Catalan restaurants in Barcelona
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Elisabets
This unassuming restaurant is popular for no-nonsense local fare. The walls are lined with old radio sets and the menú del día (€10.75) varies daily. If you prefer a la carta, try the ragú de jabalí (wild boar stew) and finish with mel i mató. Those with a late hunger on Friday nights can probably get a meal here as late as 1am.
reviewed
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Casa Amalia
This restaurant is popular for its hearty Catalan cooking using fresh produce, mainly sourced from the busy market next door. The orange and white decorated joint has split level dining that makes the most of its space. On Thursdays during winter it offers the Catalan mountain classic, escudella. Otherwise, you might try light variations on local cuisine, such as the bacallà al allioli de poma (cod in an apple-based aioli sauce). The four-course menú del día is exceptional lunchtime value at €12.
reviewed
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Via Veneto
Dalí used to regularly waltz into this high-society eatery after it opened in 1967. The vaguely art-deco setting (note the oval mirrors), orange-rose tablecloths, leather chairs and fine cutlery may cater to more conservative souls, but the painter was here for the kitchen exploits. Catalan dishes dominate and the mouth waters at the mere mention of, say, rodaballo al horno con espárragos blancos, alcachofas y navajas del Delta del Ebro (oven-cooked turbot with white asparagus, artichokes and razor clams). The service is so good you barely notice the waiters’ presence.
reviewed
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Cal Boter
A classic eatery that draws families and noisy groups of pals for cargols a la llauna (snails sautéed in a tin dish), filet de bou a la crema de foie (a thick clump of tender beef drowned in an orange and foie gras sauce), and other Catalan specialities, including curious mar i muntanya (surf and turf) combinations like bolets i gambes (mushrooms and prawns). Finish with a xarrup de llimona amb mar de cava (lemon sorbet drowned in cava ). The menú del día (lunch Tuesday to Friday) comes in at a good-humoured €9.80.
reviewed
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Coure
The minimalist decor gives away that a chef with avant-garde ideas is at work in his laboratory-kitchen. The end results are far from over the top, leaning to nicely elaborated dishes such as the cochinillo ibérico con manzana al horno (oven-roasted suckling pig with apple). The set lunch menu (€18) is a great-value sample, popular with office workers all over the area. There’s also a tasting menu at €45. A curtain of copper chains hides the dining area from the bar in the entrance (the name is a play on words, meaning both ‘copper’ and ‘to cook’).
reviewed
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Bodega Sepúlveda
This tavern has been showering dishes (which they like to call tapas) on its happy diners since 1952. The main dining area is out the back and downstairs, with a small, low-ceilinged nonsmoking area upstairs. The range of dishes is a little overwhelming and mixes traditional (cold meats, cheeses and Catalan faves like cap i pota, a dish of chunks of fatty beef in gravy) with more surprising options like carpaccio de calabacín con bacalao y parmesán (thin zucchini slices draped in cod and parmesan cheese). You can hang out until 1am.
reviewed
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L’Havana
Little has changed in this cavernous, family-run place since it opened in the 1940s. The front dining area, with frosted glass windows, Modernista design touches and spaciously spread tables, is a touch more severe than the better-lit rear area. A great starter is the combinat, with three mussels, a smidge of amanida russa (potato salad), esqueixada and more. Meat and fish options follow, and the calamars farcits (stuffed calamari) are filling. Round off with homemade crema catalana.
reviewed
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Cafè de l’Acadèmia
Expect a mix of traditional dishes with the occasional creative twist. At lunchtime, local Ajuntament (town hall) office workers pounce on the menú del día (for €14, or €9.80 at the bar). In the evening it is rather more romantic, as soft lighting emphasises the intimacy of the timber ceiling and wooden decor. Offerings range from chuletón (huge T-bone steak) for two to guatlla farcida de foie d’ànec i botifarra amb salsa de ceps (quail stuffed with duck foie gras and sausage with a mushroom sauce).
reviewed
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Saüc
Pop into this basement place down a little Eixample laneway and you enter a soothing sanctuary. Sober designer decor, dominated by ochres, creams and buttercup yellows, allows you to concentrate on what emerges from the kitchen, such as tàrtar de anguila fumada, poma verda i caviar d’arengada (smoked eel tartare with green apples and salted sardine caviar). You can request half-size portions at 60% of the price. The tasting menu comprises an appetiser, four courses, then a cheese selection and two desserts (€78).
reviewed
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De Tapa Madre
A chatty atmosphere greets you from the bar from the moment you swing open the door. A few tiny tables line the window, but head upstairs for more space in the gallery, which hovers above the array of tapas on the bar below, or go deeper inside past the bench with the ham legs. Choose from a range of tapas or opt for a full meal. The arròs caldós amb llagostins (a hearty rice dish with king prawns) is delicious. The kitchen opens all day long, so you can pop by any time hunger strikes.
reviewed
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Can Travi Nou
This expansive 18th-century mansion has several dining areas that stretch out across two floors . The warm colours, grandfather clock and a wholesome, rustic air make for a magical setting for a Catalan splurge. The risotto de formatge (cheese risotto) makes a hearty starter, but the generous mains will please you even more. The arròs caldós amb llamàntol i cloïsses (rice stew with lobster and clams) is irresistible and it also does some tender grilled steaks.
