Sonia Martínez Argüello (1977)

Africa in the heart of El Borne. Yes you can do it! In a very small and peaceful street of the most fashion neighborhood of Barcelona, you find this very simple place with a few wooden tables and a few pictures hanging on the walls.

From the outside, you couldn’t tell what’s going on inside. Actually, not a lot, it’s a calm place that doesn’t take itself very seriously and where you can go for a fantastic lunch or dinner and an interesting conversation.

The food is just fantastic. The menu consist of 4 cards the waiters put on your table, you can choose between a “Thebudien” (fish and rice in the African way), a “Yassa chicken”, a spinaches and yucca plate or a “Maffe”. They are all absolutely amazing and the prices are ridiculously low…

Before your meal you can also enjoy African vermouth with ginger that is supposed to be aphrodisiac. Or you can try the hibiscus flower juice, typical of this place…

What can I say about this place that has been my second house for many years?

That the waiters are nice and friendly, that the cava (Catalan version of the champagne) apple is incredible, one of the best things to drink at night, that for a long time I thought the secret manager was ManuChao and was expecting him to appear in the bar anytime (never did when I was there…), that you can speak with almost anybody sitting around the long bar and have the weirdest conversations, that you feel like home any day of the week, that there are all kind of nationalities enjoying good conversations….

Yes maybe I can say all these things about my favorite spot in Barcelona and much more but I won’t because then you will have to go and see by yourself… Enjoy!

Don’t be scared of the musicians and instruments hanging from the ceiling upside down. The optical illusion is funny, especially after two cava’s….(Speaking of cava’s, there are a lot of different flavors: strawberry, orange, lemon…)

The first thing I can say about this place is that it is cheap. So cheap you think the food must be disgusting.

After a while I got over my prejudices and decided to go there myself. What a surprise it is when you discover that the food is just like the food you have been eating all your life at home. The same food cooked by your grand-mother and then by your mum…

Everything is very traditional. There are no big surprises but you really feel like you were in your living-room and are expecting your mum to come out of the bathroom from one moment to another.

It’s located at the very busy heart of Barcelona, in the Raval, next to La Rambla. But maybe because the restaurant doesn’t show off at all, the people who go there are people who know what’s going on there: the neighbors, the locals…

The service is fast and efficient and the atmosphere is loud. All ages go here.

Located in The Raval, the most intercultural neighborhood, this is a place you shouldn’t miss when coming to Barcelona. It’s good, cheap and situated in the most famous vintage shopping street in Barcelona.

Between the two second hand shops, you can enjoy a good meal in a very simple and urban way at The Resolis. It’s a peaceful place next to the busy Rambla del Raval.

The atmosphere is young, loud and happy. The decoration is simple and authentic, stylish and at the same time it makes you feel like you’re at home: a lot of mirrors all over the place and wooden decorations. It’s old and modern at the same time. Not a sophisticated place among all these fashion bars opening everywhere and looking alike.

The food is good and cheap. The waiters are very friendly too. There is a big black board where the restaurant advises you the best dishes to eat. But if you don’t want to eat, you can just have a nice coffee at the terrace outside with the owners of the vintage stores.

Located in la Barceloneta, the old fishermen neighborhood, this is the best place to go for vermouth on weekends.

This more than one century old bar makes you feel like you were traveling into the past: wooden tables and wine barrels all around the walls. Old stylish waiters, kind of raw but funny and spontaneous. One of them looks exactly like……Robert de Niro, the Spanish version. This guy is always messing around with the customers making you feel very comfortable.

It has a noisy and young atmosphere. Not a sophisticated place at all. The appetizers are also very good. I would advice you to have a variety of seafood with a bottle of vermouth. The best place to go to after going here: straight to the beach…