Restaurants & dining – All our local tips

La Rita is one of my very favorite lunchtime restaurants. I really enjoy taking visiting friends there. To English eyes it looks very formal with white linen tablecloths and napkins, big white china plates and uniformed staff. It’s a great spot for long, chatty lunches.

For just Euro 8.90 (inc. tax) you can enjoy a really good three-course lunch served with bread, water and wine. There’s always a good choice – for example, arroz negro (rice cooked in squid ink) as a starter followed with grilled chicken and green pepper. And there are always a few choices for vegetarians – pumpkin soup in the winter or chilled gazpacho in the summer, and lovely big salads and omelettes.

The desserts here – the chocolate profiteroles for example – are very good.

The service is good – efficient and friendly. It’s very popular with local office workers so get there early to avoid the long lines. When you first arrive don’t be shy to squeeze yourself to the front of the line and let them know you need a table – often the people in front of you will be waiting for a table for six or more.

For visitors, it’s a great location, just 200 meters off the Paseo de Gracia. ¡Buen provecho!

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La Rita | Restaurants (Spanish/Catalan) | Daily menu € 8.90
C/Aragó 279 | Eixample | +34934872376
13:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 23:30 daily

This place is located in an amazingly dirty and noisy street full of drunk daydreamers. But once you pass the gate you find yourself in a cosy and a little bit retro atmosphere either to eat at the restaurant, have a drink at the bar or hear good music and even dance at the lounge time.

I could not afford to have dinner there myself, but at lunch time they have a good menu at a price I would be able to pay once a month.

I personally recommend their home made desserts. Just like grandma’s!

Just when they close the kitchen, the dj session starts. It lasts until 03:00.

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Before | Bars, Music, Restaurants (lunch) | Beer € 3.50
Santa Monica 2 | El Raval | +34933013503
Mon – Wed 13:00 – 16:00, Thu – Sat 13:00 – 16:00 & 21:00 – 03:00

Having lunch inside the Boqueria market is one of the well hidden secrets of Barcelona’s local people. You would not expect eating in a market hall, would you?
This is something you definitely have to try out, as the market in the heart of the city is actually hosting some of Barcelona’s best restaurants.

Have the freshest fish, home made pizzas or delicious tapas in one of the numerous little bars/restaurants such as El Quim, Pintxo or Antonio’s restaurant.

If you are only thirsty or would like to have a small snack you can buy a recently prepared fruit salad or a freshly squeezed juice.

Enter the market hall from the Rambla, have a stroll around the market and see the beautifully arranged fruits and vegetables until you arrive in the backside of the Boqueria. This is where the local buy there food. In the back you will also find the bars/restaurants where you can have a tasteful lunch.

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Boqueria | Bars, Restaurants (lunch) | Tapas at El Quim from € 3.00
Plaza de la Boqueria (La Rambla) | El Raval | +34933182584
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 20:30

Don’t be fooled by outward appearances, Can Josep is one of the very best simple restaurants in the city, serving unfussy hearty food. Josep, a lovely, big, bearded bear of a man, sources, buys and prepares all the food himself.

He’s an excellent and discerning cook – only using the freshest and best ingredients – if he’s not happy with the quality of produce on offer he won’t buy it, and the planned meal will be scrubbed from the day’s offerings.

The menu changes regularly according to seasonal availability, though often features such delights as cargols (snails), estofat (rich, thick tasty stew), espàrrec (asparagus) peus de porc (pig’s trotters) and ànec (duck). Slow food. If you can’t read Catalan and can’t speak Spanish you may struggle a bit – the staff are helpful (though do not speak English) – but the struggle will be worth it.

No tablecloths, no fancy waiters, no pretension, just well prepared food and a lively atmosphere.

It’s a very popular spot for locals and you’ll almost certainly need to book ahead for a table on a Friday night.

Just so you know, Josep is an ardent Republican, so it wouldn’t be wise to sing the praises of any kings and queens when enjoying your meal. And you won’t find it listed anywhere – so, if you really do want to go where the locals go … Bon profit!

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Can Josep | Restaurants (Catalan) | main course from € 6.00
Call Roger de Flor 237 | Eixample | +34630816565
Mon – Fri 13:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 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 (€7.20 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 waitress will speak English if you need help. A good place to eat and drink while watching the world go by. ¡Buen provecho!

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Casa Albert | Restaurants (Catalan-Spanish) | Mon – Fri lunch menu € 7.20
Plaça de les Olles 4 | El Borne | +34933191040
09:00 – 00:00 daily

What you see is what you get! Nor fancy outfit neither gourmet extravaganza, just warm and family atmosphere, hospitality, gentle touch, interesting chat, contagious mood, great Mediterranean food and better prices.

It’s located in the heart of the gothic quarter, at 3 minutes walk from the city hall and 10 minutes from the gothic cathedral.

Don’t miss their falafel and humus wrap.

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El Cocinero de Damasco | Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants | falafel / wrap € 3.50
Templers 2, corner with Palau | El Barrio Gotico
Tue – Sat 11:00 – 23:00

I’m going to talk about one of your favourite places in Barcelona, even though probably you don’t know it yet. If you consider yourself as a “Special-Corners Hunter” and you enjoy Thai food you really have to know El Petit Bangkok. It’s a tiny cozy restaurant that can hold up just a few persons, that’s why it’s always convenient calling to make a reservation before going there.