reviewed
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El Glop
Step inside this raucous eatery decked out in country Catalan fashion, with gingham tablecloths and no-nonsense, slap-up meals. The secret is hearty serves of simple dishes, such as bistec a la brasa (grilled steak), perhaps preceded by albergínies farcides (stuffed aubergines) or calçots in winter. Try the tocinillo, a caramel dessert, to finish. Open until 1am, it’s a useful place to have up your sleeve for a late bite.
reviewed
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Ca la Nuri
With its white and grey tones, and schools of silver fish shapes seemingly skudding like wind-driven clouds along one wall, this is a classic for Catalan seafood and rice dishes. They have various set lunch menus, such as fideuá, arròs negre and seafood paella. Another good one is the arròs de l’avia Nuri (Grandma Nuri’s rice), a paella-style dish in which all the seafood creatures have been peeled.
reviewed
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La Bodegueta
For a homey Catalan atmosphere (complete with wine barrels, an old Frigidaire and gingham tablecloths), pop by this cheery spot. Options are limited to classic local favourites, including an array of charcoal-grilled meat dishes, such as a thick entrecot con Cabrales (steak with strong northern Spanish cheese). Balance with a graellada de verdures (mixed grilled vegetables) and wash down with a generous ceramic jug of house red.
reviewed
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Sureny
Appearances can be deceiving: the cooks in this unremarkable looking corner restaurant dedicate themselves to producing gourmet tapas and raciones, ranging from exquisite vieiras (scallops) to a serving of secreto ibérico, a particular tasty cut of pork meat (near the porcine equivalent of the armpit, perhaps that’s the ‘secret’). The menú del día is decent value at €9.90.
reviewed
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Mama i Teca
A tiny place with a half dozen tables, Mama i Teca is more a lifestyle than a restaurant. The setting is a multicultural and often rowdy street deep in El Raval. Locals drop in and hang about for a drink, and diners are treated to Catalan treats served without rush. How about bacallà al traginer (cod deep fried in olive oil with garlic and red pepper) or a juicy sirloin steak?
reviewed
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Chicoa
It looks as rustic on the inside as out, with ceramic plates decorating the walls, stone arches and dark wood all over. For traditional Catalan cooking, this is an address that loyal locals come back to time and again. Indeed, time seems to have stood still here since they opened back in the 1970s. A speciality of the house is anything to do with bacallà (salted cod).
reviewed
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Casa Calvet
An early Gaudí masterpiece loaded with his trademark curvy features now houses a swish restaurant. Dress up and ask for an intimate taula cabina (wooden booth). You could opt for vieires a la planxa amb tagliatelle i tomàquet confitat (grilled scallops with ribbon pasta and tomato confit). It has various tasting menus for up to €69, and a child’s menu for €16.
reviewed
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O’ Gràcia!
This is an especially popular lunch option, with the menú del día outstanding value at €10.50. The arròs negre de sepia (black rice with cuttlefish) makes a good first course, followed by a limited set of meat and fish options with vegetable sides. Serves are decent, presentation careful and service attentive. There’s a more elaborate tasting menu at €24.50.
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Alkímia
Jordi Vila, a culinary alchemist, serves up refined Catalan dishes with a twist in this elegant, white-walled locale well off the tourist trail. Dishes such as his arròs de nyore i safrà amb escamarlans de la costa (saffron and sweet-chilli rice with crayfish) earned Vila his first Michelin star. He presents a series of set menus from €37 to €79.
reviewed
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Can Pescallunes
A muted sort of place and decoratively stuck in another era the ‘House of the Moon-Fisher’ may be, but the family that runs this Catalan eatery are no slouches in the kitchen. Expect generous and well-prepared servings of such items as steak tartare or bacallà amb samfaina (cod with samfaina sauce). The first courses are equally good.
reviewed
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Ca L’Isidre
Lurking in an unappealing backstreet off El Raval, Ca L’Isidre is an old-world gem. Immaculately kept dining areas stretch away from the entrance, dominated by warm timber and tiles. Quietly efficient waiters waft about the place, which is frequently filled to capacity. King Juan Carlos and superchef Ferran Adrià love it.
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Can Cortada
More than anything else, it is the setting and the hearty welcome that make this 11th-century estate (complete with the remains of a defensive tower) worth the excursion. Try for a table in the former cellars or on the garden terrace. Lots of Catalan fare, like pollastre amb escamarlans (chicken and crayfish), dominates the menu.
reviewed
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La Llar de Foc
For a hearty sit-down meal at rock-bottom prices, the ‘Hearth’ is hard to beat. At lunch, it has a €9 menú del día. You could start with a mixed salad or empanadita (big slice of tuna pie), followed by chicken in a mild curry sauce or costellas (ribs). Go for flan for dessert, as the ice creams are on a stick.
reviewed
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Can Lluís
Three generations have kept this spick and span old-time classic in business since 1929. Beneath the olive-green beams in the back dining room, you can see the spot where an anarchist’s bomb went off in 1946, killing the then owner. Expect fresh fish and seafood. The llenguado (sole) is oven-cooked in whisky and raisins.
reviewed
