This friendly little bar, a vermuteria, is the size of a lock-up or small garage.

It’s a cute place, almost a shrine to the Costa Brava, its walls decorated with early 1970s photos and maps, and shelves packed with canned seafood, sauces and wines.

The specialties here are draft vermut and anchovies from L’Escala, and they serve a good range of cold tapas – sea-snails, prawns, ham etc. Football fans should know that the owner is a ‘periquito‘ – little parrot – a supporter of Espanyol, so it may not be the brightest thing to do to go there wearing a Barça shirt!

The bar’s big sister – a restaurant where you can sit down and enjoy a larger meal – also called Cala del Vermut – is just 100 meters along the street. And the bar’s little brother, which has a fabulous range of hot tapas and quesos (cheeses), and also called Cala del Vermut, is 200 meters up the street, heading back up towards Urquinaona.

I really like this spot, a really good place for a stop-off when en route to Urquinaona metro station after a downtown shopping expedition.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Cala del Vermut | Bars, Snacks | Vermut € 2.00
C/Magdalenes 6 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933179623
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 16:00 & 18:00 – 23:00

Ok, so it’s not the Ritz, and probably one of the scruffiest bars you’ll visit when in Barcelona – but it is, as they say, More than a bar.

It’s called Oller but everyone knows it as Pep’s – after its illustrious former owner who still pops in now and then. If you look around the walls you’ll see pencil portraits of Pep.

Opened in 1929 – as you step into the bar look down at the pavement – you’ll see a plaque celebrating the bar’s contribution to city life.

It’s fairly quiet during the morning and a good place to chill with café con leche, a croissant and a newspaper.

The terrace is perfectly positioned to get the best of the afternoon sunshine.

In the evening it’s a different place altogether – ram-packed with friends and neighbours meeting up for a beer, a bite and a chinwag after work, and good music.

The mix of local characters: writers, photographers, musicians, journalists, teachers, artisans and builders make this a lively place to meet up before dinner or going out on the town.

Tapas and sandwiches available: croquetas, bombas (balls of potato filled with meat and rolled in breadcrumbs), tortillas, cheeses, chorizo, fuet and llonganiza (cured meat sausages) and, uniquely, mini filo pastry wraps filled with emmental cheese, frankfurter and sobrassada (pressed pork).

It’s just around the corner from restaurant Can Josep (see Can Josep article) so you may want to pop in for an aperitivo before going on for a meal.

Voll Damm on draft available.

Be aware the bar is closed Mondays.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bar Oller | Bars, Snacks | Draft beer € 1.20
Passeig de Sant Joan 146 | Eixample | +34934578159
Tue – Sat 09:30 – 22:00, Sun 10:00 – 15:00

This petite bar, modeled on a typical bar in pre-war Marseille, opened in 1947 and has hardly changed since.

It’s a cosy little, arty bar, about the size of a small living room, decked with paintings, sketches and prints layered with nicotine, offering chatter, laughter, Edith Piaf and French accordion music.

Ángel, the owner, serves his own labelled absinthe and pastis, good cold draught beer and a spread of French wines and spirits.

The bar hosts very intimate gigs – chanteueses and tango – there’s only just enough space for two or three slim performers. And there’s music, at around 22:30, most nights.

The clientele are a mix of the curious, the romantic, the lost, the knowing, the restless and the brave.

Go there, try it, it’s a one-off. If you’ve any romance in your soul I’m sure you’ll fall in love with the place.

Two members of the band, R.E.M. called in once to try the absinthe. It’s a popular haunt for local transvestites and prostitutes. It’s the sort of place I can imagine Jean Genet hanging out in.

It’s just around the corner from El Cangrejo.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bar Pastis | Bars, Music | Drinks € 3.50
Carrer de Santa Monica 4 | El Raval | +34933187980
Mon – Thu 19:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sun 20:00 – 03:00

Imagine you could visit one of the most fascinating, and most popular, buildings in the world. And then, after your visit, imagine you could take a pleasant six minute stroll, leaving the crowds behind you, and find a comfortable, relatively quiet, tree-screened, shaded restaurant terrace. Imagine sitting at a table and being served excellent, fresh little bites by a friendly and attentive waiter or waitress. Imagine the experience costing a lot less time, hassle and money than many popular, crowded, noisy city centre restaurant-bars.

Well, you don’t have to imagine – you can do it.

