ChI Eats
…Where to lunch, where to dine
(with another nod to Monocle)
Fast Breakfast
Meson del Café
16 Llibreteria
+ 34 93 315 0754
Business Breakfast
The Café Veranda in the Hotel Arts, 19-21 Marina
+ 34 93 221 1000
Coffee
Mauri, Rambla de Catalunya & Provenca, for the best cakes, marzipan croissant, and good coffee. The oldest, and some say best, café/patisserie in Barcelona. It has a useful deli with good prepared dishes, cheeses, and more, next to the café.
Image courtesy of farm4.static.flickr.com
Crusto, Calle Valencia (corner with Balmes) for good coffee, great selection of breads, sandwiches.
Lunch
In Raval
Silenus Café Restaurant just off Las Ramblas, near the MACBA (museum of modern art) in El Raval, off Placa Catalunya and Las Ramblas, round the corner from the Casa Camper Hotel, on Angels 8, tel +34 93 302 26 80 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
In El Born
Petra on Carrer Sombrerers in El Born
Tel 34 93 319 99 99 Basque style food in a Philipino-run restaurant. Fantastic gnocchi in crab sauce, and pink gazpacho – though not always on the menu. Inexpensive and wonderful! Worth reserving a table.
Post-Hangover/Rainy Day Lunch
Panchitos, a friendly little Mexican dive on Aribau with Muntaner (also has a branch in Pedralbes). The real thing…, including beer in a metre-long glass, margaritas, and fantastic fried cheese n beans. Yesss!
Working Lunch with Colleagues
El Trillo
3 c/ Àngels
+ 34 93 443 9317
Need-to-Impress-Clients Lunch
Mantequeria Ravell
313 c/ Aragó
+ 34 93 459 3956
Need-to-Impress-Clients But on a (relative) Budget Lunch
El Gran Cafe, established in 1920, offers a beautiful period surrounding and a surprisingly affordable menu of the day at lunchtime, in the heart of the Gothico, just near the Adjuntamento.
C. Avinyo, 9. tel 933 187 986.
Image courtesy of www.barcelonatourisme.com
Lunch on Your Own
Bar Daguiri
59 Grau i Torras
+ 34 93 221 5109
Afternoon Tea/Drink
Mauri on R. de Catalunya with Provenca
Jamaica at the top of R. de Catalunya near the Diagonal
Semon
31 Ganduxer
www.semon.es
Tapas
The list is long. A basic rule of thumb is avoid Passeig de Gracia – high prices, low quality, mostly.
That said, the adjacent Rambla de Catalunya offers the Ciudad de Comdal, Ramblas de Catalunya with Gran Via, which has really good tapas, and is frequented by a lot of locals. The chipirones (fried baby squid) and pimientos del pardon (grilled, salty little green peppers) are particularly good.
In the Barrio Gothico, Mundial on Placa Sant Augusti Vell, 1 (tel 933 199 056) has amazing seafood tapas, but it gets really, really full, so go early, stand at the bar (or get a table if you can), and eat on! Closed Mondays.
For “international” tapas, Mosquito Tapas, Carrer Carders 46 tel +34 93 268 75 69 www.mosquitotapas.com is a nice Pan-Asian fusion tapas joint.
La Bodegueta, whose tiny bar is next to Panama Jack, with its terrace on the Rambla de Catalunya
Dinner on your Own
Flash-Flash
25 Granada de Penedès
+ 34 93 237 0990
Relaxed Dinner
C. Enrique Granados, on the left of Eixample is a pretty street with lots of good restaurants, cafes, shops etc (parallel to the Rambla Catalunya about 3 blocks in).
ChI’s favourites include Ponsa, on Enrique Granados, 89 for real Catalan food, and not a tourist in sight.
Stile, at Enrique Granados, 67, has a great Italian menu, pleasant Spanish and Italian wines at reasonable prices, good lighting and really nice pizza.
Botavara, Placa Barceloneta 3-4, tel 221 47 58 has great, genuine menu food, low key atmosphere and no tourists.
