Restaurants in Barcelona
Graze your way around Barcelona's tapas bars where delicious morsels accompany fizzy glasses of cava flowing late into the night. Steaming dishes of paella are found in beach-front Barceloneta while the twisted lanes of the Barrí Gòtic ooze with Catalan flavours like salt dried cod, crisp fried artichokes and rich chorizo sausage. Wait until 9pm or 10pm to dine with the locals and beware your favourite haunts might close in August. Tip 5-10%.
Els Quatre Gats
Artful dining
A Barcelona legend since 1897, Els Quatre Gats ("The Four Cats" Catalan slang
for "just a few people") was a favourite of Picasso who once hung his work
here. This turn-of-the-century tiled café in Barrí Gòtic nurtured poets,
intellectuals and the moderniste movement. Try the fixed-price meal
for good value, homespun Catalan cooking.
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Opening Hours
Daily 1pm-1am
Address
3, Carrer Montsio, Barcelona 08002
Telephone
+34 93 302 4140
Comerç 24
Modern international tapas
This slick eatery in the fashionable Born district has put a modern,
luxurious spin on the traditional tapas menu. Comerç 24's international
fusion of flavours includes immaculate sushi, crispy prawns with Italian
romesco sauce, Catalan stews and light Andalusian spices all on
the same list. Tapas portions are small so it's best to order plenty.
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Opening Hours
Daily 1.30pm-3.30pm & 8.30pm-10.45pm
Address
24, Carrer Comerç, Barcelona 08003
Telephone
+34 93 319 21 02
Agua
Food with a view
Agua in Villa Olimpica, is the ultimate in cool, beach-front dining. A table
on the shady terrace offers sea views and people watching, and the modern
Spanish menu includes popular dishes such as char-grilled fish and rich
risottos studded with fresh clams. Afterwards pop next door for cocktails at
the glamorous CDLC bar.
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Opening Hours
Daily 1.30pm-4pm (until 5pm Sat & Sun) & 8.30pm-12am (until 1am Fri & Sat)
Address
30, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, Barcelona 08003
Telephone
+34 93 225 12 72
Transport
Ciutadella Vila Olímpica (L4) metro
Can Solé
Seafood heaven
Many restaurants compete for trade in Barceloneta's harbour area, but Can
Solé remains true to this former fishing village, with wine barrels, lots of
noise, and excellent food. Try tiny sweet clams, cod cakes or bouillabaisse.
Little langoustines are expensive but delicious and everything is laced with
fresh garlic. It's worth saving space for dessert!
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Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 1.30pm-4pm & 8pm-11pm
Address
4, Carrer Sant Carles, Barcelona 08003
Telephone
+34 93 221 50 12
Els Pescadors
Gourmet experience
Els Pescadors is one of the best fish restaurants in Barcelona. It is off the
beaten track but worth the trip to Poble Nou. The freshest seafood and
finest locally sourced produce is cooked in a classic Catalan style with a
modern twist. Choose between dining rooms or a table on the terrace.
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Opening Hours
Daily 1pm-3.45pm & 8pm-11.30pm
Address
1, Plaça Prim, Barcelona 08005
Telephone
+34 93 225 20 18
Transport
Poblenou metro
Bar Mundial
Seafood served simply
Bar Mundial is a no-frills, neighbourhood bar-restaurant in Sant Pere with
black-and-white photos of boxers adorning the walls and a menu of enormous
platters of seafood. It has been family run since 1925 and while it has seen
an increase in tourists in recent years, it's still well worth a visit.
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Opening Hours
Wed-Sun 1pm-3.30pm; Tue-Fri 9pm-10.30pm (Sat until 11.30pm)
Address
1, Plaça Sant Agustí Vell, Barcelona 08003
Telephone
+34 93 319 90 56
Transport
Arc de Triomf or Jaume I metro
Cerveseria Catalana
Bustling tapas bar
Cheerful and relatively cheap, Cerveseria Catalana tapas restaurant is always
crowded. Without an advance booking, visitors can expect to wait for a
table. The alternative is to nudge to the bar and start pointing at the
tasty looking tapas - there are plenty. Look out for a pavement table on a
summer night.
