Barcelona
restaurants - Catalan Cuisine
Our selection of restaurants
Looking for a good value "menu del día"? Or splashing out on
an intimate dinner? Whatever you want, find out where, when and how: recommendations,
reservations, translated menus, the Eating Survival Guide. It's all here
on the Restaurants Page.
Catalan Cuisine
A selection of our Catalan colleague's favourites.
Eating survival guide
How to cope with lunch at 3:00pm and dinner after 10:00pm.
A-Z
"of eating"
Fancy trying "pies de cerdo" (pig's trotters) or are your tastes
less exotic? Our A-Z guide lists popular dishes in Spanish and Catalan
with their English translation.
Our selection of Barcelona restaurants
ENVALIRA 
Traditional,
no-fuss restaurant in the heart of Gracia. Good hearty Catalan food and
professional service. Arroz a la Milanese (risotto), to die for.
Type of cusine: Catalan
Hours: 1:30pm - 4:00pm & 9:00pm - 12:00pm. Sundays 1:30pm - 5:00pm.
Ciudad: Barcelona
Area: Gracia
Telephone: 93 218 5813
Address: Plaza del Sol, 13
Directions: In the Plaza del Sol, the heart of Gracia.
Metro: Diagonal (L3, L5)
LA
SINGULAR
Small
place with good food and helpful, friendly service. Good for lunch after
a morning at Parc Güell - wander down through Gracia to Plaza Rius
i Taullet (the one with the clock-tower in the middle). You'll find La
Singular nearby.
Type of cuisine: Based on best daily market produce.
Hours: 1:00pm - 4:00pm &. y 8:00pm - 12:00pm. (Friday & Saturday
until 1:00am). Closed Saturday lunchtime & Sunday.
City: Barcelona
Area: Gracia
Telephone: 93 237 5098
Address: Carrer Francisco Giner, 50
Directions: Near to Plaça Rius i Taulet.
Metro: Diagonal (L3, L5)
LOS CARACOLES
Another
Barcelona institution, between Plaça Reial and the Port. Look out
for the flaming grill in the street. The walls are covered with photographs
of famous visitors. Food and service all very good and the sangría
is excellent.
Type of cuisine: Catalan
Hours: 1:00pm - 12:00pm.
City: Barcelona
Area: Old City - Barri Gotic (Gothic quarter).
Telephone: 93 302 3185
Address: Carrer Escudellers, 14
Directions: Close to Plaza Reial.
Metro: Drassanes (L3)
MADRID-BARCELONA
Good
value with good quality Catalan food. This 40's restaurant was part of
the old Madrid-Barcelona railway station.
Type of cuisine: Catalan
Hours: 1:00pm - 3:45pm & 8:30pm - 11:45pm. Closed on Sundays.
City: Barcelona
Area: Eixample
Telephone: 93 215 7026
Address: Carrer Arago, 282
Directions: Arago/Passeig de Gracia. Near to La Pedrera & la Fundacio
Tapies.
Metro: Passeig de Gracia (L2, L3, L4)
PLA DE LA GARSA
Good wine, pates, cheese and charcuterie served amid a bustling atmosphere.
Set in a 16th century quarter of the city.
Type of cuisine: Mediterranean.
Hours: 1:30pm - 4:00pm & 8:00pm - 1:00am.
City: Barcelona
District: Old City - Zone: La Ribera
Telephone: 93 315 2413
Address: C/Assaonadors, 13
Directions: Near the Museo Picasso, across Carrer de la Princesa.
Metro: Jaume I (L4)
RESTAURANTE DEL HOTEL ESPANYA
Spectacular
modernista dining room designed by Domenech i Montaner. Perfect for a
quiet lunch or dinner.
Type of cuisine: Mediterranean.
Hours: 1:00pm - 4:00pm & 8:30pm - 12:00pm.
City: Barcelona
Area: Old City - El Raval
Telephone: 93 318 1758
Address: Carrer Sant Pau, 9-11
Directions: Off Las Ramblas near to the Liceu Theatre.
Metro: Liceu (L3)
SAGARDI
Basque
style bar restaurant serving spectacular pinchos (tapas). You can drink
beer, wine but better to try the txakoli (light sparkling wine poured
from on high) or cider, which jets out from the wall! You will be given
a plate for the cocktail sticks from the pinchos, count them to calculate
your bill. Heavenly smoked salmon and anchovies, cost depends on you!
Restaurant next door serving first class Basque food.
Type of cuisine: Basque
Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm & 7:00pm - 11:00pm.
City: Barcelona
Area: Old City - El Borne
Telephone: 93 319 9993
Address: Basea, 8
Directions: At the end of Carrer Argenteria near to Santa Maria del Mar.
