Suculent
Rambla del Raval 45, 08001
Spectacular experimental cuisine but very tasty for it at a most reasonable price. Go for the set menu. If you’re lucky it might include rabbit brain on lobster tartare or Hare cannelloni and foie gras with crispy chicken skin.
La Mar Salada
Passeig Joan de Borbó, 58-59, 08003 Barceloneta
Set on a pretty terrace overlooking the harbour Albert goes to the fish auctions there every dawn to get the freshest produce. I have been eating here since the first week that I arrived in Barcelona when it was voted Best Lunch Menu in the Time Out food awards. One of the greatest combinations ever to pass my lips was here: A quail egg inside an artichoke heart topped with bone marrow and caviare. Rejoice!
Compartir
C/ de València, 225, L’Eixample, 08007 Barcelona
When chefs Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch left El Bulli, before Disfrutar. now the worlds #1 restaurant, they opened Compartir in Cadaqués on the Costa Brava. Now they have brought its little sister to Barcelona. Not so flamboyant as the flagship it is still creative gastronomy at a very reasonable price. Compartir means ‘to share’ and here the emphasis is, indeed, on sharing plates. Start with a selection of the divine oysters from the Ebro Delta. Other highlights include muscles in béarnaise sauce, veal carpaccio with port, foie gras and Idiazabal cheese and, foremost, crab with avocado and trout roe.
La Platilleria
Carrer Del Roser 82, 08004
Small tapas bar high up in Poble Sec but well worth the walk, this is some of the most stunning but unpretentious food to be had in Barcelona. Charming front of house from Mariela with husband Fernando manning the stove. The menu on a chalkboard doesn’t hint at the complexity of tastes on offer. Try the quail in a jar (Codorniz), the meat and squid balls (Albondigas) or maybe the octopus (Pulpo) that just melts in your mouth. My absolute favourite, it just doesn’t get much better.
Bar Victoria
Carrer dels Àngels, 8, 08001 Barcelona
A.A. Gill said that the best restaurant is your local that you go to the most. This is it for me. The lovely chaps here serve hearty Catalan favourites. Three courses and a bottle of wine each for 11 euros all in, day and night, you can’t knock it. If you go on Sunday you just might find the Catalan classic Conill i cargols, rabbit and snails. Say hi from me.
Set Portes
Pg. d’Isabel II, 14, 08003 Barcelona
Grand old school restaurant, open since 19C. Has the atmosphere of a gentlemen’s club with a piano playing in the lobby and ancient waiters in black tie. Naturally very good paella. Authentic, not the tourist muck, with that all important socarrat, the crunchy layer on the bottom which all respectable paella must have. Great for a long lunch as they are open without a break so your afternoon can extend right into the evening as I have done on occasion.
Llamber
Carrer de la Fusina 5, El Born 08003
Creative funky sharing plates of curious combinations. Highlights could include Pulpo gratinado con queso ahumado de Pría, Morcilla de Burgos con chipirones or Foie con maiz en texturas but leave room for their stunning puddings.
El Xampanyet
Carrer de Montcada, 22, 08003 Barcelona
Old cava bar near the Picasso museum, it can get packed but worth popping by for a glass or three. Just make sure it is real Cava and not the cheap muck. The first time I went in the owner tried to sell me his bar cheaply on condition I took his wife with it.
Can Vilaró
Comte Borrell, 61, 08015 Barcelona
Family run old school Catalan restaurant. It serves the best brains in Barcelona. Quite literally. Deep fried in a panko coating. Order house wine and you’ll be charged 2.50 for “Pa i Vi”, bread and wine You certainly wouldn’t have to sell your kidney but you could eat some. Offally good.
Salamanca
Carrer de l’ Almirall Cervera, 34 Barceloneta
This is well established for groups that want tapas and paella at a reasonable price on a huge terrace. For my birthday I took 60 chums. I agreed a fee of 30 euros pp with the manager, including Pica Pica, paella, desserts, coffee, liquors and, amazingly all the beer, wine and cava we could drink. “You do realise a lot of the guests are English? ” I asked. “I know” he replied with raised eyebrows and a mournful look as he saw the week’s profits sail away. They did us proud.
