REVIEW: Breakfast in Barcelona Lounge at Disney World’s Gran Destino Tower!
We woke up bright and early this morning for the official Grand Opening ceremony at Walt Disney World’s Gran Destino Tower, and now it’s time for breakfast in Barcelona — Barcelona Lounge, of course!
Barcelona Lounge
This stunning Lounge serves double-duty in Gran Destino Tower. It’s an espresso bar with American and Spanish breakfast items from 6:30AM to 11AM and transforms into a bar specializing in gin tonics for the rest of the day and into the night. (Don’t worry, though: if you need your coffee fix, you can get it all day here!)
Atmosphere
The showcase of Barcelona Lounge is the colorful stained glass-enshrouded bar. But it’s not the only awe-inspiring element in the space.
Barcelona Lounge Bar
Seen from above, the lower lobby level space is anchored by a four-sided banquette and a quartet of towering (pun intended!) pillars.
Banquette Seating
We shared a full FIRST LOOK at Barcelona Lounge yesterday, so click here for lots more shots of this beautiful space.
In addition to that banquette seating, there are several sitting areas, many with lovely views of the patio and paths outside the windows.
Seating in Barcelona Lounge
But don’t miss out on this hidden gem: Lago Dorado-side seating on these stunning wood and mosaic-backed benches, located just outside Barcelona Lounge.
Lago-side Seating at Gran Destino Tower
A cup of cappuccino, a croissant, and this view? Si. A million times si.
Lago-side Seating at Gran Destino Tower
Eats
The menu of coffees at Barcelona Lounge’s espresso bar include Spanish and Classic varieties. Among the Spanish options are Cortado (espresso with steamed milk), Cafe Con Leche (espresso with warm milk), and Cafe Bombon (espresso with sweetened condensed milk). There are also spiked coffee options, like Cafe Carajillo with brandy and Barraquito with Licor 43.
Espresso bar menu board
During the media preview (where we took these shots), Nitro Cold Brew and Cold Brew coffees were on display.
Nitro Cold Brew and Cold Brew Coffee
We sampled the Cafe Bombon and learned that during morning hours, coffee at Barcelona Lounge will be served in disposable paper cups. True coffee mugs won’t be available until late-morning, when the bartenders begin their shift.
Disposable Paper Cups in the morning
The Cafe Bombon was rich and dark — a delicious cup of coffee with a kick of caffeine. The sweetened condensed milk acted as a bit of a thickener, and it went down smooth.
Sample of Cafe Bon Bon
To the left of the bar, tucked under the Lounge’s grand staircase, is an area with coffee additions like milk, cinnamon, and sugar.
Espresso Bar
Guests can find plastic stirrers, wrapped plasticware, napkins, lids for coffee cups, napkins, and paper straws, too.
Espresso Bar
If you need a bottled or canned beverage, Barcelona Lounge offers Coke products (of course) in addition to Monster energy drinks, bottled water, and apple juice.
Bottled and Canned Beverages
Now that we’re hydrated, let’s eat! According to the cast members working at Barcelona Lounge this morning, all breakfast items are Disney Dining Plan snack credit eligible except for the “Plates”. We’ll show you those first.
The Meat and Cheese Plate, like the others, will be kept in a cooler. This plate consists of various cheeses, cured meats, and complementary accompaniments like grapes and blanched almonds.
Meat and Cheese Plate
The Fruit Plate consists of… fruit. Fruit options will vary, but here we have strawberries, pineapple, melon, and kiwi.
Fruit Plate
The Charcuterie Plate is a combination of cheeses, meats, and accompaniments like olives, dried apricots, and almonds.
Charcuterie Plate
Cups filled with healthy options are available, too. These vary in price from $4.19 for fruit cups to $6.99 for the Couscous and Citrus Salad.
Cups
The Fruit Cup contains melon and grapes. The fruit in the Strawberry Cup is chopped into bite-size pieces perfect for kiddos.
Mixed Fruit and Strawberries
The yogurt parfait is officially called Lavender-Honey Yogurt with Flax Seed Granola. The granola is kept separate from the yogurt so you don’t have to worry about it getting soggy.
Yogurt Parfait
The Pineapple Cup contains large chunks of the sweet and tart fruit.
Pineapple
The Cous Cous and Citrus Salad is the most expensive of the five options. It also has a separate component that looks to contain dried fruits and possibly nuts, so double check those ingredients if you have some allergies in your group.
Couscous and Citrus Salad
There’s also fresh fruit. On our visit, bananas, apples, and navel oranges were available.
Fresh Fruit
Pastries include some familiar options, like these Blueberry Muffins ($3.49), Chocolate Chip Muffins ($3.49), and Blueberry Scones .
Muffins and Scones
Sugar Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies ($2.99) are also available, in case you prefer to start your day (or enjoy your coffee) with a cookie.
Cookies and Scones
There are beautiful Croissants ($3.99) in two varieties. The traditional has a lovely sheen to it, and you can really see all the buttery layers.
Croissants
The Chocolate Croissant is covered in dark chocolate glaze and tons of chocolate shavings.
Chocolate Croissants
Spanish pastries are available, too.
The Ensaimada ($3.99) is a sweet, enriched dough pastry baked and topped with sugar bits. You can see it toward the back of the tray in the photo below. (Note: this is traditionally made with lard, so check those ingredients if you don’t consume pork products!)
The Magdalena ($3.79) is a sweet cake usually flavored with lemon zest and enjoyed with a Cafe con Leche. You can see them in the center of the tray, coated in a sweet and soft crumble.
Spanish Pastries
The last Spanish pastry item is an Egg Tart. This trio consists of flaky tart shells (usually puff pastry) filled with a sweetened egg custard mixture.
Egg Tart
At present, the online menu for Barcelona Lounge does not list breakfast items (although it does list the coffee options). As always, these items are subject to change, but we hope to see the Spanish pastry options remain consistent as they keep with the overall theme of the Tower. Note that cast members told us the pastries will likely not be presented as they were for the media preview, so we’ll check back to see how they’re handled in the future.
Nosh or Not?
Vamos to Barcelona Lounge’s espresso bar if:
- You’re staying at Gran Destino Tower and you want a quick breakfast without walking over to El Mercado.
- You’re staying elsewhere in Coronado Springs but you can’t miss exploring this gorgeous new space.
- You’ve got a non-Parks day (or morning), and you want to check out the new Tower!
Skip Barcelona Lounge’s espresso bar if:
- You’re not staying at or near Gran Destino Tower, and you don’t feel compelled to travel for a croissant.
- You don’t care for these breakfast items.
- You prefer a table service breakfast when you’re fueling up for Park fun!
Overall
Barcelona Lounge is a beautiful and airy space, particularly so with morning light streaming in through the two-story-high windows that overlook Lago Dorado. With simple breakfast offerings — but perhaps a few Spanish treats you’ve never tried — it’s a relaxing way to begin your day. And for coffee lovers, this is a new place to try specialty coffees that you can’t get everywhere else.
Now if you need us, we’ll be relaxing on those wooden benches with a Chocolate Croissant and a Cafe Latte. 
Click here to see our FIRST LOOK and PHOTO TOUR of Barcelona Lounge! And stick around because later today, we’ll bring you pics of Barcelona Lounge’s after-11AM offerings, too!
What are your thoughts on the breakfast offerings at Barcelona Lounge? Will you make a point of trying it on your next visit? Let us know in the comments!
Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited to a media preview of Gran Destino Tower and its restaurants and lounges. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ
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