Fran Café

Victoria Grosso, known to everyone as Vicky, grew up in Puerto Pirámides in Argentina, trained in gastronomy in Buenos Aires and worked at the acclaimed restaurant Tegui before settling in Valencia, where she opened Fran Café in Ruzafa in March 2022. The name nods to the ballena franca, the southern right whale of her hometown coast, and Fran, the cheerful illustrated character who drinks flat whites, is Vicky's own drawing.

She built the shop as the friendly, quick service takeaway counter she felt the city was missing, pouring specialty coffee, flat whites above all, and pairing it with Argentine alfajores filled with dulce de leche. Regulars have become something like family, and the success of the counter led Vicky and her family to open a larger brunch kitchen, Casa Fran, a year later.