At Ca’n Joan de S’Aigo, we’ve been making the same ensaimada, the same thick hot chocolate, and the same almond ice cream since 1700, when Joan Thomàs first started storing snow from the Serra de Tramuntana. With 325 years of history behind us and a business that’s still entirely family-run, that history is now spread across three locations in Palma. The recipe is exactly the same at all three. What changes is where you decide to sit down.
Can Sanç: The Original Shop
The business opened in 1700 on Carrer Fiol. It moved to Can Sanç in 1977, after that first building fell into ruin, and the mosaic floor from the original shop is still preserved here today. Antique lamps, marble tables, right in the old town, just steps from Santa Eulàlia church. As you walk in, be ready to wait to be seated — there’s a sign on the door that says as much. This is also where our very first ice cream was served, an almond one, the same flavour we still make today. It’s the place to go if you want to see where it all began, the true origin of Ca’n Joan de S’Aigo.
Baró de Santa Maria del Sepulcre: Near Jaume III
Opened in the 1990s, this second location keeps the same spirit, the same delicacy, and the same quality as the original, only set in one of the city’s most upscale neighbourhoods. It’s a great choice if you’re out shopping or strolling around Jaume III and fancy stopping for something without leaving that polished part of Palma behind. It’s the least known of the three, and that’s exactly what gives it a special kind of magic.
Sindicat: Near Porta de Sant Antoni
Our newest location, opened in 2018 on the ground floor of the old Bar Triquet, a 1909 building designed by architect Gaspar Bennàssar. The look is more contemporary, with a space made for a leisurely coffee or a hot chocolate and ensaimada right in the heart of the city. It’s the most convenient option if you’re near Porta de Sant Antoni and want the same house in a different setting.
Three Reasons People Keep Coming Back to All Three
Taste is the first reason: the ensaimada, the quarto pastry, the hot chocolate, the horchata, and the almond ice cream all still follow the original recipes. The second is sharing a table: grandparents, parents, children, couples, and friends cross paths at our tables every single day, and long chats and reunions are simply part of the atmosphere at all three locations. The third is memory: sitting down at any one of them means connecting with more than three centuries of history, and every single object in the house — the old La Roqueta sign, the hydraulic floor tiles, the oak chairs — has a story of its own.
You can also choose the experience you’re after — it all depends on what you’re in the mood for. At any of the three locations, early morning is best for a quiet breakfast with freshly baked quartos. Mid-afternoon, on the other hand, is when the longest queues form for an afternoon treat of hot chocolate, ensaimada, and ice cream. If you’d rather get a table without waiting, mornings are your best bet; if you want to catch the atmosphere at its liveliest, afternoon is the time to go.
The Same Menu at All Three
Plain ensaimada, or filled with tallades, cream, candied pumpkin, chocolate, or whipped cream; the quarto pastry, the potato coca, the gató almond cake, the cremadillo, the robiols, and our handmade almond ice cream — the menu doesn’t change from one location to the next. Neither does the hot chocolate the house is named for. If you’d like to take an ensaimada home, order it two days ahead at any of the three. And if you’d like to come see us, we’ll be waiting, just as we have since 1700.
