Whether it’s as a couple or with a group of mates, Barcelona is always a good idea. You’ve got a beautiful beach, buzzing nightlife, amazing architecture, and incredible tapas. The people who live here definitely have it good.
📝 Drinking; Barcelona has a lot of great cocktail bars. Here’s a few of my favourite – Paradiso (currently ranked number one on 50 best bars), Sips, Two Schmucks, Dr. Stravinsky, Dry Martini, Tandem Cocktail Bar. Or for vermut – Moro Fi.
📝 Taxis are slightly cheaper than Uber and you can pay by card.
📝 Beware of pickpockets. Especially on the beach and around Las Ramblas.
📝 Also if you are travelling by boat I recommend using ferryhopper.com to book your tickets.
1. La Cova Fumada
📍Barceloneta. Another one of my favourites. A popular old tapas bar (est 1944) in the beachside neighbourhood of Barceloneta. This restaurant is known for creating the ‘bomba de la Barceloneta’ (a large round fried croquette, filled with beef and topped with aioli and bravas-style sauce – an item that’s now on tapas menus all over the city. It’s always busy. Put your name down and ask for a beer whilst you wait. Open for lunch only. Closed Sunday-Tuesday.
2. El Xampanyet
📍Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. This buzzing tapas bar dates back to the 1920s. Waiting for a table can take some time so arrive early or be prepared to wait. I like all the dishes here but the standout ones for me are the pluma Iberica (Iberico pork neck) with padron, as well as the grilled squid with slow-cooked vegetables. Drinking the house cava which the restaurant is named after.
3. Bar Canete
📍 El Raval. A beautiful upmarket tapas spot with one long marble bar (similar vibe to Barrafina in London) serving a beautiful mix of classic and modern dishes. Great service, food, and atmosphere. The small dishes are well priced but they quickly go up to around €20 for some of the mains (but they’re worth it). Make your booking online ahead of time or show-up early/be prepared to wait.
4. Can Paixano
📍Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. Also known as La Xampanyeria (the Champagne bar). I’ve been coming to this place for years now and it’s always one of the first places I recommend to people visiting the city. The bar has been serving house-made cava since 1969 at ridiculously low prices (it’s around €9.40 for a bottle in or €5.40 if you’re taking it to go). It’s always busy and they have introduced a new queuing system so expect to wait a bit to get in at busy times.
5. Cal Pep
📍Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. One of Barcelona’s top tapas bars since 1989. It was even once listed as high as No.31 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. I went for the scallops & foie gras, chickpeas & squid, artichokes and of course finished with the crema catalana. The tortilla is often mentioned as one of the best in city too. Great food, great service and great atmosphere.
6. Lluritu
📍 Vila de Gràcia La Vila de Gràcia. A classy but casual seafood restaurant. Big marble tables, cañas of cold beer and stacked plates of shellfish, prawns and fish. The house specialty is lorito (the fish the restaurant is named after). It’s only in season from September to March. The fish comes lightly fried and served with a simple side of seasonal vegetables. It’s not cheap due to availability and demand.
7. La Plata
📍El Gotic. A Gothic Quarter favourite since 1945. There are only six items on the menu; fried butifarra sausage pincho, anchovies, tomato salad, olives, pan con tomate and the most popular, pescaditos (small fried fish). The bar is open from 11:00-15:00 and 18:00-23:00 six days a week and always busy. The prices are great, with the fried fish only being €3.50 and beers from €2.50.
8. El Vaso De Oro
📍Barceloneta. One of the tastiest things you’ll eat in Barcelona – solomillo con foie (steak & foie gras) at Cerveseria Vaso de Oro. The steak is fried rare and topped with foie gras, fried onions and plenty of salt. It completely melts in your mouth. This spot is one of a few iconic tapas bars in the Barceloneta neighbourhood that’s always busy. The dish is a bit on the expensive side but you won’t regret ordering it – go for a racion instead of a full as it’s incredibly rich.
