Barcelona Destination Guide

  Places to See in Barcelona

  Events & Nightlife in Barcelona

  Eating out in Barcelona

  Shopping in Barcelona

  3 or 5 Perfect Days in Barcelona
 
  Public Transport in Barcelona - Getting there and about

Home | Hotels | Flights | Car Hire | Transfers | Attraction & Sightseeing Tickets

Click Here to Check Availability for Hotels in Barcelona

Eating Out
Guide to Drinking & Dining in Barcelona

There are great restaurants just about everywhere in Barcelona, many serving superb regional specialities.

Catalan cuisine combines the best of French and Spanish cooking and is available just about everywhere in the city. There is plenty of excellent seafood - fish stew (zarzsuela), cod, shellfish and squid are popular. Traditional spit roast chicken being freshly prepared can be hard to resist. A spicy potato dish, known as Patatas Bravas, is a popular side order found in the numerous tapas bars - you might also want to try the meatballs, snails and scallops. Testing a range of food in a tapas bar is a highly recommended way of exploring the vast range of popular local dishes.

Restaurants in the Eixample and Gracia areas tend to be quieter, more refined and a little more expensive. While the harbour area may not have the best restaurants, it can be worth eating here just for the view. Maremàgnum and Port Olympic are full of late bars and discos (often a cover charge is the only difference) whilst the bars around the Passeig del Born are a bit more trendy.

PRICE GUIDE: (average cost of a main course):
= less than EUR10, = EUR10-16, = EUR16+

Traditional

El Convent
Calle Jerusalem 3
Tel: +34 93-317-1052

Previously known as the Egipte, this restaurant with its ancient décor and excellent Catalan food has always been a Barcelona landmark. Not much is different since it changed its name - it is still one of the best places in town. Book ahead.

El Glop
Calle Sant Lluis 24, Rambla Catalunya 65 and Casp 21
Tel: +34 93-213-7058

There are three branches of this popular and comfortable restaurant in the city. One of the best value Catalan specialists around - if you don't mind the music.

Pollo Rico
Calle Sant Pau 31
Tel:+34 93-441-3184

A famous cheap and cheerful option in Barrio Chino, where you can watch your chicken roasted before you eat it. It's particularly popular with foreign students. The food is simple and chicken (pollo) is naturally a speciality.

Monchos
Moll d'Espanya (Port Vell)
Tel: +34 93-225-800
Great tapas and excellent seafood at this cheap and cheerful tavern by the sea. Click on the voucher for a finger lickin' good 10 per cent discount off your food and drink bill.

Other European

Ca l'Isidre
Calle les Flors 12
Tel: +34 93-441-1139
Upmarket restaurant where the seasonal European and Spanish food attracts a loyal and elegant following. The desserts are legendary.

Silenus
Calle des Angels 8
Tel: +34 93-302-2680

Creative cooking for creative people. This is an unashamedly trendy restaurant close to the modern art gallery. The décor is ultra-modern, the food is imaginative and the clientele are arty.

Vegetarian

Biocenter
Calle Pintor Fortuny 25
Tel: +34 93-301-4583

A godsend for vegetarians, or anyone who needs to start treating their body a bit better after too much excess. Biocenter serves organic food in utilitarian surroundings. There are even vegan options, which are rare in Barcelona.

Asian

Shanghai 1930
Calle Buenos Aires, 11-13
Tel: +34 93-363-4370

Just outside the city centre Shanghai is not just a Chinese restaurant. It also offers surprisingly good Japanese and Mediterranean cuisine in its "Old Shanghai" themed dining room. Although the location isn't the most convenient it is an excellent choice for anyone who fancies something a bit different.

Cuban

La Habana Vieja
Banys Veils 2
Tel: +34 93-268-2504

A lively restaurant buzzing with atmosphere, although complete with cosy tables if you prefer some privacy. The huge portions make it great value for money, and with these prices you'll be able to keep the wine flowing as fast as the music. The ropa vieja (shredded beef), swiftly followed by a mojito (rum, mint and sugar) or two, is a popular choice. Not a suitable venue for vegetarians.

Bars

Barcelona's bar life is a mix of the traditional, the modern and the tourist oriented. Pavement café-bars along the Ramblas are where most people will take refreshment during the day but there are plenty of other options scattered around the old town and the Eixample area. One thing's for sure, café culture is very much alive in Barcelona. Morning rush hour for most people seems to include a coffee stop and the cafés are rarely quiet from open until close. Pubs are also widespread, and Las Ramblas alone boasts several large drinking halls where locals and tourists can be found in the evening.

Café de L'Opera
Las Ramblas, 74
Tel: +34 93-3024-180
L'Opera is Barcelona's most famous café, and an essential place to have a coffee if you're going to "do" the city properly. A café in the grand style - the waiters are liveried, the décor is sumptuous and the coffee and patisseries delicious.

Glaciar
Plaça Reial
Tel: +34 93-302-1163
The Plaça Reial is just off Las Ramblas and is the best square in the city for people watching. Glaciar is one of the most popular of several bars located here - modern and airy styling attracts the beautiful people to its tables in the plaça.

Schilling
Calle Ferran 23
Tel: +34 93-317-6787
A popular café not far from the Plaça Reial, Schilling has an eclectic mix of clientele including foreigners and locals.

Cava Universal
Plaça Portal de la Pau 4
Tel: +34 93-302-6184
Universal benefits from its great location at the end of Las Ramblas and in the shadow of the statue of Columbus (famously pointing American visitors the wrong way home). Grab an outdoor table and watch the hordes of meandering tourists wending their way down to the marina.

Kitty O'Shea's
Calle Nau Santa Maria 5
Tel: +34 93-280-3675
Just one of several Irish pubs you'll find dotted around the city. Another notable one is the Michael Collins near La Sagrada Familia, but all are much the same. Barcelona's euro-pubs are generally excellent places to meet fellow tourists or locals keen to befriend visitors and practice their language skills.

La Bodegueta
Rambla de Catalunya 100
Tel: +34 93-215-4894
It's worth mentioning at least one of Barcelona's bodegas. These old wine houses couldn't be further removed from modern day wine bars. La Bodegueta in the Eixample area is one of the better exponents and is a great place to drop in when exploring the district. It offers a good lunch time menu as well, but shuts in the late afternoon until the evening.

London Bar
Nou de la Rambla, 34
Tel: +34 93-318-5261
Popular with just about everyone the warm welcome of the London bar makes it a popular haunt among the denizens of the Gothic Quarter.

El Xampanyet
Carrer de Montcada
Tel: +34 93-319-7003
Many guide's favourite bar in Barcelona, and that's saying something. A family run bar near the Picasso Museum, El Xampanyet has been serving thirsty customers for 75 years and doesn't seem to have changed much in that time. Hams hang from the ceiling providing tasty tapas appetisers to go with the local Cava wine or Damm beer.

 

Click on an area for more Information and Hotels

Destination Guides | Terms & Conditions | About Us | Contact Us