La Rita is one of my favourite lunchtime restaurants. To English eyes it looks very formal – or posh – with white linen tablecloths and napkins, big white china plates and uniformed staff, but it’s a great spot for long, chatty lunches. For just Euro 9.40 (incl. 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 or ossobuco. 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. When visiting the sights, it’s a great location, just 200 metres off the Paseo de Gracia. ¡Buen provecho! Details about this spot (Show on map).jpg)
Image by Bill Sinclair
La Rita | Restaurants (Spanish/Catalan) | Daily menu € 9.40
C/Aragó 279 | Eixample | +34934872376
Monday – Thursday:13:00 – 15:45 and 20:30 – 23:30; Friday and Saturday: 13:30 – 15:45 and 21:00 – 24:00; Sunday: 20:30 – 23:306:00 & 20:00 – 23:30 daily
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La Rita – A favourite lunchtime restaurant
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Me again, I’ve just watched the movie ’13 Roses’. There’s a poignant scene wherein Franco’s bombers drop bread, not bombs, on a Republican town. The bread is wrapped in brown paper parcels, adorned with the ‘loyalist’ flag and riddled with slogans. Catch it if you can. Regards.
Hi Dean, really glad you and your family enjoyed lunch at La Rita – I’ve always found it great value. And it’s a great location for visitors. I’m pleased too that you took the time and effort to post your comments. Thanks, regards, Bill Sinclair
What a great recommendation! We arrived on a Friday about 1:30P and waited maybe 20 minutes for a table. To these American eyes it did indeed look “very formal with white linen tablecloths and napkins, big white china plates and uniformed staff”. The food was excellent, the service was great and the price at ~9 Euro was unbeatable! For the first course, we particularly enjoyed the tuna stuffed cannelloni, while the star of the second course offerings was a kind of osso bucco served with whipped potatoes. My wife and I enjoyed a very tasty vi negre, while my kids were very impressed that they were offered either sparkling or still bottled water. We dined here on our last full day in Barcelona and enjoyed a long family lunch together, staying until around 4:00PM. As far as meals, this was one of the highlights of our trip. Thanks Bill!
Hi,
That’s very interesting explanation, thanks
Me again- just as a further thought on the impact of the Civil War and rationing on local food customs – In Catalunya,and in other parts of Spain under Republican influence during the Civil War, the staple food was lentils – these came to be called colloquially Dr. Negrín’s pills (Negrín was the then Soviet Communist backed President of Republican Spain).(I’m sure there’s a book worth developing on the subject of the impact of war and food customs, viz the UK’s necessary uplift in the industrialisation of food production because of its isolation during WWII).
Hi Mike, thanks for calling by. Yes, you’re right, the website does indeed show the STANDARD menu, priced at €19,95(incl. IVA/VAT). However, and it’s a very big HOWEVER, the MENÚ DEL DÍA is, as stated on the blog post, priced at just €8,90 which makes it such a good deal. Menú del días, or luchtime menus, are only available at lunchtime during the working week – Monday to Friday. On a historical note menús del día were brought into being by the passing of a law during Franco’s dictatorship – ALL restaurants were then obliged to offer a minimum of two courses and wine, water and bread at an economical price. The law was repealed in (I think) 1980 but many establishments chose to continue with the practice as it had become embedded in local custom. Franco was very adept at using food as a weapon – during the Civil War one of his forces’ slogans was ‘For Bread & Victory’, and when occupying Republican territory his troops would make a big deal of handing out bread (often wrapped with images of the ‘benevolent’ dictator). For most of the Civil War Franco’s forces had control of the main grain producing areas. Interestingly, too, Thursday was traditionally rice day – when Franco’s lackeys would release the weekly rice ration. Consequently many Thursday menú del días would feature arroces (rice dishes, such as arroz negra and paella)- a tradition that still continues in part. Hipe you find that useful., and I hope too you find time to visit La Rita – it’s a bargain.
This article seems not to be uptodate,I checked their website and their menu is much more expensive – 20 Euro per person.
Sorry to hear of your experience Heather. You’re right, the place is ‘fab’. I checked with the staff and they tell me they close at 4pm, and I checked with the website and it says they close at 15:45. I suppose being Saturday when you visited maybe the staff wanted to get wrapped up early.
We arrived here at 15.40 on a Saturday and were told it was closed. We were gutted as the place looked fab, really bustling and the food looked excellent. Ran out of time to go back there but it will be on our list the next time we visit. But just be aware the place ends lunch service at 15.30
Thanks for the recommendation! We arrived at 12:40pm on a Friday and were the first in a long line of people waiting to get in at 1:00pm. Great value, nice interior, friendly staff; wish my 4-year old would have behaved better.