If you live in Barcelona you know that there are a lot of places that pretend to be much more than they can really offer. This never happens with El Petit Bangkok because it’s a place without other aspirations beyond of what it actually is: A tiny Thai corner.

If you’re looking for a special way to start a remarkable night or ending a hard day I recommend this place to you. The main secret of this place is perhaps its simplicity and quality. The price is honestly fair, considering the culinary offer in this city.

If you go once, you will go twice… at least.

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El Petit Bangkok | Restaurants (Thai) | Diner from € 10.00
Carrer de Saragossa 85 | Above diagonal | +34616185196
Tue – Sat 13:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 23:30

This brewery and tapas bar is yet another great and authentic place to hang out in Barcelona.

The place is nearby the beach and very tiny but popular; it’s basically only one long bar packed with locals zipping delicious creamy and foamy home brewed beer. Ask for a “flauta” and you will also get one.

The tapas are high quality and exceptionally tasteful. Ask for “pimientos del padron” (fried green peppers), morcilla (typical sausage) and “solomillo” (juicy meat). The specialties of the house are “granjero” (toast with special filling) and “foie a la plancha” (grilled liver). The tapas differ from € 4.50 – € 15.00.

It’s fun to watch the chefs and the waiters offering a serious and efficient but also very Spanish service.

Try to avoid the “tapas-rush-hour” at around 20:00 and try to moderate you appetite. The bill might end up unexpectedly high.

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El vaso de oro | Bars, Restaurants (Tapas) | Tapas from € 4.50
Calle Balboa 7 | Barceloneta | +34933193098
Mon – Sun 09:00 – 00:00, Closed first week of September

This is another of my favorite lunchtime restaurants.
Squeezed into a cosy basement Gira-sol serves a good range of traditional Catalan and Spanish dishes such as llenties guisada (lentil stew) and bacallà (salt-cod). They also serve a select range of traditional latino dishes such as Ecuadorean style churrasco. The food is always well prepared and well presented.

If you enjoy good but unpretentious wine with your food then you’ve come to the right place. The wines here are very good – the owners host a wine-tasting evening every month. If having a menú del dia (lunch menu) it’s worth paying the extra two and a half euros for a good white Penedes, Rioja or rosé. And the desserts are very good too.

The décor and ambience is very well done (especially when you consider there is very little natural light) and even though the place gets busy the atmosphere is usually very relaxing, a perfect spot for gossip over lunch or a more romantic meal in the evening. Be aware that the restaurant only opens in the evening on Friday and Saturday and does not open on Sunday (though this does vary). Check out their website, the lunch menu is updated daily.¡Bon profit!

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Gira-sol | Restaurants (Catalan) | Lunch menu € 9.50
C/Provença 332, bajos | Eixample | +34934575708
Mon – Thu 09:00 – 16:30, Fri – Sat 09:00 – 16:30 & 20:00 – 23:00

Wandering through the streets of Barcelona you may ask yourself which city you have landed in. You will hear a mix of all languages and see all sorts of travellers. Barcelona has lots of visitors to cater for so when it comes to accommodation you won’t know where to start looking.

Having visited the city on several occasions, I would tend to steer away from cheap hostels. If I didn’t want to pay a fortune on accommodation, I would perhaps stay in a 2 or 3 star hotel. The 3-star hotel H10 Catalunya Plaza is located in the very heart of the Catalan capital and it is good value for money. It is the location that sells this hotel, but it also has a lot of other services which appeal to guests such as a restaurant, events rooms and conference facilities.

When you go out to eat have you ever experienced that you ask for something very easy to prepare, let’s say for example a sandwich, but once they serve it you can’t help to think they deeply hate to make sandwiches? Come on! It’s just a sandwich! What I’ve done to you to deserve this?

Well, I know a place that is totally the opposite of a bad experience. At I Qué? Bar they execute their job with love and they care about what they do.

Feel free to ask anything, never mind if it’s a sandwich or one of their very exquisite and crusty pizzas, I’m pretty sure you will enjoy your meal.

It’s not a complex menu, but every time I go there I get surprised because they really know how to deliciously prepare those plain dishes. The last time I went to the I Qué? (Catalan, meaning “So what?”) I was so happy that I asked for a Tiramisu as a dessert and I think I almost cried because of the infinite happiness I felt.

Considering their constant success, in order to ensure a table for their customers at the diner time, tables are reserved for dinners from 21:00.

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I Qué? | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Mediterranean) | Meal from € 9.00
Topazi 8 | Gracia
Sun – Thu 06:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 06:00 – 03:00

This excellent Japanese-Brazilian fusion restaurant-lounge bar is situated on the very edge of El Born.

The first thing you’ll notice as you approach the door are the big fat carp swimming on the floor – you have to walk over the fish when you enter.

Watch as your steps create ripples in the pool and the fish scatter in all directions. Kids (like me!) love it, and keeps them amused during the short wait for food. And, when tired of the swimming touch-sensitive fish you can watch a large-screen projection of life under the ocean. Amusingly the undersea scenes are cut in with a live feed from the kitchen – so you can watch the expert chefs prepare your sashimis, tempuras, makis and sushis.

