Barcelona - A food & drink gude
I tell ya what, there’s not much more I enjoy in this life than a long weekend city break. The opportunity to spend some time somewhere new: eating all of its good food, drinking all of its good booze, seeing things you’ve only seen in books or videos online and maybe unearthing a hidden gem or two while walking through unfamiliar streets and getting lost in somewhere that is infinitely less shit than good ol’ blighty. There is one thing though; that moment after you’ve got everything booked and you sit down and then within minutes you’re overwhelmed with thoughts of making sure you spend your time wisely in a city where unless you’ve been before will only become familiar when you’re about to leave.
Barcelona is probably my favourite city that I’ve visited - it is positively bursting with great food & drink, it’s immersed in culture with some of the coolest Museums in Europe and steeped in History that is not only preserved but celebrated… look no further than the Sagrada Familia as proof of that. If funds were unlimited, you could easily spend a few weeks here and do something unique every day: whether it is a day dedicated to Gaudi with visits to the above mentioned Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and Casa Batllo or visits to the Moco & Picasso museums, cable car rides or a hike up a deceptively steep hill to watch the sunset at Carmel Bunkers. You can even get out of the city for a few hours with a high speed rail trip to Girona, home of some of the best restaurants and oldest cathedrals you can find in the world.
So, down below is a list of some of our favourite food spots from our time in Barcelona with a little section dedicated to a day trip in Girona - it’s by no means an exhaustive list of the fantastic food and drink Barcelona has to offer so I’d still recommend doing your own research but you won’t go far wrong by hitting up any of these places as part of your own trip.
EatMyTrip
Nearest Metro - Girona
Cost - Approx 20-25 Euro per person
Cost - Approx 20-25 Euro per person
EatMyTrip is a super popular brunch spot with two restaurants in Barcelona. The menu weaves in and out from your usual brunch type fodder to some more adventurous looking plates. We opted for the Superfood Breakfast (Like a fry up but with hummus,spinach and other veggie delights) and the Guacascramble (Eggs, Smoked Salmon, Creme Fraiche) and both were genuinely excellent. They were two of the more traditional style brunch options on the menu but had we not been at the tail end of 4 days of serious eating other dishes such as a Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast or a stack of Pancakes served with a candy floss cloud or a Thai inspired Eggs Benedict with Panang Curry hollandaise would likely have made the list. They don’t take bookings here so unless you’re lucky, you’ll probably have to queue for 15 minutes or so but I would absolutely say it’s worth the wait.
La Boqueria
Nearest Metro - LiceuCost - Can vary but can be as little as 10 euro pp
La Boqueria is synonymous with Barcelona and it’s hardly groundbreaking blogging here by including it on this guide. It does seem to split opinion between tourist trap and essential visit but to be completely honest, it’s a bit of both. It’s worth visiting but only at the right time and only for a quick bite and a wander around. The earlier you visit, the quieter it is and that’s why I’m recommending a morning visit to pick up a quick breakfast. There are plenty of fruit juices, empanada and charcuterie stalls as well as some seafood bars open quite early on and any of these are ideal to set you up for the morning while you traverse up and down the fresh produce stalls (which are the real attraction) taking in the steadily building atmosphere before it gets too crazy.
You can practically sense the history oozing out of La Colmena and unsurprisingly so considering it dates all the way back to 1849 - located conveniently just a short walk from Barcelona’s Museum quarter, it’s the ideal stop off on your way there to pick up a pastry and a coffee,, take a seat in the square outside and do a bit of people watching during the morning hustle and bustle. There’s a lot here that catches the eye from traditional handmade candies, cheesecakes and various other sweet or savoury pastries. It’s an utterly charming patisserie and one worth taking a few minutes out of your morning to go visit.
Located in the uber popular Barceloneta area, Perikete is a must visit Tapas bar in the middle of all of the hustle and bustle associated with the area. Located down an unassuming side street, it’s noticeable by its outdoor seating sheltered by Canopy only and inside a multitude of hanging legs of Jamon from the ceiling and walls adorned with multiple bottles of wine, vermouth and sherry.
If you’re going in the evening, expect to have to queue but it will be worth holding on but any other time should be relatively easy to bag yourself a seat. The general vibe here is organised chaos, your menu is a checklist of dishes and your order should consist of around 3 dishes per person to share. Don’t get ideas above your station either because the portions here are huge. They then come out as and when its your turn and fair warning that you may have to remind the staff that a dish hadn’t come out yet, but it’s fine, the only real problem you’ll have here is that you are going to find it impossible to pick just three.
