Montserrat has six places to eat. Montserrat restaurants are run by the same company that manages the sanctuary’s services, and all are located less than a five-minute walk from the basilica. There’s no competition on the mountain, so the real question isn’t which restaurant is the best, but which one is open when you get hungry.
That is the part most guides skip, and it is the part that ruins lunch. The hours barely overlap: the buffet serves for under four hours, the hotel restaurant for two, and the à la carte restaurant is not currently open at all. Below is what each venue is, when it opens, and what to do if you arrive between services.
There are six places to eat at Montserrat, all beside the monastery: a bar, a cafeteria, a self-service buffet, a hotel restaurant, a viewpoint bar and an à la carte restaurant that is currently closed. Bar de la Plaça is open longest, 8:45 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The buffet only serves 12:15 to 4:00 p.m. and the hotel restaurant only 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. Nothing needs booking except the hotel restaurant.
The six places to eat at Montserrat
All six are inside the monastery complex, run by L’Agrícola Regional, the company that operates the sanctuary’s services. They are listed here by how long they stay open, because that is the constraint that decides your day.
Bar de la Plaça
Open longestThe go-to spot any time of day. Hot and cold sandwiches, pastries, and drinks, with indoor seating and a spacious outdoor terrace. It opens first thing in the morning and stays open after the last cable car leaves, so if your schedule is a bit hectic, this is a great option. €€
La Cafeteria
QuickestCombination plates, pasta, hot and cold sandwiches, pastries, and drinks. It’s the first place you’ll come across when you arrive—it’s spacious, has a large outdoor terrace, offers quick service, and is open almost all day. It’s the perfect spot to stop by between your various visits. €€
Bar Mirador dels Apòstols
ViewpointThe bar is located inside the Mirador dels Apòstols building, in the same room as the buffet. It offers drinks and light snacks, but the views—with the valley at your feet—are one of the main reasons to stop here. €€
Buffet Montserrat
All you can eatAn all-you-can-eat buffet featuring Mediterranean and international dishes on the second floor of the Mirador dels Apòstols, with dining areas offering mountain views. This is the option chosen by most visitors. €€€
Since it’s a buffet, it’s also the best place to feed a family with different tastes and the easiest way to choose from a variety of options.
Restaurant Hotel Abat Cisneros
Sit-downThe only proper restaurant meal on the mountain. It sits inside the Hostal Abat Cisneros, the sanctuary’s hotel, in a 16th-century building — one dining room is built under a great stone arch against the bare rock. Traditional Catalan cooking with a modern edge, in two rooms: the Saló de Pedra and the Saló Rosa. €€€€
Restaurant Montserrat
Currently closedThe large à la carte restaurant on the ground floor of the Mirador dels Apòstols, open since 1976, with panoramic windows over the mountain, the Santa Cova and the Llobregat valley. At 850 square metres and up to 900 covers it exists mainly for groups and banquets.
The cheapest way to eat at Montserrat
Bring your own food or buy it there. Next to the Mirador dels Apòstols, there’s a fully equipped outdoor picnic area with tables and a view of the valley right in front of you, and Montserrat has a small supermarket—marked “Queviures”—open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Of these two options, eating at the picnic area with your own food is by far the cheapest meal at the monastery and the only one that doesn’t close at noon.
It’s also worth planning your arrival time carefully so you can visit the farmers’ market stalls outside the monastery, where women from the surrounding villages sell “mató” cottage cheese, honey, fig bread, and local cheeses. It’s not a full lunch, but it’s the most traditional food you’ll eat in Montserrat, and it’s well worth it.
How to plan lunch around your visit
The peak hours are between 12:15 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., when the buffet and the hotel restaurant get crowded. We all want to eat at the same time. There are two ways to avoid the crowds.
- Eat early or late. The buffet opens at 12:15 p.m. Take advantage of the first seating or wait until after 2:30 p.m., when the tour groups leave to begin their return trip.
- Or, avoid peak hours altogether. The café and the Bar de la Plaça never close for lunch, so a late breakfast at 11:00 a.m. or a meal whenever you feel like it is a perfectly valid plan—and it lets you enjoy the quietest hours in the basilica while everyone else is waiting in line to eat.
- The Abat Cisneros hotel restaurant has two lunch seatings: the first at 1:00 p.m. and the second at 2:30 p.m
Interactive Map of Montserrat.
If you would rather see where all of this sits before you go, everything is marked on our interactive map of Montserrat.
FAQ — Eating at Montserrat
Are there restaurants at Montserrat monastery?
Yes, there are six in total, all located within the monastery grounds and operated by the sanctuary’s service company: the Bar de la Plaça, La Cafetería, the Bar Mirador dels Apòstols, the Buffet Montserrat, the Hotel Abat Cisneros Restaurant, and the Montserrat Restaurant, the latter of which is currently listed as closed.
What time can you eat at Montserrat?
It depends where. Bar de la Plaça runs from 8:45 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and La Cafeteria from 8:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., so those two cover almost the whole day. The buffet only serves from 12:15 to 4:00 p.m. and the Hotel Abat Cisneros restaurant from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. for lunch and 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. for dinner.
Can you bring your own food to Montserrat?
Yes. There is an equipped open-air picnic area next to the Mirador dels Apòstols, and a small supermarket at the monastery — signposted Queviures — open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. if you would rather buy your lunch once you are up there. It is the cheapest way to eat at Montserrat.
Do you need to book a restaurant at Montserrat?
Reservations are required only at the Hotel Abat Cisneros restaurant, which offers an à la carte menu. The bars, café, and buffet do not require advance reservations.
Is there a supermarket at Montserrat?
Yes. There’s a small grocery store with a sign that says “Queviures,” open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Along with the picnic area, it’s the cheapest option at the monastery.
Continue exploring Montserrat
If this guide helped you plan your visit, then it has done its job.
Sergio López Prieto · Local Montserrat Expert
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