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 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 made 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.

You’ll find the library just along the street from the local market (see the Mercat de la Abaceria Central article).

 

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Vila de Gràcia Library | 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 Aug 1 – Aug 15

Do you like rice? Enjoy a good paella? Have you tried an arròs al forn (oven-cooked rice)? Or, black rice?

There is a lot more to Mediterranean rice than paella, and Xàtiva is a good place to experiment.

Xàtiva, which has another outlet in Les Corts, offers more than 30 different rice dishes:  paellas – arrossos – risottos – biryanis – pilaffs – and gluten-free rice dishes. 

Xàtiva, which takes its name from the town in the province of Valencia, specialises in rice dishes from Valencia such as Paella de Valencia – a mix of chicken, rabbit and peppers,  and Arròs al passejat, a hearty dish with chickpeas, pigs’ ears and blood sausage (black pudding) – a ‘walked rice’ – so called because it was invented in the 15th century before homes had ovens, and the cook would walk through the streets to the town bakery.

Unlike many restaurants in Barcelona, where they’ll only serve paella for a minimum of two people – at Xàtiva you can order an individual paella or rice dish. You can also order to takeaway, or have the food delivered to wherever you want (you’ll have to pay a €12 returnable deposit for the pan). 

When the food arrives at your table you’ll be asked if you want to eat it straight from the pan with a cullera – a traditional wooden spoon. You can keep the spoon.

Xàtiva is open 365 days of the year. Yep, even lunchtime on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day – though is closed in the evening on Sundays and public holidays.

¡Bon profit!

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Xàtiva | Restaurants | Seafood paella € 14
Torrent d’en Vidalet,26 | Gracia | +34670811767
Mon – Fri 13:15 -16:00 & 20:30 – 00:00, Sat – 13:15 – 16:30 & 20:30 – 00:00, Sun 13:15 – 16:30

Built in 1892 Mercat de l’Abaceria is situated on the busy Traveserra de Gràcia, just 200 metres from the Library, very near John Lennon Square (see the Lennon square article) and even nearer to Bodega E. Marín (see the Bodega E. Marin article). it is one of four markets in Gràcia and one 39 food markets in the city.

You’ll find some of the very best veggies, fruit, fish, meat, cheeses and herbs here as well as Japanese sushi and fresh pasta, an Iraqi grocer selling food and drink from the eastern mediterranean, and a second-hand bookstall where all the books (some in English) 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 council does a really inspiring job of promoting the city’s 43 markets (39 food markets and 4 non-food markets) – with healthy eating tours led by nutritionists – including tours for diabetics and weight watchers – practical demonstrations on food preparation and resource packs for local schools.

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Mercat de l’Abaceria Central | Bars, Shopping, Snacks
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

I will talk about one of my favourite places at Gracia but I must confess it’s not easy for me to explain 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 in summer) . 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 go to the Suec know what they want and what they can get there.

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

Don’t forget to ask for their 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

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 deBelém 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

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 flavors 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 is 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 flavors 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 confirm that the whole experience is worth it.

My advice is simple: Ask for those dishes and tapas you know 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

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

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 € 20.00
Gran de Gracia, 256 | Gracia | +34932371648
12:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 02:00 daily

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 for that glass of water. I will be very glad to accept it.

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Bar Lennon | Bars | Beer € 2.50
Carrer de Puigmartí, 35 | Gracia | +34679566277
Tue – Sat 12:00 – 20:00

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