La Ciudadela
Paseo Lluis Companys 08010
Handy if you are going to Parc Ciudadela opposite, this is the restaurant of a family run hotel. Great lunch menu on a terrace facing the Park for a tenner or an evening menu for a score and rooms upstairs if you can’t make it home.
Sesamo
Carrer de Sant Antoni Abat, 52, 08001
The best vegetarian restaurant in town by far and good fun none the less. Run by the lovely Alfredo. Exceptional and imaginative fare all considered. Check the board behind the bar for exotic specials.
Quimet y Quimet
Poeta Cabanyes 25, Poble Sec 08004
Tiny famous tapas bar tucked away in the back streets of Poble Sec. Very proud of their tinned food. The tins are presented on the plate to prove authenticity. Bless. Walls are covered in bottles you can drink there or take away.
Rías do Miño
C/ de Pepe Rubianes, 37, 39, 08003 Barceloneta
Excellent value set lunch on a terrace by the beach. Galician seafood. Best fish soup in Barcelona. Authentic surly waiters. While having coffee one morning two paddy wagons pulled up and 20 Mossos, the local fuzz, rushed in. I assumed it was a raid but an hour later I found them packed into the basement laden with bottles of cava and brandy alongside plates of tapas. Just the night shift coming off duty.
“We’re the Mossos and we haven’t had our breakfast.”
Ciudad Comtal
Rambla de Catalunya 18, 08007 Barcelona
Mouthwatering traditional tapas bar. Nice terrace on a rambla. Friendly staff. Elegant interior. You may have to queue, it’s the national hobby, but worth the wait. Grab the man in the blue shirt and put your name down.
Open until 1.30am every day of the year.
Cerveceria Catalana
Carrer Mallorca, 236, Barcelona
Sister to Ciudad Comtal above but a bit further uptown. Same deal, Same grub. Top gaf.
Tapac24
Carrer de la Diputació, 269 Barcelona
Offshoot of the now closed Comerc24 from the charming and creative chef Carles Abellan. It’s tapas with a twist.
Try McFoie Burger or truffle oil Bikini. Other branches around town.
Doble Zer00
Carrer de Jaume Giralt, 53 08003 Barcelona
Funky tapas and sushi Japanese restaurant. Great value sashimi set lunch and some quite odd jap/spanish fusion on la carte. Foie wonton with caramelised mango and Eel, anyone?
Barlovento
Rambla Poblenou, 21, 08005
Seemingly upmarket but good value restaurant out of the centre in Poble Nou. Lift up to a large terrace upstairs, covered and heated in winter. Interesting tapas and seminal Catalan specials such as Trotters with Crab claws and Snails. Great rib steaks. It´s the real thing.
Elsa & Fred
Rec Comtal 11, 08003
French bistro decor, funky food. Oxtail burger a must.
Vivanda
Major de Sarrià, 134, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Barcelona 08017
Tucked away far up town in Sarrià, this hidden gem, sister restaurant to Alkimai, features a cool and lush garden. Food, served in small portions ideal for sharing, is creative and seasonal and may feature superb snails and a very spicy steak tartar. A magical place all round. Definitely worth a detour.
Shunka
Sagristans, 5, 08002
Best Japanese in town. Behind the Cathedral. Favourite of Ferran Adrià and other top chefs
Now has a sister restaurant Koy Shunka serving fusion.
Gelida
Diputació, 133, 08015 (corner of Urgell) Google Map
You don’t get amore authentic old school Catalan eating experience than this, or cheaper. Cap i Pota, Galtes de Porc, Miel i Mato & trifásico did it for me. Probably the best snails in town too. The vino comes in a porró straight from the barrel and you have to ask for a glass if you don’t want to neck it from the spout as you should do. It felt like asking for a knife and fork in a Chinese restaurant but I’ve made a mess of a good shirt before.
There is no menu del dia but the most expensive dish to be had is 4.50€. Wine 2.30€ a carafe and the bill is down to your honesty. You just tell them what you had as they tot it up at the end.