Castelldefels and La Canasta

When La Canasta first opened, the 12,000 inhabitants of Castelldefels could lay their towel wherever they wished. The beach was infinite, they had it all to themselves. It was a small town of friends who met at weekends or in summer.

On the seafront beach bars flourished serving meals to campers, mainly Germans and Dutch, who came seeking the sunshine in this part of Europe. Visitors at that time fell in love with this little costal town so near to Barcelona and many made Castelldefels their second home. And so large colonies were formed of Germans, Dutch and later Argentineans, Chileans and Uruguayans, political exiles from different dictatorships. In total the South American population numbered over 3,000.

La Canasta evolved at the same rate as the city which underwent a dramatic change with the arrival of democracy; from '75 to the present. This city which we can be proud of today was built with private investment and state assistance for the infrastructure, creating car parks, developing pleasant areas, improving street lights...

What was La Canasta like originally? The answer is that it was all white. A very simple decor with fishing nets, wicker lamps, a nautical Ibizan style. The name La Canasta (The Basket) came from the mats the fish were served on which were in fact little baskets...

Formerly a seaman's bar La Canasta is now a restaurant with nautical connotations. "It begins at the promenade entrance where you feel as if you are entering an ocean liner. We looked for parts in boat breakers yards until in '84 I finally made the transformation. That's when we covered the walls with solid wood and created the dining rooms. It's if you were inside a boat. Elizabethan chairs, table cloths with the logo, carefully chosen china. We remodelled the whole place. The only thing which remains of the old Canasta is the floor, of handmade Catalan earthenware."

La Canasta really took off from '85 onwards when Castelldefels established itself as a tourist resort. We've grown just like the city. Sadly, and I say this with nostalgia, with such vertiginous growth the fisherman disappeared from the beach. No longer there with their boats on the shore. La Canasta was actually set up by a family of fishermen by the name of Can Calero and when I bought it the older locals told me its history. The restaurant remained closed for many years and on its land, which belonged to the owners of the Playafels Hotel, there were marshes which stretched as far as the sea. That's how we began. That was '76 and now we have made it to our 30th birthday which is a huge achievement.