Gracia Barcelona – All our local tips

One of the most important advantages of living in Barcelona is discovering its wish of becoming a cosmopolitan city every day. I know that someday, near in the future, Barcelona will be what it could be thanks to the effort of those persons who come from other regions of the world to bring their vision, their colors and original flavors.

A Casa Portuguesa is a great example of the cultural riches you can enjoy while living here.

A Casa Portuguesa is a little place located at Barrio de Gracia that proudly offers a wonderful selection of the very often unknown culinary treasure of Portugal. It’s not really a restaurant but more of a Portuguese sampler; A place to find lost flavors and scents that can describe a beautiful heritage.

Just entering you feel you’re in a special place. You will find a good selection of wines and some other delicatessen from Portugal. Attention is polite and warm. If you’re lucky you could enjoy their well cared patisserie or confectionery with a cup of coffee or tea comfortably at one of their few tables.

If you feel yourself curious to taste the flavors from a past you never knew about, go there and try a Pastel de Belém with sugar and cinnamon topping. Don’t say later I did not talk about this place.

Nice trip!

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A Casa Portuguesa | Coffee & tea
Verdi 58 | Gracia | +34933683528
Tue – Wed 17:00 – 22:00, Thu – Fri 17:00 – 23:00

I will talk about a very recent and exquisite surprise for your senses. Amorino is the name of one of the most delicious franchises I’ve ever tried. Its stronger points are based on a very good quality and the well cared presentation of their products even though the prices are not -properly talking- the ones I’m used to see at the same category. Yes, it’s true: This time you will pay more for that ice cream, but there’s no way you could think it isn’t worth it.

I’d like to recommend this place as a way to overindulge yourself secretly or even to find sweet presents and gifts for someone very (very) special. Please, do go and take a look at their products, especially the chocolates and candies. Don’t forget to ask for the balsamic vinegar they produce and sell proudly as a jewel. And I’m sure it is indeed.

This is the first store this franchise chain opens here in Spain and I’m sure they will expand their presence soon at some other cities, considering the quality.

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Amorino | Snacks | Icecream 3 flavors € 4.00
Gran de Gracia, 53 | Gracia | +34932188305
Mon – Thu 11:30 – 00:00, Fri – Sun 11:00 – 01:00

As you may know, the Gracia’s neighborhood is full of bars and terraces at every square you can see there. So considering that Barrio de Gracia is proportionally the district with the most of squares of Barcelona is easy to understand that the biggest squares has the most popular terraces and sometimes it’s quite hard to find a table free to sit outside.

However, there’s still a tiny and cosy square known only by just a few of us. Only a local could suggest this great tip… I’m talking about the Bar Lennon, located on Lennon’s Square.

This bar situation is the key of the place. You will find there what the other bars offer, but I promise that even a glass of water gets extra tasty and it can quench your thirst much better once you’re there. Believe me, this is a great way to enjoy the benefits of Gracia without experiencing the disadvantages from its popularity.

If you see me around do not hesitate to invite me that glass of water. I will be very glad to accept it.

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Bar Lennon | Bars | Beer € 2.50
John Lennon’s Square, Puig Martí 35 | Gracia | +34679566277
Tue – Sat 12:00 – 20:00

One of many pleasures in Barcelona is buying wine from local bodegas. You can often sample the wines and have a snack while deciding which wines to buy. You can buy most Catalan varieties of wine from the barrel for between 1 and 3 euros a liter. Or, you can buy individual bottles, or a case of wine or cava, often at better prices than in supermarkets.

This small, friendly and popular bodega is just a few meters from John Lennon Square and a hundred meters or so from the Abaceria Market. They stock a very good selection of wines, cavas and spirits, catering for every taste and budget. They also serve tasty bites of fuet or llonganissa (sausage), or berberechos (cockles) or simple bocadillos (sandwiches). During the winter months they also serve hot caldo (thin soup). I often call in on the way to or from the market for a beer and a snack.

They regularly have special deals on wine and cava. It’s always worth checking out the prices when stocking up for a party. And it’s always fun to just check out some of the more obscure licores and spirits, colorfully stacked from floor to ceiling.

During the Gracìa festival this bodega sets up a little bar on the street and stays open long into the night.

I maybe shouldn’t tell you this – but this is where I’ve promised myself I shall buy a Balthazar of cava to help celebrate my daughter’s graduation from Oxford.

Go on … wander in … surprise yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

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Bodega E.Marin | Bars, Shopping, Snacks | Draft beer € 1.40
C/de Milà i Fontanals 72 | Gracia
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 14:00 & 16:30 – 21:00, Sat 09:30 – 15:00

The Bonobo bar can be more than a bar if you are with the right company and also in the right mood. Everything is fine with it but I have a theory about this place: it can accelerate your feelings somehow. If you feel pretty some night and you go there you will feel prettier after some minutes. The same occurs if you feel happy or sad, so try to use this place powers wisely.