The croquetas were the best we had in Barcelona and at 1.90 euro each you’ll find yourself ordering a few and then another for the walk home. Tapas classics such as a Tortilla can come in their traditional form or mixed with Acorn Pure Ham. If you order the Boquerones Fritos, you will get an entire school of perfectly fried fish and the Huevos Estrellados Con Jabugo (Broken Fried Eggs, Ham and Chips) is one of the most addictive bits of eating from the trip and dare I say the chips are better than any chip shop chips I’ve had in the UK.
There is plenty of Charcuterie and Cheese on offer too with a mountain of Jabugo Iberian Ham being the highlights in all of it’s sweet, delicate, perfectly preserved glory and is paired with some Payoyo & Idiazabal cheeses.
Anxoita Bodega
Nearest Metro - Passeig De Gracia
Cost - 3-10 euro per dish
Cost - 3-10 euro per dish
During an afternoon dedicated to Shopping, we were looking for Lunch but didn’t want to get sucked into one of the many tourist trap style restaurants around Placa de Catalunya. In a moment of perfect Irony while turning a street corner proclaiming “We’ll never find a hole in the wall type restaurant here” and then stumbling straight outside of Anxoita we ended up having one of the best meals of our stay in Barcelona.
We ate a particularly good set of Croquetas topped with Jamon, traditional Tortilla with Pan con Tomate and the best thing I ate in the entire time we were there in the form of an Anchovy on top of a Parmesan biscuit with tomato and Pistachio which considering I’d eaten at a michelin starred restaurant which hasn’t actually made this guide was a real contract and proof that usually the best food to be found is the most unassuming. A real gem and a must visit in Barcelona.
Takumi Ramen
Nearest Metro - Multiple dependent on shop
Cost - 15-25 euro pp
Cost - 15-25 euro pp
Just because you’re in Spain, it doesn’t mean you need to restrict yourself to eating Tapas for four days straight and one particular highlight for us was Takumi - a well celebrated chain of Ramen restaurants that can be found throughout Europe. You’ll have to do a bit of research as different branches will specialise in a particular type of Ramen with shops dedicated to Tonkotsu, Chicken and another with Yakisoba dishes. We went to the Chicken orientated restaurant located at Jaume I and indulged in the likes of an Okonomi Kara-aage (Fried Chicken with Kewpie and Okonomi sauce) Pumpkin Croquetes and a Terikyaki Wonton Shoyu Ramen that was loaded to heck with crispy chicken thigh, won-ton dumplings and a Shoyu broth that was up there with our local hero Matsudai. Oh and they have Kirin on draft - unreal. Takumi was genuinely a great discovery and is living proof that not all chains hate their customers as much as some UK favourites seem to do.
Two Schmucks
Nearest Metro - Sant Antoni
Cost - 10 euro per drink
Cost - 10 euro per drink
There’s a reason why Two Schmucks was named 7th best cocktail bar in the world last year and we loved it here so much that we ended up spending our last evening here after it impressed us so much during our first. This five star dive bar has a regularly changing menu but on this visit we particularly enjoyed a great vodka based cocktail that was laced with peach and a house made pistachio butter and there was also a “Panettone Martini” that came with pickled almonds. There are also some home made Soda’s if you don’t fancy any booze which were quality too. The staff here are knowledgeable, super friendly and happy to help if you want to go off menu and the bar itself is located in an area of Barcelona that has undergone something of a regeneration over recent years so there are plenty of fast food options to help soak up that liquor on your stumble back to the hotel.
Kælderkold
Nearest Metro - Liceu
Cost - 3-10 euro per drink
Cost - 3-10 euro per drink
If craft beer is more your vibe then in all honesty, Barcelona is full of bars which will scratch that itch, our favourite was Kælderkold located in one of the many side streets on La Rambla. It’s a dimly lit, counter seating only, basement bar looking wonder with a selection of beers taken mostly from various microbreweries located in Barcelona. If you’re feeling particularly dangerous then there’s also real value to be had in a very generously priced flight of five beers for just 15 euros which considering the strength of some of the beers could actually be construed as attempted murder. If beers aren’t your vibe then there’s also vermouth and cocktails on offer including a potent sounding Michalada. There are bar snacks available too with boards of charcuterie with pico available for a measly 5-10 euro.
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| Picture courtesy of TripAdvisor (user: Sonnenblume 68) |
Girona
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We also ate at Maguey Mexican Cantina which was so good it convinced us that our next holiday absolutely needs to be in Mexico. Shrimp Aguachile was an absolute melting pot of flavour that’ll bring your mouth alive with loads of sweet, fat shrimp and super acidic lime, perfectly ripe avocado, and hot chilli. There’s a load of Cucumber to help cool the palate and some freshly made Tostada to provide some extra crunch. Taco’s were the main order of the day and the staff advised on some Campechanos which is a mix of pork loin and chorizo and in all honesty not much else - served with a potent hot sauce and house made corn tortillas to make a super savoury bite in which you can't help but go back for more.
