Guide to Barcelona

Barcelona Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, Markets and Shops

חמישי, 09 ספטמבר 2010 13:28

מסעדות בברצלונה

If you feel like splashing out and doing something amazing, then visit Comercio 24. (Calle Comercio 24, which is at the end of Calle Princesa). The owner/ chef worked at El Buli in the Costa Brava for many years. El Buli is considered to be one of the worlds top restaurants. Comercio 24 has a tasting menu for about 75€, excluding wine, which gets you about 12 small courses...all wonderful. The chef is prepared to lean the menu in various directions. If you´re vegetarian, or don´t eat fish etc, he is happy to help! They serve lunch and dinner. It´s not so formal that it feels uncomfortable and the service is professional without being pretentious.

Just around the corner is La Paradeta, the best place in town for the catch of the day. It´s set up like an actual fishmongers and cheap. Get there as soon as it opens at about 20.30 as they don´t take reservations and the line gets very long (mostly locals, some tourists in the know) very quickly. Once you´re in, you point out what you want and how much of it, langostinas, sardines, crab, gambas, John Dory etc, you get a number, pay and grab a table. You´ll hear your number and collect what ever it is the kitchen has prepared first. No table service, super informal, great food. La Paradeta is just behind the old Mercat del Born structure at the end of Paseo del Born. Calle Comercial 7.

Also in the Born is a Barcelona institution. El Xampanet is a family run tapas bar that hasn´t changed in decades. It is in Calle Montcada, the same street as the Picasso Museum, and serves sparkling bottles of rose and white wine that are ridiculously cheap along side finger food such as little plates of anchovies, artichokes and Manchego cheese. Fills up quickly as it is widely known about, but makes a nice stop.

Vinya del Señor has a pretty terrace in front of the Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral in the Born. It´s loved by locals and tourists alike. The wine selection is great as is their small selection of tasty tapas. When the weather is bad, inside is intimate and cosy with a couple of small tables and stools at the bar.

Not really a cafe at all, but just behind Vinya del Señor is Bubo, a fabulous chocolate/dessert shop where you can sit down at the little bar for a coffee and a fruit tart or macaron. There is an actual Bubo café a couple of doors up that serves sandwiches and little morsels.

Whilst on the subject of specialist shops, the Born is brimming with them. Around the corner from Viña del Señor and Bubo is the Vila Viniteca in Calle Agullers, 7, a fantastic wine shop offering a huge list of wines and personal advice if you want it. It is the go to place for countless local restaurants. They have also opened a deli next door just across the way that specializes in Spanish delicacies. Another great wine shop is situated just across the street from the apartment. It´s called Neras.

For meat eaters there is a bio butchers just before Paseo del Born by the side entrance of the cathedral. For all sorts of coffee beans El Rey Magico is a local favourite on Calle Argenteria. They also sell loose tea etc on the other side of the street. Ivo & Co are two shops located opposite one another on a quiet street off the Paseo del Born near Sandwich & Co. The first shop they opened focuses on very cute children´s toys, objects, decorative pieces and a small selection of clothes. All with a vintage French/English twist. Their second shop is the very nice grown up version.

Our most visited of restaurants in Barcelona and all time favourite is Café de l´ Academia in Calle Lledó, (Plaza Sant Just) in the gothic quarter. For the warmer spring, summer and early autumn months they set up a charming little terrace in what is Barcelona´s oldest square. Inside is relatively small, rustic and intimate. The service has always been great as has the Mediterranean/ Catalan food. They are closed at the weekends, but open for lunch and dinner Monday to Friday. At lunch there are two options a la carte or the three course set menu. On the terrace the set menu will set you back about 16€, inside 14€ and at the bar 11€ including wine. I can highly recommend the assortment of desserts. There is always a broad mix of clientele, officials from the Catalan parliament and town hall (just around the corner in Plaza Saint Jaume), locals from the `barrio´, people like me that have lived here for years and tourists….Academia has deservedly, but sadly made the guide books!

Just on the corner in the same square as Café de L´Academia is a cute bar called Ginger. It is a very intimate place split between three levels. The 30´s style interior, lends itself well to the laid back jazzy vibe. They serve cocktails and great small dishes.

Pla (Calle Bellafia 5, in the gothic quarter) is another great little restaurant around the corner from Academia, there´s no terrace and it´s only open for dinner but the fusion food is really good. It´s small with a second balcony level, romantic with little blue fairy lights and has very attentive service.

The narrow street leading from Calle Jaume Primero up to Calle Lledo has a fantastic cheese shop. Although it is owned and run by a Scottish lady, she has lived here for years, is fluent in Catalan and sells a wide variety of Spanish cheeses. For a small amount you also have the opportunity to taste three of four types.

The best places to shop for fresh produce are undoubtedly the Boqueria Market on the Ramblas and the Santa Caterina Market just off Via Laietana in the Ribera. The Boqueria has more character coming from a longer tradition, but is also visited daily by literally thousands of tourists. Having said that, it remains a hive of activity for locals that live in the area. If you´re shopping there, admire the stools near the impressive main entrance, but buy at the back where fruit and veg are less prettily displayed but, a lot cheaper. The fish is better at the Santa Caterina Market where it´s fresher and you won´t be cheated! The Boqueria is also a fantastic place to try local market fresh food at any of the many bars dotted through the market or the restaurants huddled together along one side.

Santa Caterina´s colourful roof is alone worth a look. Inside you´ll find a lot less tourists and therefore something with a low key local feel. The olive oil shop is a nice place to stop and Bar Joan is a straight forward market bar for simple food and good coffee. The bakery near the market´s main entrance is the best in the immediate area, making a good selection of breads. The bar just across from the bakery has some good tapas. The swankier restaurant under the same roof as the market, La Cuina de Santa Caterina, has a huge open kitchen split between Asian, Japanese, vegetarian and Mediterranean cuisines. The food is nice, but the tapas and small portions served at the thick white marble bar at the entrance are the real treat.

A block away from the far side of the market, the narrow street second on the left will lead you to Plaza Fonollars. There you will find about four bars/restaurants with terraces in a spacious square offering small Italian pizzas, focaccias, tapas and inexpensive set lunch menus. Not many tourists turn up, it´s a very local square with a few expats. Calle Carders runs past the bottom of the square and is where you´ll find little mini markets often open late and on Sundays. In these places you can get more `exotic´ North African, Chinese, Indian and Pakistani products. There are is also a fabulous North African bakery.

There are many restaurant choices by the beach, obviously given the location there will be many tourists too. If you want to dine al fresco by the sea at the Villa Olimpic end, some good options are Agua and Bestial. Both have huge pretty terraces that are always buzzing and both places serve tasty Mediterranean dishes. I personally prefer the narrower strip of promenade taking you from the Barceloneta towards Villa Olimpica. Cala Nuri and Arenal hasn´t disappointed yet and the decked terraces are actually on the sand. The food is Catalan, fresh and fishy. These places feel more typical of Barcelona than many other restaurants along the beach, is open for lunch and dinner and serves a lunch time set menu for around 13€. Sal is another nice low key place, where a set lunch menu costs about 10€. Although the food is simple but fresh and again you can eat on a decked terrace on the sand. In front there is a huge climbing frame on the beach which is great for kids.

A charming place to stop for coffee or a bite can be found in the inner courtyard of the Frederic Mares Museum, Café de Estiu. The entrance is across from the side entrance to the cathedral. Inside is a fountain and lots of shade under the orange trees. It´s surprisingly quiet even during the height of summer. Open from April to October.

Holiday Apartments Barcelona Barcelona Property