The food here is excellent. A very good friend (Hi Krystyna!) who loves Japanese food, and has probably visited most Japanese restaurants in the city, eats here every Friday lunchtime. The lunchtime set menu is only 12 euros and worth every cent.

Good, lively, very friendly atmosphere. And it has already gained a deserved reputation among locals for excellent food, friendly service and good value. If going in the evening you’ll probably need to book ahead or be prepared to wait for a while.

p.s. My taste must be impeccable – four months after posting the above (and less than a year after Iki Bana opened) Time Out Barcelona magazine voted it as one of the best 50 places in Barcelona to eat sushi  – even though they don’t specialize in sushi! Go there, try it, you’ll see and taste why.

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Ikibana – Japanese | Bars, Restaurants (Japanese-Brazilian) | Daily menu € 12.00
Passeig Picasso 32 | El Borne | +34932956732
13:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 02:30 daily

A new trend in Barcelona: playing ping-pong on one of the numerous public ping-pong tables in the city center.

You have two options:

1. You buy a ping-pong set (2 rackets and a ball) for € 3.00 at the Chinese-cheap-cheap “Cien y mas” – shop on Calle de Carmen in the Raval neighborhood and you play a match on the shady and beautiful square on Calle Floristes de la Rambla between the back-entrance of the Boqueria market and the Art school Massana.

2. You just have a seat on the square an watch the cute guys playing ping-pong.

Whatever option you take, try to get it done before 14:00 because from 14:00 – 16:00 you should enjoy the daily changing lunch menu (€ 8.00) at the Iposa restaurant situated on Calle Floristes de la Rambla.

They have a beautiful terrace outside on one of the most cheerful squares in the Raval under huge trees next to the cute ping-pong guys. Watch the birds in the trees, especially when you are having lunch!

The French chef is always trying to offer something special rather than the usual tapas and paella. As the Boqueria market is only a stone’s throw away, the vegetables and the fish are always super fresh.

Also try their main courses for decent prices such as their couscous golden-oldie and their delicious salads (€ 5.00 – € 9.00) with homemade raspberry dressing.

Iposa is also very suitable for parents as a very cool fenced playground is situated right next to the terrace.

Unfortunately Iposa is closed at the moment and will only open in march again because they are renovating the kitchen. So get ready for the spring time-terrace time!

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Iposa | Relaxing, Restaurants (Lunch) | Lunch menu € 8.00
Calle Floristes de la Rambla 14 | El Raval | +34933186086
Mon – Sat 13.30 -16:00 & 21:00 – 00:00, Aug 21:00 – 00:00 daily

You might have gotten hungry from strolling around the Raval neighborhood, visiting museums, playing ping-pong on one of the public ping-pong tables (check the ping-pong table article), and having beers on Rambla del Raval.

But you spent way to much money already in eating out in fancy restaurants? Here is the perfect solution: Kapadokya on Rambla del Raval.

From the outside it might look like an ordinary bland Kebab – hut but from the inside it offers a lot more than you would expect.

The staff is usually very friendly and they prepare the food in front of you so you can see that they only use fresh ingredients – everything prepared with a smile.

The interior is all home-made and decorated with love. If you don’t find a table on the ground floor you can have plenty of space in the cute rustic orient-style basement.

Anyway, the chicken or beef durums (€ 4.00) are definitely the best in town and they also have plenty of vegetarian options such as the delicious halloumi cheese durum for only € 3.50!!! Mmmmmmh.

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Kapadokya | Restaurants (Turkish) | Durums € 4.00
Rambla del Raval 15 | El Raval
11:00 – 03:00 daily

One of the best things about living where we do in the city is that within a five minute walk we have a choice of Argentinian, Chinese, Colombian, Ecuadorean, Egyptian, Indian, Japanese, Lebanese, Morrocan, Pakistani, Peruvian, Portuguese, Syrian, Turkish, Vietnamese, as well as Basque, Catalan, Gallego and Spanish restaurants, where we can take our tastebuds out to play. Some are more authentic than others, some good, some not so good.

One of my favorites is Kathmandû – a Nepalese restaurant, which serves the best curries in Barcelona. The décor – blue and orange walls and prayer flags – is simple, the ambience relaxed, the staff friendly and attentive, and the food unfussy and delicious. They have a good selection of vegetarian meals. Try the tasting menu (€ 32.00 for two people) where you get a little bit of everything, then finish off your meal with a cup of chai, a bottle of Indian beer, and/or a refreshing lassi. Very good value.

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Kathmandû | Restaurants (Nepalese) | Daily menu € 9.75
Calle Corsega 421 | Eixample | +34934593769
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 15:45 & 20:00 – 00:00

La Caleta de Gracia is the right place to taste and understand the meaning of “Flavours from Catalonia” and some other regions of Spain. This place offers a great way to know the native and home-made flavours beyond the very well known “Paella” or some Spanish tapas.

My experience with this restaurant is very positive and I can say that it’s the kind of place where you can take new “risks” if you want to try something new. Just do it! Play the game. Close your eyes and ask for what your finger chose from the menu blindly. I think you will enjoy it anyway.

Consider La Caleta de Gracia as an opportunity to taste the Spanish culinary secret. Who knows? Maybe your favourite dish is just right there and you don’t know such thing is possible… yet.

