Must Eat: Barcelona

Barcelona is synonymous of Gaudi, but also of amazing Catalan food.  Here are some restaurants and dishes recommendations for when you visit Barcelona.

Tapas

When in Barcelona, tapas are the way to go.  Tapas are small plates, but large enough to allow you to share and gives you the chance to try additional dishes.  My recommendation is to start with a few cold tapas and move on to some hot options.  Order a few at a time and enjoy your time eating them.  Catalans take their time eating- they drink, eat, talk, and eat some more.  It’s about the whole experience.  Order some sangria, a glass of vino de la casa, or some cava, and enjoy the yumminess.

El Pintxo de Petritxol – Located in the Gothic Quarter, tucked away in a small street just one block east of Las Ramblas, this Basque owned place is a little gem you should visit.   Grab a seat at the bar, or follow the Spaniards and stand to enjoy your tapas.  For large families, this restaurant is a great option as they offer plenty of tables to accommodate large parties.  This restaurant offers very affordable tapas and has extensive options of cold and hot tapas.  You grab any cold tapa from the display on top of the bar, and save the toothpick, at the end of the night, the waitstaff will charge according to the number of toothpicks you have accumulated.  All cold tapas are the same price. The hot menu offers a selection of hot tapas and Basque dishes such as oxtail stew and tender tripe cooked in a divine tomato broth, delicious.  I highly recommend ordering both.  At El Pintxo de Petritxol, the seafood is fresh, we found the hot dishes to be authentic Basque deliciousness.   

Carrer de Petritxol, 9,

La Fonda– Also located in the Gothic Quarter, about two blocks from Las Ramblas, this Mediterranean restaurant has amazing Sangria and super delicious black fideuà.  Fideuà is a thin noodle Catalans use to make a Catalonian paella- instead of rice, they use the thin noodles.  La Fonda has the most amazing fideuà I have ever eaten, cooked with large prawns, clams, and calamari in black ink sauce.  In addition to fideuà, I recommend you also try the Cazuela de Mariscos, at La Fonda, this is a shellfish stew, cooked in a delicious sauce, it’s so delicious, I can still taste it!  The food portions are large, enough to share and the prices are quite reasonable.

Carrer dels Escudellers, 10

El Quim de la Boqueria– This is the most amazing spot to eat in Barcelona, must not be missed.  Located inside of St. Joseph Market, this is a magnificent food stall.  Most likely you will need to wait a while to grab a seat, only bar seats are available and at all hours there are plenty of people waiting for a seat.  My husband Ernesto and I had met Chef Quim at one of Chef Jose Andres events at Jaleo restaurant in the state of Virginia, USA.  Chef Quim was an invited guest of Chef Jose Andres and prepared a few Catalan Paellas for the Paella Festival at Jaleo.  We were looking forward to visiting not only the market, but also his food stall.  And it was simply amazing, each dish we ate was better than the last.  Everything was beautifully cooked and delicious. Start with the baby squid and eggs.  This dish was delicate and delicious, two over easy eggs, dripping deliciousness topped with soft baby squids, grab some crusty bread, you will need it!  Also order the oxtail, fall off the bone, delicious, tender and hearty.  In addition, please do not leave without trying the oxtail risotto, creamy, cheesy and the oxtail meat is just perfection.  The garlic shrimp were sweet and perfectly garlicky, and the codfish tapas, served with grilled eggplant, tomato, in a delicious cheese and balsamic sauce was decadent.  Our experience at Quim de la Boqueria was so delicious, that I would certainly grab a cheap flight to Barcelona, just to eat at this place again.   

Local 606, Mercat de La Boqueria, Rambles, 91

Vinitus Germà Petit – While waiting for our scheduled entrance time to visit Casa Batlló, just one block from Passeig de Gràcia, we stumbled into this perfect tapas restaurant.  We ordered a bottle of chilled cava and shared tapas from their extensive menu.  I absolutely loved everything we ordered. The tortilla was made to order, and it was fluffy and delicious.  The fried calamary was fresh and delightful, the red prawns in garlic sauce were cooked perfectly and the pieces of garlic were sweet and savory.  All seafood we ordered was fresh, and cooked to perfection.  Ask the server to recommend options from their daily special, we did this, and our server was amazing recommending dishes that were fresh and delicious.  If waiting for your entrance time at Casa Batlló or after visiting Casa Batlló, stop by Vinitus Germa Petit to enjoy delicious food.     

Carrer d’Aragó, 282