Metro: Jaume I (L4)
Catalan Cuisine
The
variety and originality of Catalan cuisine will be a pleasant surprise
to most visitors. I am Catalan and although not a great exponent of the
culinary arts, I do love to EAT! In the past I have been suprised by the
reaction of foreign friends to dishes which I thought were universal,
such as "pan con tomate", which is the way we serve bread here,
rubbed with tomato, rather than spread with butter as elsewhere.
Here
are some of the main items which characterise Catalan Cuisine:
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Anchoas de L'Escala |
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I remember the suprise of a French friend seeing us eat a big sandwich
of these anchovies in Cadaqués, in place of the coffee and croissant
which she was expecting. |
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Arros
negre (arroz negro) |
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The most famous dish of the Costa Brava, which combines rice, squid,
fish, onions, tomatoes, olive oil and the ink from the squid.
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El
allioli |
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Garlic and oil paste to accompany grilled meat. |
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La
cava |
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A sparkling wine made in the same way as French champagne, produced
in the Penedés region close to Barcelona. It is the traditional
accompaniment to the special cocas (cakes) eaten on the night of
San Juan. But you don't need to wait 'till then try try a glass
of cava!
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El
chocolate suizo |
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Super-thick
chocolate with cream. It is served in a cup but you'll need a spoon!
The specialty of the Carrer Peritxol and the "Granjas Catalanas",
milk-bars of Barcelona. |
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Fideua |
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A type
of paella made with noodles, it originates from Gandia near Valencia. |
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La
butifarra |
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Grilled
sausages served with white beans. |
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La
coca |
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A cake
made with dried fruit or pine nuts, there are many varieties available
all year. Perfect for lunch, afternoon tea and for special festivals. |
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La
crema catalana |
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Served
in an earthenware dish with caramelised sugar on top, like a creme
brulée. The British go mad for this Catalan custard. |
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La
ensaimada |
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A pastry
for breakfast or afternoon tea. The specialty of Mallorca, don't leave
the island without one. |
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La
escalibada |
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Made from roasted peppers, aubergines, onions and tomato. The best
is my mother's which she makes in winter in the fireplace of the
family house at Moià. |
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La
escudella |
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Thick
soup with meat, ideal at Christmas. |
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Las
espinacas a la catalana |
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Spinach
cooked with pine nuts and sultanas. |
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Las
habas a la catalana |
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Beans
cooked with black-pudding (blood sausage), the specialty of my French
friend Muriel. |
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Los
bunuelos |
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Profiteroles
which seem to be full of air but beware... |
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Los
canelones |
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Home-made
canneloni, the best are from guest-houses in villages. |
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Los
embutidos |
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Charcuterie,
especially fuet, butifarra blanca, butifarra catalana and el bull
(a type of sausage which my Scottish friend saw in the fridge and
mistook for a haggis). |
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Los
rovellons |
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(Autumn),
grilled mushrooms with chopped garlic and parsley. The best are
those we gather near my friend Isabel's farm-house at Lluçà. |
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Mel
i mato |
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Young
fresh cheese (the best is from Montserrat) with honey. One of my favourite
desserts. |
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Pa
de pages |
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Round
loaf of bread cooked in a wood-fired oven, ideal for making pan con
tomate. |
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Postre
de músico |
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A
selection of nuts (normally served with a glass of sweet muscatel).
Why "music", well the musicians in the band never had
enough time in their meal break to have dessert, so they would put
a handful of nuts in their pocket to eat while they were playing. |
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Sopa
de galets |
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El caldo,
consommé from la escudella (see above) with huge pasta shells. |
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If Barcelona
is to be your first experience of Spain, there are some dishes which are
part of the national culture. Don't forget to sample these: 
and always
with olive oil, the pride of the nation.
¡Que aproveche! Bon profit! Bon appetit!
Eating survival guide
Be prepared!! In Barcelona your concept of time will change.
Midday is at 2:00pm, and the afternoon starts at 5:00pm - after lunch!
If you're coming from the UK for a long weekend, for once the time difference
works to your advantage. A 6:00pm flight from London Heathrow arriving
at 9:15pm will get you into the city at 10:00pm, just as the restaurants
are filling up for the first sitting! Turn up any earlier and they'll
tell you to come back later when they've opened.
It's 3:15am on a Friday or Saturday night and the streets around the Plaça
Real are packed with people. The bars have just closed and the highthawks
are moving on to a club or disco. For the more laid-back, just take a
stroll along the Ramblas where the kiosks stay open all night!
The Spanish word for afternoon, tarde, also means late... everything is
late. My theory? The time shift is essential to accommodate the unique
culture of social eating and drinking. Here's how the Barcelonese do it:
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