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La Caleta de Gracia | Restaurants (Spanish/Mediterranean) | Dinner from € 8
Torrent de L’Olla 121 | Gracia | +34934161142
Tue – Sat 12:30 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 01:30, Sun 12:30 – 16:00

Perhaps the best way to describe the Catalonian coque (English – coca. Pronounced cohcah) is this: Crusty thin and long bread as versatile and multipurpose as a pizza. It’s not a pizza at all, I know, but I need to use it as a reference because it’s much more known than coques for sure. Coques can be sweet or salted, you can eat them at any temperature. Wow! Now that I think about it, maybe astronauts should carry coques to outer space.

Indeed. Most human beings don’t know coques and pizzas represent one of the most common flavours of the Mediterranean Sea, but this fact is kept by the locals as a secret and coques mean a sort of regional proud always present in their traditions and holidays.

You should consider La Coqueria as a bank of regional secrets, a place to find a good selection of wines, cheese and sausages; a sophisticated spot to know the other side of these Mediterranean flavours you don’t know yet.

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La Coqueria | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Spanish) | Meal € 18.00
Saragossa 66 | Above diagonal | +34934161560
Mon – Sat 09:00 16:00 & 18:00 – 00:00

Maybe you have spent your last holiday savings on that sombrero in the tourist shop in the Barceloneta with your friends questioning your judgement and now, with your new found treasure, you find yourself a little short on cash.

Or perhaps you are just a frugal spender looking to make the most of your stay. It could be you are visiting Barcelona from abroad and sink your head when you look at the exchange rate.

This is the restaurant for you. Even those of you who have bank accounts where the money flows like water, will enjoy this genuine, friendly tapas restaurant in Horta. The price is low, the quality high.

Get there before 21:00, even on a weeknight, as the lines have been known to go to the end of the block. Plates of fuet, a staple food in Spain and outrageously delicious meat, are only 75 cents. If you want a cup of wine, they just leave a bottle on the table, take what you want throughout the meal and sum it all up later. No having to waive down your waiter for another cup ever again!

If you have yet to try a “clara”, half beer and half lemon. Is it healthy? Of course not. It has more sugar in it then a candy bar, but what the fuck?!

Whoever invented it deserves the an award. And who knows, after all these cheap eats you may just have enough money left over to get one more sombrero.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
La Esquinica | Snacks, Restaurants (Tapas) | Meal € 15.00
Passeig Fabra i Puig 286 | Above diagonal | +34933582519
20:00 – 03:00 daily

Another of my favourite lunchtime spots is right next door to La Rita (see the La Rita article) . So, if La Rita is full, or there’s a long line, just step a few metres to the left and enter La Gramola (the Gramophone) where you’ll enjoy an excellent 3 course lunch with bread and wine for just € 8.80.

The menu here is a curious but tasty fusion of Mediterranean and Japanese. So, for your first course you could try sushi, and for your second course: paella, or steak with roquefort sauce. Or, the other way around, you could start with a Catalan, Spanish or Italian dish and follow up with a Japanese rice or noodle dish. All good, tasty fun.

The restaurant is set in a series of connected rooms, tastefully decorated with prints and paintings, and there’s a space at the back for smokers. Excellent value – and a good, central stopping-off point if visiting Gaudí’s Casa Battló or La Pedrera (see La Pedrera article), as it’s just 200 meters off the bustling, and expensive, Passeig de Gràcia.

A really good spot for long, lingering, chatty lunches with friends.

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La Gramola | Restaurants (Mediterranean-Japanese) | Daily menu from € 8.80
C/Aragó 277 | Eixample | +34934874231
Mon – Sat 13:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 00:00, Sun 13:00 – 16:00

This café-restaurant is situated on the top of the National History Museum in the harbourside building called Palau de Mar.

It enjoys one of the most interesting panoramic views of the city. From the terrace you’ll get a different perspective on the city.

It’s a good place to meet up with friends for a coffee on the terrace and a good spot for a 3 course menu del día.

The Museum occasionally hosts special events and conferences but generally the café-restaurant is never over busy – it’s rare you’ll have to wait for a table. And it’s considerably cheaper than the swanky restaurants stretched along the paseo below – you’ll likely get as good a meal, a much better view of the city, and save yourself 30 euros.

The café-restaurant is remains open after the museum closes at 19:00, pass through the main door, head for the escalator to the second floor and take the lift to the terrace.

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La Miranda del Museu | Bars, Restaurants (Spanish) | Lunch (incl. wine) € 9.90
Placa Pau Villa 3 | Barceloneta | +34932211746
Tue – Sat 10:00 – 23:30, Sun 13:00 – 16:00

I’m a seafood monster – mussels, crab, clams, prawns, lobster, octopus, squid – I love it all. You won’t find a better place to enjoy well-prepared seafood at a reasonable price than at one of La Paradeta’s four restaurants in Barcelona.

It’s a chain – but, apart from the unifying funky crab, octopus and clam logo, you wouldn’t really know it – each of the restaurants has a different atmosphere.

The restaurant at Sants, the “original and best” (and probably the best bet for avoiding the sometimes incredibly long lines) is a fun, friendly place and very popular with families, especially Sunday lunchtimes. Don’t expect tablecloths and waiters – they’re aren’t any – just simple, basic tables and chairs.