9. Colmado Wilmot
📍Sat Gervasi-Galvany. From ex El Bulli chef, Eugeni de Diego. It’s not in a well visited part of town for a tourist but well worth the fifteen minute drive/cycle from La Rambla. ‘Colmado’ roughly translates to ‘deli’, which is what Colmado Wilmot is – a posh deli which also doubles as a restaurant. I went for the snails, tortilla with txistorra, Albondigas (meatballs) in stroganoff sauce & torrija (a Spanish version of French toast) smothered in a caramel sauce. The tortilla and torrija were must-orders for me.
10. Quimet & Quimet
📍Sant Antoni. Family-run Quimet & Quimet, known as one of Barcelona’s busiest tapas bars started life in 1914 as a wine shop. From the early days, to help sell their wine, they would offer dishes of preserved food, like anchovies or olives. Over the year the wooden wine barrels were taken out to make more space and the dishes developed too. Nowadays they offer contemporary tapas dishes with unusual and imaginative combinations.
11. El Quim de la Boqueria
📍 El Raval. One of the most popular tapas bars La Boqueria market. It’s open early and almost always busy. Stand behind whoever looks like they’re closet to finishing and grab a seat after them. One of the popular dishes to get here is the baby squid with fried with eggs.
12. Tapeo
📍Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. A modern tapas bar across the street from El Xampanyet. The standout item for me here were the Iberico pork ribs.
13. La Bombeta
📍Barceloneta. Bombas – deep-fried mashed potato balls, stuffed with minced meat and topped with alioli and spicy sauce. They originated from the Barceloneta neighbourhood (specifically @la_cova_fumada) but can now be found on menus all over the city (I think my favourite one is at @bar_canete). La Bombeta is one of the originals to be serving these, making up to 1,000 fresh each day. I also ordered Ensaladilla & chiperones.
14. Bar Leo
📍Barceloneta. I don’t think you’ll find this working-class, family-run bar on any lists as the food, although good, is quite simple, but it has so much character. I walked past it several times at different points in the day and it was always busy. If you’re looking for a place to day drink in Barcelona, this is it. The walls are plastered with a Spanish singer called Bambino and flamenco music is played at a ridiculous loud volume. If inside is too loud they have outdoor perches on both corners so you have a choice of sun or shade.
15. Can Sole
📍Barceloneta. Founded in 1903, Can Sole has been a popular choice for seafood and paella in Barceloneta for over a hundred years. Expect white table cloths and top-level service. It’s quiet at lunch, especially during the week, but busy in the evenings. You can book ahead online or over the phone.
16. Cerveceria Catalana
📍 Dreta de l’Eixample. This place always has queues coming out the door. You can either wait for a table or try and grab a seat by the bar when there’s space. Some of my favourite dishes here is the plate of sautéed mushrooms with egg yolk, filet mignon with foie gras on bread and fried Brie covered in almonds with jam.
17. La Bodega d’en Rafel
📍Sant Antoni. An old-school bar that’s been a Sant Antoni neighbourhood favourite since the 1980s. Except classic tapas dishes, ice cold beers, and house-made vermut. My favourite dish was the chicharrón (crispy pork belly).I love the tiled walls in here too.
18. Bar Brutal
📍Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. Casual wine bar with small plates in the front, sit-down restaurant in the back. The food is a mix of Italian and Catalan cuisine. All of the wine is natural.
19. El Chigre
📍Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. A mix between Asturias and Catalunya cuisine. Part vermouth bar, part sidreria cider bar. You’ll find modern spins on the classics here.
20. Bar Del Pla
📍Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. Open all day and always lively. They serve some great tapas and are known for their quality wine selection too.
21. La Mar Salada
📍Barceloneta. Another great spot for seafood and paella in Barceloneta.
22. Parking Pizza
📍Multiple Locations. Usually I’m very strict about only eating Spanish food in Spain, Italian food in Italy and Greek food in Greece but decided to break my own rules for Parking Pizza as it is widely mentioned as the best pizza in Barcelona. The original location is set within an old car park – hence the name. The pizza here is very good. The base is a little thinner and crispier than your standard Neopolitan. They now have a few locations plus a Parking Pita (which looks a little like Miznon) too.
23. Compa
📍Barceloneta. Ok, a second Italian spot on the list. Compa make delicious Italian sandwiches with quality ingredients in crispy focaccia.
James Dimitri 