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$$ | Poble Sec |
A short stroll from the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and CaixaForum, this bustling brick-walled restaurant serves top-notch seasonal Catalan cuisine prepared on the grill. You order à la carte or go with the four-course prix-fixe menu, which is a good deal.
Carrer d'Amposta 1, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08004, Spain
Known For
- Artisanal charcuterie
- Seasonal ingredients
- Popular with locals
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon., reservations essential
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This restaurant has been serving old-school Catalan cuisine to local and loyal customers since 1940 (and under a different name for 50 years before that), and the practice has been made perfect. Standouts include butifarra sausage with spinach and chickpeas, meatballs with squid and shrimp, or veal stew with wild mushrooms. Most dishes are hearty, but there are a few lighter options such as steamed mussels and oven-baked cod.
Valldonzella 46, 08001, Spain
Known For
- Catalan specialties
- Large, hearty portions
- Historic location
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun., Reservations essential
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Since the early 1970s, Ca l'Isidre has elevated simplicity to the level of the spectacular, with traditional Catalan dishes prepared to an extraordinarily high standard (and at a rather high price tag by Barcelona standards). Ignore the menu—just follow the recommendations and order whatever's in season. The restaurant is decorated with original works by a slew of luminaries, including Miró and Dalí, both former patrons. Spain's King Juan Carlos celebrated his wedding anniversary here, and regular guests include politicians and visiting Hollywood celebrities.
Known For
- Once frequented by Miró and Dalí, whose work is on the walls, as well as current celebrities and politicians
- Locally sourced produce
- Art collection
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues., No dinner Wed. and Sun., Reservations essential
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$$ | Barri Gòtic |
With wicker chairs, stone walls, and classical music, this place is sophisticated-rustic in style. Contemporary Mediterranean cuisine specialties such as roast vegetable "timbale" with black sausage and Parmesan or eggplant terrine with goat cheese, make it more than just a café. Politicians and functionaries from the nearby Generalitat frequent this dining room, which is always boiling with life. Call ahead to reserve a table indoors or on the busy terrace.
Lledó 1, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08002, Spain
Known For
- Lively terrace
- Great set lunch
- Politician crowd
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed weekends, and 3 wks in Aug.
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$$ | | Spanish
This ordinary-looking village restaurant is the preferred dining place for many winemakers in the Penedès region, less than a one-hour drive from Barcelona. The traditional Catalan cuisine here is as good as anywhere, with a vast wood grill adding a smoky touch to dishes such as escalivada (grilled vegetables) with romesco sauce. The faux burger of pig's trotter sounds awful but tastes sensational. Desserts, including a note-perfect crema catalana, are equally good. Owner Santi keeps a wine cellar to please even the most demanding enophiles.
Pl. Subirats 5, Sant Pau d'Ordal, , Catalonia, 08739, Spain
Known For
- Note-perfect crema catalana
- Sensational faux burger of pig's trotter
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.
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$ | Gràcia |
Founded in 1931, this rustic corner restaurant is a local favorite for the array of classic tapas and mains, along with Catalan “pizza”—flatbread topped with traditional ingredients such as caramelized onion and butifara (garlicky pork sausage) or sobrasada (cured pork sausage) with brie and honey. There’s a small but decent wine list featuring several ecological wines.
Torrent de l'Olla 20, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08012, Spain
Known For
- Long list of croquetas
- Artisan cheese board
- Affordable prices
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Obsessively local, scrupulously sourced, and masterfully cooked, the dishes of Catalan-Canadian chef Jordi Artal put the spotlight on the region's finest ingredients in an intimate, sophisticated setting. It's hard to believe that this garlanded restaurant is Jordi's first, but there's no arguing with the evidence of your cinc sentits (five senses). There's no à la carte option, only a tasting menu priced at €149 and €169. For your money, you will be taken on a fun run-through of reinterpretations of traditional Catalan dishes using cutting-edge techniques, matched with wines exclusive to the restaurant.
Known For
- Excellent chef
- Awarded two Michelin stars
- Tasting menu only
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Mon., and public holidays, Reservations essential
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Local gourmands pilgrimage to this tiny, unassuming-looking bar on the edge of the famous Boquería market, where Catalan chef Arnau Muñío flexes his culinary chops in full view of the diners at his chef's-table-style counter. There are two tasting menus, one long, one short, both of which showcase Muñío's unique approach to Catalan-Asian fusion food. Think miso scallops with pickled mushrooms and shrimp in green tea kombucha. Capacity is extremely limited and reservations (well in advance) are essential.