Line up at the market-stall like counter (paradeta means market-stall) cast your eyes over the mouth-watering selection of seafood, choose what you want and tell the assistant how much you’d like. They will weigh and put all your selected food on a tray and give you a numbered ticket. Move on to the next counter and order your drinks.

Put your drinks, cutlery and napkins on a tray, find a table, and wait until you hear your number called over the tannoy. When you hear your number called (which is

sometimes difficult because of the chatter and clatter) go up to the serving-hatch and collect your food.

Simple and fun – a tasty meal for not very much more than the cost of the ingredients. ¡Bon profit!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
La Paradeta | Restaurants (Seafood) | Crab from € 9.00
C/Riego 27 | Above diagonal | +34934319059
Tue – Thu 20:00 – 23:30, Fri – Sat 20:00- 00:00, Sun 13:00 – 16:00

Located in the South barrio Gothic, in one of the most typical street (calle de la Mercé) of Barcelona, you will find this very small place often surrounded by groups of people standing up in the street with a glass of wine in their hands.

There are two specialties in this bar but fair enough: fried sardines and tomato salad with onions and olives. To be eaten of course with a good glass of wine,

Inside the bar, the walls are decorated with blue azulejos (typical from south of Spain and Portugal) giving you a real feeling of being in Spain.

Everybody’s shouting, especially the waiters, everybody’s laughing and no matter how crowded the bar is, there’s always a crate left you can sit on or someone to have a conversation with.

And after 5 bottles of wine, if you are good at negotiating, they might offer you a plate of fried fish for free?

One of my favorite spots in Barcelona.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
La Plata | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Tapas) | Wine & tapa € 3.00
Calle Mercé, 28 | El Barrio Gotico
Mon – Sat 13:00 – 15:45 & 20:00 – 23:30

Though it may sound a bit chauvinistic: you will have fun with the typical macho wrestler bartending and teasing the chacha maid that plays as waitress.

All in one in a centric spot at the very heart of the city and, most importantly, at an affordable price.

Don’t miss the frituras trajineras: a dish of fried plantains with apples coated in breadcrumbs with black sugar and cinnamon.

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La Trajinera | Bars, Restaurants (Mexican) | Frituras trajineras & flautin € 10.00
Gran via de les corts catalanes 459 | Eixample
Sun – Wed 13:00 – 00:00, Thu – Sat 13:00 – 03:00

Visiting Rambla del Raval is a must during your stay in Barcelona. The multicultural and diverse neighborhood El Raval shows you how Globalization brings people together from all over the world.

On its very own Rambla, Moroccan cafes, Turkish fast food places, Italian pizza restaurants, and Indian and Pakistan eateries go hand in hand, sharing their multinational clientele.

Also Catalans found their place back in this buzzing mix: cafe-bar “Les Delicies” is the perfect place for a relaxed afternoon beer (go local with Moritz beer!) and some olives, or a Cortado (coffee shot with milk) with yummy American chocolate cookies a la Catalana.

It’s also a perfect place for a cosy dinner with friends (highly recommendable: vegetarian lasagne for 7 Euros), preferably on their terrace directly on the Rambla del Raval.
Nice side effect: watch the Arabian men and Catalan seniors having a chit-chat at sunset.
After dinner, go and chill in the lounge area in the back of this pretty cafe.

Until recently I didn’t now that the 70’s Jukebox in the back of the bar is really working. Try it out and relax in the cosy sofas in the back while listening to the worst music ever!

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Les Delicies | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (International) | Lasagne € 7.00
Rambla del Raval 47 | El Raval | +34934415714
Sun – Thu 19:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 19:00 – 03:00

I went to the Marmalade some weeks ago because of some girlfriend’s birthday party and I can’t wait to go back. Oh my… I won’t lie to you. I think this place is just perfect! Actually I’ve dreamt about this place at least two times since then. Why? You could ask… Perhaps because of the Mojito’s effect on me or maybe its exclusive atmosphere? I don’t know yet. What I can assure you is that this is the place where I’ve spent the best night along of this year.

Just few times in my life I’ve been positively surprised by some place as the Marmalade did with me. I’m sure you will find a lot of special places in Barcelona but the Marmalade Bar-Restaurant is one of the best places I could suggest to you feeling such self-confidence about its quality. You will know I’m right since the very first second you get in.

Correct and kind attention, a fine decoration, quality and good taste are the stronger points of this place. What I found there it’s an exquisite level of sophistication. I must confess I did not try their menu, but somehow I know it must be good. I will try it the next time. I’m so sure about it…

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Marmalade | Bars, Restaurants (Mediterranean) | Dinner € 30.00
Riera Alta, 4-6 | El Raval | +34934423966
19:00 – 03:00 daily

Located at Vila de Grácia square (ancient Rius i Taulet’s square) -one of my favourite squares in Gracia-, you will find a good place to try the typical flavours of Spain and Catalonia. The Nou Candanchú offers the right ambient to enjoy the best and most known Spanish tapas, seafood and other typical dishes.

I like this place despite some the most common failures it will show the day you go there. It’s strange, actually. Not every time you will be entirely satisfied and the issues can vary some days, but I promise this place worth it.