I think the key is the company you choose to go there. That could mean the difference between a great night and a hard long night. However, you could say this happens with any place, but if you go you will understand why I’m right. There’s something special operating there, something that we’re not able to perceive until is too late, so when we realize we are happy that happiness is hard to stop.

This place is located at a very quiet street of Barrio de Gracia and it’s away enough of the neighborhoods rhythm to be unaware by the most of locals, so not everyone will go there unless they already know it. Pay attention to this trick before going in: if you think your mood connect with these smiles you see from the outside feel free to get in. Something special is waiting for you behind that door.

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Bonobo Bar | Bars | Beer € 2.50
Santa Rosa 32 | Gracia | +34932188796
Tue – Sun 16:00 – 03:00

I will talk about one of my favourite places at Gracia but I must confess it’s not easy for me explaining why I love it so much. It’s a bar called Café Suec and they offer nothing more than what a bar usually offers. However I know this place will surprise you in a very special way.

Sometimes it’s hard to find a table at a terrace in Gracia especially on these very hot summer days. The table you want may be occupied by some people reading the largest book possible and all they ordered was a coffee maybe 2 hours ago. Accept it… They won’t leave. Never.

They could read that book twice times under the shadow of some beautiful huge tree but it seems for them the reading time becomes especially delightful if they can make 4 persons unhappy because anyone can use that table while they’re sat memorizing a dictionary. Indeed, it’s a pity for the bar’s owner too. He would prefer you as a customer for sure.

What to do? Easy! Invite the bar owner to share some beers at the Café Suec. Who knows? Maybe you can make a new friend. It’s just a bar, it’s just a beer, it’s just you. That’s the reason I recommend this place. People who goes to the Suec know what they want and what they can get there.

I can’t help to feel it as a very cozy corner, sometimes a solution, sometimes a relief too.

Don’t forget to ask for their splendid mojitos!

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Café Suec | Bars | Cocktalis € 6.00
Alzina 2-4 | Gracia
Tue – Sun 18:00 – 02:30, Fri – Sat 18:00 – 03:00

My favourite cinema, Cinema Verdi in Gràcia, has two separate entrances (C/Verdi, 32 & C/Torrijos, 49), in effect it’s two cinemas, one with five screens and the other with four.

Even though it has nine screens it doesn’t feel like a multiplex, it still has the feel of an independent cinema. I used to programmed a single-screen cinema in the UK so I appreciate the effort involved in running a nine-screen cinema.

The picture and sound quality here is always very good and the seats comfortable. The cinema is a member of the Europa network so there’s always a good choice of quality films in the original language with subtitles, and free notes with every film. Every now and then they’ll screen a new film free of charge.

It’s not the place to go to see the latest Hollywood blockbuster. And, when you come out after seeing a film, you’re surrounded by dozens of really good nearby bars, cafés and restaurants where you can go with friends and swap opinions.

p.s. Hey, I must be right – seven months after publishing the above Time Out Barcelona magazine voted Verdi as the BEST CINEMA IN THE CITY.

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Cines Verdi | Cinemas | Ticket € 7.00
C/Verdi 32 | Gracia | +34932387990
depends on play

I found this place like most of the places I like: accidentally. That night I took my camera with me and I went to the beach following the ancient steps, like playing the role of some nostalgic witness taking pictures about all those places and moments I could enjoy once, but the weather turned off somehow.

As you may suspect I was a bit sad that night but something happened that started to change everything. I was on my knees waiting for the right moment to shoot the next picture about some lost street at El Borne when I saw two beautiful girls in front of me with this “say-cheese!” attitude so I took their picture and they came closer to check out the results. That couple of minutes we talked were enough to colorize the whole environment and the way that night was going to end.

So that night I walked, I walked a lot going back home. It took about 2 hours arriving to Gracia’s neighbourhood when suddenly there it was the second sign. I could hear a special song from the outside, so I couldn’t help to go in when I read the name of this bar from the sidewalk. “De Dues” is a Catalan expression that means like that place is owned by two girls.

So what did I do? I just connected the signs that night was giving to me and I got in, I sat at the bar, I asked for a beer and I started to enjoy the warm and cosy style this place has. After the second beer I understood why I liked ‘De Dues’ bar so much: it’s a feminine atmosphere, everything is offered in a different way. De Dues bar is the right place to discover a better night is possible. It’s hard to explain exactly how its magic works so consider this story the right sign to get there.

The magic is out there. We just have to pay attention sometimes.

Try to enjoy their happy hours from 20:00 to 22:00, 2 cocktails / 8.00 EUR.

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De Dues | Bars | Beer € 2.00
Torrent de L’Olla, 89 | Gracia | +34934161496
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 03:00, Sat 16:30 – 03:00

This place great tip if you love cooking international recipes at home, but can’t seem to find some of the ingredients because they are odd here (never mind how popular they are in other latitudes). I’m talking about DeliShop, the kind of food and cooking supplies store you were looking for.