Tossa serves deliciously fresh tapas all day long. Their homemade croquetas (€ 1.10 each served inside and € 1.15 served on the terrace) are filled with foie gras, mushrooms, chicken, cheese or vegetables. They are possibly the best croquetas in Barcelona. They also serve a good selection of hams and cured meats (fuet, lloganiza, etc), sausages, jacket potatoes stuffed with tuna and topped with cheese, clams, baby clams, mussels, cheeses, potato salad, Russian salad, Greek salad, lovely omelettes, exquisite asparagus dishes and other delights.

Very friendly and helpful staff, and a relaxed family friendly atmosphere – good at any time of day – from breakfast to supper.

Tossa closes at 17:00 on Saturdays and is not open on Sundays.

¡Bon profit!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Tossa | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Spanish/Catalan) | Croqueta € 1.10
Nàpols,291 | Eixample | +34934576510
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 23:00, Sat 07:00 – 17:00

Even in my previous lives I don’t think I’ve ever found myself in the waiting-room of a 1950s upmarket Spanish bordello, but if I had I imagine it would look and feel a bit like Rouge (think Almodóvar).

Situated in Poble Sec, just off Parallel, not far from the newly re-opened music theater El Molino (Moulin Rouge – get it?), and a few doors down from Quimet i Quimet (see the Quimet i Quimet article), Rouge is a quirky lounge-bar decorated with gilt-framed copies of Impressionist and Old Masters’ paintings.

With its eclectic collection of comfy sofas, deep armchairs, bum-numbing stools, deep red walls and low lighting I love its louche atmosphere.

It’s a good spot for a drink or two after a gig at the nearby Apolo (see the Apolo article) and before going dancing.

Rouge attracts an interesting crowd: fashion designers, hat makers, graphic artists, songwriters, poets and film-makers. But, perhaps contrary to expectations, it’s not pretentious at all – just a cool place to hang out with friends.

The music is a discreet, cool, layered mix of lounge groove, 90s ambient and 80s synth-pop. The bar also occasionally hosts live gigs.

Friendly staff, a good, lively atmosphere, in a laid-back kind of way, make this a spot to remember and re-visit time and again. It’s so good I’ll probably still be visiting Rouge in future lives.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Rouge | Bars, Music, Snacks | Bottled beer € 3.00
C/Poeta Cabanyes 21 | Poble Sec | +34934424985
Tue – Wed 20:00 – 02:00, Thu – Fri 22:30 – 02:00, Sat 22:30 – 04:00

You’ll come across dozens of Basque tabernas (restaurant-bars) as you stroll across the city.With over 100 tapas available, for variety, quality and overall value, Maitea is among the very best.

The cold montaditos, or pintxos (slices of bread piled with an endless combination of toppings and speared with a toothpick), are arrayed along the counter.

Cheese and quince jelly? Yep. A slice of bacon with fried quail’s egg? Check. Smoked salmon wraps stuffed with crab? Of course. Goat cheese with ham? You got it. Creamed goat cheese with walnuts? No doubt. Tuna salad with anchovies? Yes. Potato, sobrassada (pressed pork) and grilled Gruyere cheese? Why not? Red pepper stuffed with creamed minced cod? Sardines? Obviously. And these are just a few of the cold pintxos.

Grab a plate, wander along the counter, help yourself to whatever you want and put in on your plate. Every now and then the friendly, helpful staff will offer you a selection of hot pintxos: a date wrapped in bacon, choricitos (spicy mini-chorizo-like sausages), or a mini-cheeseburger.

All the pintxos are the same price – €1.55. Every item you choose will be speared with a toothpick – keep the toothpicks. At the end of your session the toothpicks will be counted.

Drinks on offer include cidra – a naturally fermented apple cider very different to fizzy English ciders – txakoli – a dry sparkling white wine – along with some very good reds from Rioja and Navarra – and Almogàver beer on draft. 

Details about this spot (Show on map)
MAiTEA | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Basque) | Montadito € 1.55
Casanova, 157 | Eixample | +34933219790
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 00:00

You’ll maybe see a few strolling by but you won’t see or hear many tourists in Casa Albert – they’re all too busy spending their money in the nearby overpriced trendy bars and restaurants. For about the same price of a starter (€7.50 incl.tax) at a nearby ‘name’ restaurant you can sit yourself at a table in the small square just around the corner from the grand church of Santa Maria and enjoy a three-course lunch complete with bread, water and a bottle of table wine.

This unassuming restaurant-bar serves locals good, cheap traditional wholesome food.

You’ll have a choice of five or six first courses and five or six second courses and a selection of desserts (including homemade chocolate mousse).

You won’t have to make a reservation, you won’t have to join a line, and you won’t have to pay a supplement to eat on the terrace.