For example, in the last 2 years I have gone to the Nou Candanchú maybe 5 times, all of them because I wanted to introduce some foreigner friends to the most typical flavours of this country. Some of those times attention failed and some others it was just perfect. I’m not able to confirm that The Nou Candanchú keeps -let’s say- an “integral” quality, but I can affirm that the whole experience worth it.

My advice is simple: Ask for those dishes and tapas you know they must be prepared regularly and I’m sure you will enjoy it. Don’t forget to ask for Russian salads, patatas bravas, octopus or Spanish croquetas.

If you’re smart you will try it. If you’re lucky you will find a table. If you go you will repeat.

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Nou Candanchú | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Spanish) | Meal € 15.00
Plaça de Rius i Taulet, 9 | Gracia | +34932377362
Sun – Mon & Wed – Thu 07:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 07:00 – 03:00

Mediterranean multicultural cuisine in a wide space to eat healthy and tasteful in a relaxing atmosphere.

Due the quantity they serve you, I wouldn’t consider it a gourmet meal. And if you go for the self service salad open bar you’ve got to bring your tupperware.

The vegan paella Boqueria is a must! And to reach the climax, get an holistic massage after dessert.

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Organic restaurant | Restaurants (Mediterranean) | Dinner € 15.00
Junta Comerç Street 11 | El Raval
12:00 – 17:00 & 20:00 – 00:00 daily

The Gothic Barrio is plenty of great and magical places. All you need to find them is a bit of good luck, some patience, love for walking and some other times the wise advice from a friend, which is my case [ thanks Tuti for recommending this place to me! ]

Located at George Orwell’s square, also known as Plaza del Tripi, there’s a door you have to cross to get into another universe. From the outside you will think it’s just a common door but I’d say it works like a time and inter-dimensional portal between a crowded and usually noisy open space and a special refuge.

Once you’re in, it’s pretty easy realizing you’re at a very special place; a place where some rules just have changed. Even people’s behaviour changes at Oviso Oasis Bar. Let’s say that the 50% of flavours you will taste there are improved with the mood of persons sitting around you. Suddenly someone talk to you, suddenly you’re involved in a sort of role’s game where human interaction rules the rhythm of your night.

Warm colours healing some cold souls, smiles and joy. Open-minded persons eating and drinking the same you do, sharing a moment you won’t find at any other place.

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Oviso | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (French) | Main & drinks € 15.00
Arai 5 | El Barrio Gotico | +34637589269
Sun – Thu 10:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 10:00 – 03:00

After 6 years living here I have gotten to know a lot of pizzerias in Barcelona. This time I will talk about one of my very favorits. I want to recommend you the Nova Fontana Pizzeria. They offer slices of pizza so you can try many flavours.

Pizzas are crusty and delicious. Every time I go I ask for a beer and 2 pizzas, usually a “Nova Fontana” and the other a “4 cheeses” because I’m one of those cheese lovers who can’t help to enjoy the flavours and textures of melted cheese at the palate.

I know 2 other similar places at Barcelona that offer pizzas in the same way, however I think you will find the best ones at this place. It’s a great place to eat and it’s located at my neighbourhood.

What else could I say? I feel lucky and I’m happy to share this secret with you.

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Pizzeria Nova Fontana | Snacks, Restaurants (Italian) | Pizza € 11.00
Santjoanistes 8 | Above diagonal
Tue – Sat 12:30 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 00:00

Try some freestyle fusion cooking in one of Barcelona’s coziest restaurants!

If you are lucky to find a table, you are going to enjoy a mix of Middle East, Italian, Greek, Mexican etc. cuisine, accompanied by the best wines, a Libanese beer, or a Palestinian tea. They don’t serve Coca Cola.

Not only the food is international, also the staff: all together, they speak eleven languages.

The friendly staff , the delicious food, and the decent prices make Kabara a place to linger and have conversations about everything under the sun all night long.

The interior is arty and colorful, the furniture is painted by many different artists of different nationalities.

The restaurant is also a gallery, showing expositions of modern art and documentary movies. Once a month, they organize an “open mic poetry” night where everybody is welcome.

Opened in 2000, Kabara was one of the first restaurants in the beautiful street Calle Junta de Comercio. It was one of the pioneers in the in that time quite shabby neighborhood Raval. Many other restaurants and cafes followed, and made the Raval one of the most flourishing neighborhoods.

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Restaurant Kabara | Restaurants (International) | Dish from € 4.50
Carrer de la Junta de Comerc 20 | El Raval | +34934127698
Sun – Thu 19:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 13:00 – 03:00

The perfect match on your second date: dinner and afterwards cinema.

Imagine you spent a great day on the beach and you meet someone you really like. Next day you meet again, you talk all day long and you still really like each other.

You start to get hungry but the restaurants won’t open before 20.30, except for Laurel, a cosy and delicious Argentinean/Uruguayan restaurant in the Eixample district nearby Placa Universitat.

Although there are plenty of argentinean restaurants all over the city, this place offers the best empanadas (Argentinean pies) in all kinds of colors and flavors (€ 2.00 – € 3.00). After trying some empanadas you should go for some goat cheese salad (€ 7.00), some homemade pumpkin-walnut-pasta (€ 9.00), or share a delicious pizza (about € 10.00).

Also try the Argentinean red wine (Malbec) and you will be surprised of its flavor and quality.