For fine Catalan dining at reasonable prices, 18 Octubre, C. Julian Romea in Gracia is a must-do experience. Be sure to book as it’s very small, with limited tables. Do not speak either French or Castilian to the owner (don’t ask) but English, and of course Catalan, are fine! Tel 93 218 2518.
An old-style Catalan café-restaurant-brasserie on C. Roger de Lluria near Plaza Urquinaona, is Casa Alfonso, Roger de Lluria 6. Tel 93 301 97 83/93 412 04 60.
Bar Mut, on the corner of Pau Claris and R. de Lluria, for a great selection of wines, fantastic food and a chilled out atmosphere of casual dining and high quality dishes. Mut (which is said to be Woody Allen’s favourite restaurant in Barcelona) does two dinner sittings, at 8.30pm and 10.30pm. Reservations are a must. Tel +34 932 174 338.
Dinner with colleagues
Xalet
31 Avenida Miramar
+ 34 93 324 9270
www.xaletdemontjuic.com
Flash Dining
Exclusive, avante-garde Mediterranean cuisine can be found in the Torre de Sant Sebastia, 75 metres above the sea. Thanks to its huge plate glass windows, this is a dining experience marked by impressive views of Barcelona and the sea. Closed mid day Mondays and all day Sundays; closed Dec 22-Jan 7. Timings: 13.00-15.30 and 19.00 to 23.30. Located at Pg. Joan de Borbó 88 - Torre de Sant Sebastià - 08039, Barcelona Tel. 93 221 00 07 Fax 93 221 00 90 E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and http://www.torredealtamar.com”>www.torredealtamar.com .
Gourmet Dining
Moo Restaurant in Hotel Omm, Rossello 265, Tel 34 93 445 40 00, Fax 34 93 445 4004. “And a good cigar is more than just a smoke….”
What can ChI say – the most amazing food short of the one year waiting list for El Bulli – endless courses of unbelievable delicacies, superbly presented, each with accompanying glass of specially-chosen wine to compliment the dish, finishing with “A taste of Havana: a frozen cigar” (yes, really), an absolutely to-die-for dessert, infused with the smoke of Partagas No 2.
Worth a trip to Barcelona for this alone. Good value for money, as well.
Private Dinner
7 Portes
14 Pg Isabel II
+ 34 93 319 3033
7portes.com
Big Dinner with Partner Clients
Botafumeiro
81 Gran de Gracia
+ 34 93 218 4230
botafumeiro.es
Late Bite
Trobador
(Kitchen open until 01.30)
122 Enrique Granados
2 Rambla Catalunya
46 Ferran
“Bistronomics”
And for something new in town, try the phenomenon of “bistronomics, dedicated to offering high quality, contemporary cooking (occasionally quite clever) at reasonable prices. One example of this is the austere Gresca restaurant, where tiny white flowers dot the tuna tartare. At first you think they are just garnish - a pretty contrast to the ruby-red heap of diced fish. Then you taste them: garlic – flavour without overpowering the sweetness of the dish. But then, you’ve come to expect cleverness on the plate. This is Barcelona. Gresca, Provença 230; 34-93-451-6193; www.gresca.net ) Other examples of this style are Embat, Catalina Catalina (Anglí 4 bis; 34-93-206-1791; www.catalina.es ), Hisop (Passatge Marimón 9; 34-93-241-3233; www.hisop.com ),
(With a nod to Lisa Abend of the New York Times).
UPDATES:
Restaurante Carballeira offers wonderful Galician cuisine, specializing in seafood from the Rias Gallegas (and don’t forget to try the light verdejo Galician wine as an accompaniment). Near the port, on Reina Cristina 3. tel 933 101 006.
For upscale Chinese food conveniently located just off the Ramblas, in a wonderful old colonial building opposite the Meridien hotel, La Xina, owned by the renowned Tragaluz restaurant group, also offers a good value set menu for lunch. C. Pintor Fortuny, 3. Tel: 933429628.
And if your tastebuds are yearning for a fiery change from all that Catalan food, try the very authentic Tandoor Indian restaurant on C. Calabria 144 tel 93 425 32 06.