Probably the best lunchtime deal you’ll find in the old part of the city (Barrio Gotico and El Born). It’s not fancy but it’s friendly, and the waiter and waitress will speak English if you need help. A good place to eat and drink while watching the world go by. ¡Buen provecho!

Please be aware Casa Albert closes at 15:30 and is not open in the evening.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Casa Albert | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Catalan-Spanish) | Mon – Fri lunch menu € 7.50
Plaça de les Olles 4 | El Borne | +34933191040
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 15:30

I love El Jardì not so much for what it is, but for where it is – right at the heart of the tourist maelstrom. Yes, just a few yards from the thick of the throb, you can enjoy a quiet, relaxing, reasonably priced, drink and snack in chiringuito (beach bar) like surroundings.

The affable owner, Artur, is an expert windsurfer, and you’ll see old windsurfing boards hanging on the walls.

The trees provide welcome shade. It’s a good cooling off point when running errands in the city centre – especially in the summer. And it’s a good spot to meet up with friends for a chinwag; unlike a lot of city centre bars you can hear yourself and your friends speak. It’s often so quiet you can hear birdsong. And it’s a good place to situate yourself with your laptop. Ask the friendly bar staff for the wi-fi key.

Sandwiches (€3) are available through the day, as well as light snacks such as olives and potato crisps. And they serve draft Moritz and Moritz Epidor (always a sign of a good bar) as well as a good selection of bottled beers. And they’ll mash you a reasonable mojito for €5.

To find this cool, tree-frocked oasis look for a white camel stood in the doorway to El Mercadillo – a clothes and accessories market. Head straight through the market to a set of steps which will take you up onto the terrace.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
El Jardí | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Snacks | Draft beer € 2.40
Portaferrissa, 17 | El Barrio Gotico | +34934856923
Mon – Sat 09:30 – 21:00

You could wander past Elisabets a million times and never realise it’s there.

Sort out your GPS, or properly mark your streetmaps, because if you’re looking for good quality and reasonably priced food at the heart of the city, then this is a place you really need to get to know how to get to. 

This is one of my favourite year-round spots for good bites and meeting friends after work. It’s very popular with students and some of their teachers from the nearby university. A good all-day all-rounder.

Sit yourself down – order a beer or sparkling water as you gather yourself and think a way through the menu.

Then order a liter jug of beer for € 4.35. 

Then try the patatas con bolonesa “rabiatta” – chunky fried potato wedges with bolognese meat sauce – only € 2.95, and almost a meal in its own right.

Then order a plate of pebrots – little, juicy hot peppers; a plate of morcilla, cunningly sweet black pudding (blood sausage), and/or choricitos (little spicy sausages); and pa amb tomaquet (toasted bread with tomato and oil). Perhaps try a few anchoas (anchovies) and maybe order a little salad. And then you’ll be all set to explore the city at night.

Re-assemble the next morning at the same table (in the corner behind the glass screens) for breakfast coffee and pastries as you recount your adventures of the night before, and plot your next exciting day in this ‘city of marvels’.

Hot & cold sandwiches, pizzas and a good value menú del día available.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Elisabets | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Tapas) | Patatas con bolonesa € 2.95
Elisabets, 2-4 | El Raval | +34933175826
Mon -Thu & Sat 08:00 – 23:00, Fri 08:00 – 02:00

If you haven’t visited Barcelona before then you’ll almost certainly want to take a stroll along the Ramblas – but keep strolling if you can – do not succumb to the temptation to stop at one of the dozens of café-bar-restaurant terraces.

If you really do have to have a drink and a bite then there is only one café-bar-restaurant on the Ramblas you should consider stopping at – Café de l’Opera – you’ll likely pay one euro more per item than you would elsewhere in the city, but it’s HONEST. You get what you pay for at the the price they tell you. Simple.

Negotiating the other café-bar-restaurants on the Ramblas is not so straightforward – you’ll pay inflated prices, and you may end up paying a supplement for the table, or your seat, a supplement for stuff you never ordered, a supplement on the local tax they never mentioned (and doesn’t exist) and a supplement for the air you and the waiter breathes.

Trust me – the café-bar-restaurants on the Ramblas do not take prisoners – they go for the kill every time.

Avoid being scalped and chill your heels in the Modernista (Catalan Art Nouveau) surroundings of Café de l’Opera. It’s a good spot for people watching, scribbling notes, and reading the newspaper over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and churros, or a beer. And, a good spot for both morning coffee and a post-midnight nightcap. Extensive range of bottled beers, including cannabis beer, available.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Café de l’Opera | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Bottle of beer € 2.40
La Rambla, 74 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933177585
08:30 – 02:30 daily