It all started when in 1802 Miquel Pons inaugurated the Chocolatería del Mallorquín. It became so important that when Manuel Docampo bought it in 1830, he wanted to take advantage of the prestige he had gained and chose this indicative name: Antigua del Mallorcan.
The establishment passed into the hands of Antoni Dòria in 1929 at a hopeful moment: the imminent opening of the International Exhibition. And he introduced a series of notable changes detailed on the advertising card of the Café de la Ópera Bar-Restaurante: “Servicio refinado a la carte. National and foreign appetizers from the best brands. Special breakfasts and services at the end of shows. The best Espresso coffee. English Tea. Cakes. Sandwiches sandwiches Chocolates. Rambla dels Capuchins, 74 and Aroles, 6.”
It benefited from the strategic enclave, due to the frontage and proximity of the two most important and historic theaters, which ensured a select audience.
A decorative remodeling of noucentista inspiration was then introduced. The series of mirrors with female figures engraved in fluorine exhibiting appetizing fruit dialogues well with the 19th century mirrors, a period to which the cast iron columns and the ornamentation of the friezes and ceilings also belong. In the fifties they were in danger: the music lover Fèlix Valls i Taberner offered to buy them to decorate one of the large halls of the Cercle del Liceu. Dòria answered him in this irrevocable way: “These mirrors will die with me”.
The parade of bullfighters, artists or writers has always been incessant. During the civil war, it kept its doors open and hosted the social gathering hosted by the journalists Sebastià Gash and Sempronio. A Sandro Pertini, president of Italy, practicing ramblista did not hesitate to make a coffee there and savor that aroma of other times.
Under the Franco regime, the constant closure of cafes on La Rambla was watched with concern. That stage luckily remained under the firm and correct hand of Rosa Dòria, his daughter, who did not hesitate to maintain the profile and atmosphere of the establishment even on the facade keeping on the first floor, from the his property, the historic signs of the now defunct Mas Sardá bank. The helm is in the good hands of Andreu Ros, his son: for many years.