Last but not least try the world’s famous divine and unbeatable Havana alfajor (caramel fudge filled cookie covered with either white or dark chocolate or meringue).

Filled up and happy, you and your date should move over to the Cinema Renoir Floridablanca right in front of Laurel for the 20:15 session.

The cinema is one of the few in the city showing mostly independent movies in their original language with spanish subtitles. On Mondays “dia del espectador” you get a special deal for only € 4.20 Euros. The rest of the week is € 5.80 Euros, and on the weekend and on bank holidays you would have to pay 6 Euros.

After having a delicious dinner and watching a great movie it is up to you how you finish off the evening. Barcelona has boundless opportunities 24 hours, every day…

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Restaurant Laurel | Cinemas, Restaurants (Intern.) | Gnocchi € 9.00
Calle Floridablanca 140, bajos | Eixample | +34933256292
20:00 – 00:00 daily

This restaurant is relatively new for me. I think it opened a few months ago. I have to confess I feel proud because I discovered and I recommended it to my friends, so now every time they go they think something like “This is delicious! Thanks Pedro for talking to me about this place!” Yeeeee… If you like Japanese food you will love this place. Who knows? Maybe you will love me too.

The Take Ya restaurant is my very favorite Japanese restaurant in Barcelona and I have several reasons to say that. Service is correct and polite, everything is clean and there’s a zone for smokers too. The last time I went there was just 2 days ago and it was perfect again!

What I chose this time it was the “night menu” which means 4 different dishes plus a dessert for only € 14.80, drinks and IVA aside. When I want to reward myself I go there, it’s near of my house so I can walk back home happy and satisfied, ready to write about a new spot.

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Take Ya | Restaurants (Japanese) | Meal € 18.00
Gran de Gracia, 256 | Gracia | +34932371648
12:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 02:00 daily

The Teatreneu is a big place. Actually it is big enough to develop a bar, a restaurant for smokers and non-smokers, a small terrace and an alternative theatre without interference between all these activities.

Let’s talk about the restaurant. The concept is pretty simple: it doesn’t matter what you would like to ask for eating, every dish worth exactly the same and just the drinks would affect the final receipt. It’s a great place to meet with a group of friends, there’s space enough for almost everyone.

The theater offers what bigger places perhaps wouldn’t present attending commercial interests, even though the Xavier Fabregas hall is not as small as you can imagine. Some of them are quite good!

You don’t need to leave the place to discuss the actors, the scenery, the direction or the general performance of the show. Before or after the playing you can drink or eat something at L’Escenari restaurant.

The Teatreneu is a place you need to be acquainted with it if you love theatre, food and Gracia.

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Teatreneu Café -Theatre | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Theaters, Restaurants (Med) | Meal € 12:00
Térol, 26 | Gracia | +34932853712
Mon – Fri 19:00 – 01:30, Fri – Sat 19:00 – 03:00

The Bar Vasconia is located in one of Barrio Gothic’s very small street. Hard to find it if you are not looking for it.

It’s a typical Spanish bar with tapas you can eat, classical marble tables and a lot of old-style paintings hanging on the wall giving you the impression that a lot of things has been going on and that the waiters could tell you more than one funny story.

Speaking of the waiters: they are Spanish gentlemen that have probably been working in this bar since they opened. Not very good at speaking foreign languages but they are outgoing and friendly, making conversations easy. My recommendation would be to have a pink wine “de aguja” (sparkling) and a tapa of dry cheese…absolutely delicious…

Perfect to go there for a tapas dinner or also for “vermouth”. Prices are average.

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The Bar Vasconia | Restaurants (Tapas) | Plenty of tapas € 15.00
Calle Gignas, 13 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933152156
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 16:00 & 18:30 – 02:00

This bar is located North of El borne, a small neighbourhood called la Ribera and well-known for her multicultural restaurants from all over the world. This restaurant is a Spanish restaurant and one of the best places to eat seafood in Barcelona (and the relation price-quality is also good)

With a long bar where you can eat and also a big dinning room, this place is very welcoming with a loud atmosphere. It’s a place you go to have a good dinner and fun at the same time.

The food is incredible and has a very good reputation in Barcelona: grilled razor shells (absolutely delicious), grilled calamaris, prawns, potatoes “bravas” (a mix sauce of tomato and mayonnaise…yummy!) to eat with a good white wine the waiter could recommend you.

This is one of those authentic places in Barcelona. On weekends, you might have to wait a little bit until they give you a table.

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The Mundial | Restaurants (Seafood) | Meal & drinks € 20.00
Plaza de Sant Agusti Vell 1 | El Borne | +34933199056
Sun 13:00 – 18:00, Tue 13:00 – 18:00, Wed – Sat 13:00 – 18:00 & 21:00 – 0:00

Located in The Raval, the most intercultural neighborhood, this is a place you shouldn’t miss when coming at 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. 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 gives you the feeling of being at home: a lot of mirrors all over the place, wooden decoration. Old and modern at the same time. Not a sophisticated place among all this 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.

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The Resolis | Restaurants (Tapas) | Meal € 15.00
Calle riera baixa 22 | El Raval
Tue – Sat 13:30 – 03:00

The first thing I can say about this place is that it is cheap. So cheap you think 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.