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Opening Hours
Mon-Fri 8am-1.30am; Sat & Sun 9am-1.30am
Address
236, Carrer de Mallorca, Barcelona 08008
Telephone
+34 93 216 03 68
Transport
Diagonal metro
Senyor Parellada
Traditional Spanish flavours
A healthy appetite is a must when you visit Senyor Parellada in the Born
district. In the large yellow-and-blue dining room diners settle down to
hearty cuisine from northeast Spain like stuffed cabbage, cod "as prepared
by the monks of the Poblet monastery", baked monkfish with
mustard-and-garlic sauce, and roast duck with figs.
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Opening Hours
Daily 1pm-3.30pm & 8.30pm-11.30pm
Address
37, Argenteria, Barcelona 08003
Telephone
+34 93 310 50 94
Cal Pep
Busy seafood bar
Cal Pep in the Born district is extraordinarily popular and deservedly so,
and there's often a queue for a table. There's a small dining room at the
back but it's best to grab a stool and pick tasty morsels from the bar.
Seafood is the main attraction. Try clams with a sprinkling of hot
peppers.
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Opening Hours
Mon-Fri 7.30pm-11.30pm; Tue-Sat 1pm-3.45pm
Address
8, Plaça de les Olles, Barcelona 08003
Telephone
+34 93 310 79 61
Los Caracoles
Old World charm
Los Caracoles in Barrí Gòtic might be crowded with tourists and avoided by
locals, but that doesn't make it any less fun. It has a timeless old-world
setting, complete with tiles, rough timber and hanging garlic. There's a
choice of traditional Catalan dishes on the menu, including spit-roast
chicken and the house speciality of snails.
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Opening Hours
Daily 1.15pm-12am
Address
14, Carrer dels Escudellers, Barcelona 08002
Telephone
+34 933 012 041
Origens
Fresh Catalan delicacies
Barcelona boast several healthy restaurants. Origens, on a quiet street in
the Eixample district, offers great-value lunches. Fresh ingredients are
sourced mostly from Catalunya and thoughtfully combined in simple dishes.
The menú del día (daily menu) is a bargain and the delicatessen is
full of fruity olive oils, tasty local wines and bitter dark chocolate.
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Opening Hours
Daily 1pm-1am
Address
9, Enric Granados, Barcelona 08002
Telephone
+34 93 453 11 20
La Rita
Mediterranean set menus
Locals rarely queue to eat out, but at La Rita they make an exception. The
warm, inviting restaurant is perennially popular, serving up three-course
set menus at prices no one can argue with. The food is contemporary and
packed with Mediterranean flavours. Once inside, you'd never know it's on
one of central Barcelona's busiest streets.
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Opening Hours
Daily 1pm-3.45pm & 8.30pm-11.30pm
Address
279, C/ Aragón, Barcelona 08007
Telephone
+34 93 487 23 76
Mesón David
Crazy dining experience
Mesón David in Ravel isn't the place for a quiet evening. Waiters shout
hilariously, tips are acknowledged by the ringing of a cowbell and diners
crowd onto long canteen tables. The food is fast, furious, and excellent,
with regional specialities ranging from Navarran trout stuffed with serrano
ham to traditional Castilian roast suckling pork.
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Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 12.30pm-4pm & 8pm-11.30pm
Address
63, Carretes, Barcelona 08001
Telephone
+34 93 441 59 34
El Flamant
Refined dining
There are plenty of cheap and cheerful restaurants in Barcelona but El
Flamant manages to combine excellent value with a refined dining experience.
Just off this leafy street in the Eixample district awaits a charming,
wood-panelled dining room with traditional Spanish menu. The adjoining café
is a more casual place for lunch, coffee or tapas.
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Opening Hours
Daily 1pm-3.45pm & 9pm-12am
Address
23, Enric Granados, Barcelona 08007
Telephone
+34 93 323 16 35
Pollo Rico
Friendly waiters, hearty food
It can be difficult to find good value eateries around the fun-but-touristy
Ramblas, but Pollo Rico in a side street is a gem of a restaurant. It
specialises in delicious rotisserie chicken and chips. Diners can squeeze in
between the local characters at the bar or head upstairs to the pretty tiled
dining room.
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Opening Hours
Daily 11am-1am (bar); 1pm-4pm & 8pm-10pm (dining room)
Address
31, Calle Sant Pau, Barcelona
Telephone
+34 93 441 31 84
