides to start again in pursuit of an obsession. At El Gelat, the croissant remains a brilliant past and ice cream becomes the present, with a proposal that adds another proper name to the city's sweet map.