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The Romesco | Restaurants (traditional Spanish) | Meal € 10.00
Calle San Pau 28 | El Raval | +34933189381
Mon – Sat 13:00 – 00:00

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 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 on 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…

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The Teranga | Restaurants (Senegalese) | Meal € 10.00
Calle de la Nau, 3 | El Borne | +34933103365
Wed – Mon 13:00 – 17:00 & 20:00 – 00:00

This welcoming bar-restaurant, with its bohemian vibe and quirky art and decor, has become one of my favorite places for meeting up with a friend for a drink, a bite and a good old chinwag. There’s no TV blaring away in the corner, no slot machines and no crap music. But there is good, reasonably priced food and drink.

The owner is an artist-photographer and the collection of artwork is worth a closer look. The rooms at the back are cosy and intimate, ideal for project meetings or just gossip.

Try one of their sartens (small frying-pans) of provolone cheese, served with breadsticks, or chorizo or morcilla (black pudding) with scrambled egg – delicious. They also have a tasty range of larger meals, such as ciervo (venison). The menu is refreshingly different – and the wines are good too.

And, a real bonus, they serve probably the best gin and tonics in the city. Honest. Even if you don’t try one – just watching the bar staff prepare them is fun.

If you’re interested in architecture then another bonus is that Salvador Valeri i Pupurell’s magnificent Casa Comalat is just a hundred meters away, on the opposite side of the street.

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Úbeda | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Spanish) | Sarten € 5.00
Còrsega 339 | Eixample | +34934152537
Mon – Thu 07:30 – 00:30, Fri – Sat 09:30 – 13:00 & 20:00 – 02:00

Sometimes my appetite stresses my whole being when that weird dialog between my stomach and my brain begins. I say “Italian?” and my stomach says: “No, thanks!”. I propose Chinese, Japanese, fruits, a sandwich, some seafood and my stomach answers “No way! Forget it!” anyway. But I have a trick and I will share it this time because I know you can get great results too.

Those queer times when you understand you’re negotiating with your appetite don’t forget to try the Ugarit. Every time I go I find the same result: satisfaction. I think this place is a fantastic option when you’re starving but you cannot define the best way to quench that urge.

You will discover the variety of colours and flavours you can enjoy at just one place. I always receive a good attention and when I leave that restaurant I feel I ate healthily.

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Ugarit | Restaurants (Syrian) | Meal from € 10.00
Verdi, 11 | Gracia | +34932178622
13:00 – 01:00 daily

It’s a weekday, you’ve agreed to meet a friend for lunch, you’ve got €10 in your pocket, you’re hungry, but you feel like something different. Well, you could do a lot worse than try Wok Yutaka – an all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet. And, there’s a good sample of Argentinian and Spanish food on offer too.

There’s been quite a few all-you-can-eat buffets open up over the past couple of years but, so far, Wok Yutaka is the best I’ve found in terms of variety, quality and value. The range and quality of food on offer is staggering – noodles, rice, salads, seaweeds, as well as clams, frogs’ legs, mussels, octopus, prawns, tuna, salmon and, of course, sushis, makis, tempuras and terriyakis.

They also have two barbecue grills – one for meat, the other for fish, seafood and veggies. Put what you want cooked – tuna steak maybe, or a seafood brochetta, or ribs and a spicy sausage (criollo) on a plate and pass it over and they’ll cook it there and then.

Excellent value. It is a very popular lunchtime spot, so be prepared to wait for maybe 10 minutes or more for a table.

LATEST NEWS: Because of their undeniable success there is now a Wok Yutaka II (check the Wok Yutaka II article), just around the corner from where I live. You’ll find Wok Yutaka II on the same street, a few blocks over, at C/Rossello 373 , on the corner with C/Napols.

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Wok Yutaka | Restaurants (Japanese) | Lunch € 9.50
Calle Rossellon 307 | Eixample | +34934580494
13:30 -16:30 & 20:00 – 00:00 daily

The last time I visited the original Wok Yutaka (check the Wok Yutaka article) we had an half-hour lunchtime wait for a table for four. As ever the food was really very good, but it was so busy and bustly it was a bit like eating on a rail station concourse.

Barcelonins know a lunchtime bargain when they see one, and so I wasn’t so surprised to see Yutaka open a second all you can eat buffet. And it is very, very good.

Yutaka II is slightly different to its older brother, the dining-room is airier, and the range of fresh seafood is much more extensive, and it’s 55 cents cheaper, though the range of salads is more limited. But, there isn’t the long wait for a table.

Ostras! I said. “Don’t swear in front of the kids,” my partner said. “No, I’m not swearing, they’ve got oysters!” I replied, and piled my plate with half a dozen oysters. We’d passed by a restaurant the day before where oysters were priced at 4 euros each. And they have four different types of mussels, three different types of clams, four different types of prawns, four different versions of octopus, and squid and …the kids loved it – especially the selection of sweets, lollipops and jellies.

Sushis, makis, sashimis, rice dishes, noodles, the whole works, as much as you can eat for less than 9 euros!

If visiting the Sagrada Familia it’s really not so very far – about a six minute stroll. Have fun!

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Wok Yutaka II | Restaurants (Japanese) | Lunch buffet € 8.95
Carrer Rossello 373 | Eixample | +34932082755
13:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 00;00 daily