DeliShop develops an interesting culinary and commercial concept (world cooking basics), ideal for a city like Barcelona where an important proportion of its population comes from so many and different places.

What would you like to eat today? Where does that flavour comes from? Let your appetite pick up the right destination: Maybe Japan or India, China, Thailand, North or South America? If you feel curious about other cultures you should go to the DeliShop and take a look. You will make a trip around the world at a glance.

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DeliShop | Art & culture, Shopping
Travessera de Gracia 141 | Gracia | +34932389945
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 21:00

Situated uptown, you will find this nice and colorful shop that sells products from different countries in the world. You can find clothes, accessories, food (ecologic products), books (quite spirituals), arts and craft objects, music, movies, decoration objects…

It’s a good place to get lost because they have a lot of curious stuff. And once you get tired there’s a beautiful garden at the back of the store where you can sit down and have a coffee (probably from Colombia or Brazil). It’s peaceful and romantic.

Also when you buy in Olokuti you are contributing to responsible consumption and to some ethics rules.

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El Olokuti | Coffee & tea, Shopping
Calle Asturies, 36 | Gracia | +34932170070
11:00 – 20:00 daily (closed for lunchtime)

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

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

I must confess one of my all-time favourite hobbies is seeing people. I can’t help it, I’m very curious about people. Personally, sometimes I like to go to La Virreina square, located at Barrio de Gracia, to spy the “urban fauna” and seeing their behavior and fashion. I enjoy imagining what they do, what they think or where they’re going.

The whole place is a great scene to interact with other persons.

It’s one of my loved spots because it offers so many options. I see that place as a beginning of a great night. Sometimes I propose that place as a meeting point with my friends.

Once we’re together and considering our mood we can stay there in the meanwhile or pick a terrace from the three options of bars you can find located there or perhaps giving a hike by the area looking for some new bar or restaurant.

Have you tried a “clara” before? I can’t imagine a best way to taste a clara for the first time than sat at some of those terraces located at La Virreina square, surrounded by such special neighborhood.

If you want to experience a typical Barcelona’s night away from the city`s center you should start here. A magic night is almost guaranteed.

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La Virreina’s Square | Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Snacks
Plaça de La Virreina | Gracia
24 hours daily

I love the local market.

La Abaceria is situated on the busy Traveserra de Gràcia, just 200 meters from the Library, and very near John Lennon Square (see the Lennon square article).

You’ll find some of the very best veggies, fruit, fish, meat, cheeses and herbs here as well as a Japanese sushi and fresh noodle bar, a Lebanese grocer and a second-hand bookstall where all the books are just € 1.00.

The market has three bars, all of which sell food prepared with ingredients from the market, so, when you’re done shopping for veggies you can cool your heels and slake your thirst before buying your fish, meats and cheeses.

The city hall does a really inspiring job of promoting the city’s 43 markets – with healthy eating tours led by nutritionists – including tours for diabetics and weight watchers – and giving practical demonstrations on food preparation.

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Mercat de la Abaceria Central | Shopping
Travessera de Gràcia, 186 | Gracia | +34932136286
Mon – Thu 07:00 – 14:30 & 17:30 – 20:30, Fri – Sat 06:00- 15:00 & 17:00 – 20:00

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

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

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

Situated on the busy crossroads of Traveserrra de Gràcia and Torrent de l’Olla Gràcia Public Library houses an excellent collection of books, magazines, CDs and DVDs to lend.

It’s always worth calling in to find out what’s going on in the barrio and across the city – with leaflets, free community newspapers and what’s-on guides, with some in English, French, German and Italian.

Non-Catalan speaking residents and visitors are very welcome and you’ll find a good selection of fiction, poetry and language-learning materials in all major European languages. The study area, with free wi-fi access, is open until 01:00. So, you can take your laptop along, catch up with your e-mail, and when you feel like a coffee, or a beer, put your laptop in a secure locker and stroll across the narrow street to any one of several café-bars nearby.

A library card gets you a good range of discounts on admissions to concerts, dance events, exhibitions, talks, walks and workshops at venues across the city. The staff are all very helpful and very knowledgeable.

I really appreciate the library’s core philosophy of promoting the written and spoken word as a tool for better understanding – a philosophy which is symbolised by the heiroglyphic, cuneiform, runic and ancient Greek script used in the artwork which decorates the entrance and stairwell.

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Vila de Gràcia | Art & culture, Relaxing
C/Torrent de l’Olla 104 | Gracia | +34932847790
Mon & Thu 16:00 – 21:00, Tue & Fri 10:00 – 14:00 & 16:00 – 21:00, Wed 10:00 – 21:00, Sat 10:00 – 14:00, Closed Jul 14 – Sep 1