Barcelona restaurants - Catalan Cuisine

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.

Selection of Barcelona restaurants

El Cafetí
Tipo de cocina: catalana, arroces. Excelentes arroces y decoración kitsch con muebles antiguos en el corazón del Raval. Local con personalidad propia. Tipo de cocina: Catalana. Arroces. Ayuda para encontrarlo: Cerca de La Rambla a la altura del Liceu. Metro: Liceu (L3).
933292419  www.elcafeti.com Sant Rafael 18 Ciutat Vella - El Raval 30 Euros (precio medio por persona) 12 Euros (menú mediodía, días laborables)
Los Caracoles (Casa Bofarull)
Tipo de cocina: Catalana. Lugar con historia y personalidad. Ambiente muy especial. Las paredes están cubiertas de fotografías de famosos dedicadas. Excelente sangría. Cocina de calidad y buen servicio. Por la noche canta la tuna (canciones populares españolas). En la entrada del restaurante se encuentra un grill en el que se asan pollos. Dispone de una barra para tomar algo mientras se espera mesa. Ayuda para encontrarlo: Cerca de la Plaça Reial y La Rambla. Metro: Drassanes (L3).
933012041  www.loscaracoles.es Escudellers, 14 Ciutat Vella - Barri Gòtic 40 Euros (precio medio por persona) -- Euros (menú mediodía, días laborables)
Sagardi
Tipo de cocina: vasca Bar de tapas vascas y restaurante en pleno barrio viejo. Buenas tapas, buena comida y buena sidra. Tómese un txakolí (vino blanco vasco) y uno o más pinchos, no se arrepentirá. Ayuda para encontrarlo: Cerca de Via Laietana y de la iglesia de Santa María del Mar. Metro: Jaume I (L4).
933199993 / 902 520 522  www.sagardi.com Argenteria, 62 Ciutat Vella - Born 40 Euros (precio medio por persona) -- Euros (menú mediodía, días laborables)
Torre d'Altamar
Tipo de cocina: cocina marinera, mediterránea. Exclusivo restaurante situado en la torre de San Sebastián del teleférico, a 75 metros de altura sobre el mar, con vistas panorámicas sobre el mar y Barcelona.
+34 932210007  www.torredealtamar.com Passeig Joan de Borbó, 88 Ciutat Vella - Barceloneta 95 Euros (precio medio por persona) 70 Euros (menú mediodía, días laborables)
Restaurante El Consulado s.c.p.
Tipo de cocina: Mediterránea de mercado. Menú mediodía. Menú para grupos 20€. Excelentes ensaladas, crepes, pizzas y carnes. No se pierdan nuestros postres caseros. Todo ello en un ambiente familiar y la mejor relación precio-calidad. Situado entre Las Ramblas y el Paralelo, y junto al metro Paral.lel.
934419828  www.restauranteelconsulado.es Nou de la rambla,95 El Raval 15 Euros (precio medio por persona) 10 Euros (menú mediodía, días laborables)

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: 

	Anchoas de L'Escala		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.
	Arros negre (arroz negro)		The most famous dish of the Costa Brava, which combines rice, squid, fish, onions, tomatoes, olive oil and the ink from the squid.
	El allioli		Garlic and oil paste to accompany grilled meat.
	La cava		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!
	El chocolate suizo		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.
	Fideua		A type of paella made with noodles, it originates from Gandia near Valencia.
	La butifarra		Grilled sausages served with white beans.
	La coca		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.
	La crema catalana		Served in an earthenware dish with caramelised sugar on top, like a creme brulée. The British go mad for this Catalan custard.
	La ensaimada		A pastry for breakfast or afternoon tea. The specialty of Mallorca, don't leave the island without one.
	La escalibada		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.
	La escudella		Thick soup with meat, ideal at Christmas.
	Las espinacas a la catalana		Spinach cooked with pine nuts and sultanas.
	Las habas a la catalana		Beans cooked with black-pudding (blood sausage), the specialty of my French friend Muriel.
	Los bunuelos		Profiteroles which seem to be full of air but beware...
	Los canelones		Home-made canneloni, the best are from guest-houses in villages.
	Los embutidos		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).
	Los rovellons		(Autumn), grilled mushrooms with chopped garlic and parsley. The best are those we gather near my friend Isabel's farm-house at Lluçà.
	Mel i mato		Young fresh cheese (the best is from Montserrat) with honey. One of my favourite desserts.
	Pa de pages		Round loaf of bread cooked in a wood-fired oven, ideal for making pan con tomate.
	Postre de músico		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.
	Sopa de galets		El caldo, consommé from la escudella (see above) with huge pasta shells.

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:

	El jamon curado		Cured ham, called pernil in Catalan. A plate of finely sliced ham is an experience which can become addictive, as happened to my Scottish friend.
	Las tapas		A slice of bread topped by something delicious, a small portion on a plate to accompany a glass of wine or a beer, or simply a portion of olives. Something for every taste.
	La tortilla de patatas		Spanish potato omelette is the national dish par excellence. At dinner time the patios echo to the sound of eggs being beaten in the kitchens.
	La paella		Best made with rice from the delta of the Ebro. It can be made with fish, meat, or both. The degree of "bite" in the rice is the most important thing.

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:

	8:00am		Coffee and a croissant in a bar on the way to work. You'll see special offers of "cafe y croissant".
	11:00am		Second breakfast of a coffee or small beer, with a sandwich of jamon (dry cured ham), chorizo (spicy, sliced sausage) or a slice of tortilla española (omelette with potatoes), with pan con tomate (slice of bread rubbed with ripe tomato).
	2:00pm		Lunch is the bargain meal of the day. Even the most expensive restaurants offer excellent value "menus del dia" - menus of the day. A good and varied choice of starter (primer plato), main course (secundo plato) followed by coffee or a desert, and including a half bottle of wine.
			Siesta. An afternoon snooze back at the hotel is essential if you are to survive the night ahead. Many shops and businesses close from 2-5pm which makes the siesta possible.
	any time		A small beer or glass of wine with tapas (snacks served on bread or cocktail sticks), or spectacular pinchos (Basque style tapas) in one of the Basque bars.
	10:00pm		Dinner! With a few exceptions 10:00pm really is the time to eat. This is a substantial meal of hearty portions, meat and a wide variety of fish and shellfish cooked simply.
	12:00pm		The bars are starting to buzz. ... and tomorrow the cycle starts over again.