Known For
- Accessible fine dining
- Asian-Catalan fusion
- Need to book ahead
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon., Reservations essential
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$$ | Poblenou |
Part of Poblenou’s Sala Beckett cultural center, this restaurant’s vast, high-ceilinged dining room fills up with locals at lunchtime, thanks to its excellent, well-priced menu del dia of classic Catalan dishes. Reserve a table for the popular Sunday afternoon vermouth hour, featuring live jazz.
Pere IV 228, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08005, Spain
Known For
- Affordable prix-fixe lunch (around €13)
- Cool industrial vibe
- Sunday live jazz
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$ | Poble Sec |
One of the city’s oldest restaurants (dating back to 1908), this homey spot that's popular for lunch serves unfussy Catalan cuisine in a lovely rustic dining room, complete with original multicolored-glass windows looking out on the tranquil Plaça del Sortidor. The paellas and arroz negro (black rice with squid) are particularly good.
Pl. del Sortidor 5, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08004, Spain
Known For
- Historic ambience
- Paella and rices
- Affordable prices
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon., Dinner Fri. and Sat. only
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"The Four Cats" was founded in 1897 by a quartet of Moderniste artists—the bohemians of their day—whose work still graces the walls, and the building, Casa Martí (1896), by Moderniste master Josep Puig i Cadafalch with sculptural detail by Eusebi Arnau, is a treat in itself. The restaurant in back offers a range of traditional Catalan dishes, but the cooking is uninspired and overpriced so stick to the front room café, where you can linger over a drink, order some of the simpler offerings like pa de coca (thin country flatbreads with tomato and olive oil), cheese, cured ham, or pebrots de Padrón (fried green peppers), and enjoy a bit of local cultural history.
Known For
- It's about the history, not the food
- Picasso's first exhibition was held here in 1899
- Keep a sharp eye on your valuables
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An embat is a puff of wind in Catalan, and this little bistro is a breath of fresh air in the sometimes stuffy Eixample. The highly affordable market cuisine is always impeccably fresh and freshly conceived, from the great-value three-course lunch selection to the more elaborate evening menu. Star dishes include duck cannelloni with truffle béchamel. The dining room is minimally decorated in white and pine to reflect the modern but unfussy fare.
Mallorca 304, 08037, Spain
Known For
- Modern, unfussy fare
- Stylish minimalist interior
- Market-fresh Catalan dishes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon., No dinner Sun. and Tues.–Wed.
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$$$$ | Eixample Esquerra |
Chef-owner Rafa Peña applies the skills he honed in the world's most celebrated kitchens at this excellent-value restaurant and its adjacent wine-tapas bar. Expect a well-chosen wine list and some of the most delightful dishes you can find in Barcelona: the tasting menu is the best way to sample what's on offer.
Provença 230, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08036, Spain
Known For
- Tapas of the day
- Adjacent wine-tapas bar
- Great, affordable cuisine
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed 1 wk in Aug., Reservations essential
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$$$ | |
The interior design of Oriol Ivern's small restaurant is minimalist, but his cooking is intricate—and wonderful. This is budget-conscious fine dining that avoids exotic ingredients but lifts local dishes to exciting new heights; the menu changes four times a year to take advantage of what's best in season. Local gastronomes come here for dishes like John Dory with truffle and salsify, and oxtail stew with burrata, delicately presented but always—and most importantly—delicious. The nine-course tasting menu is a steal at €85 (€110 with wine pairing).
Passatge de Marimón 9, 08021, Spain
Known For
- Great value tasting menu
- Extensive well-chosen wine list
- Local, seasonal ingredients
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and 1st wk of Jan., Reservations essential
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$$$$ | | Spanish
This famous pilgrimage—one of the best restaurants in Catalonia for the last 50 years—is 39 km (24 miles) up the beach north of Barcelona. Sisters Paquita and Dolores Reixach, officially retired, continue to oversee the same line of classical Catalan cuisine that, despite the name Hispania, has characterized this spot from the start. Faves amb botifarra negre (fava beans with black sausage) ranks high on the list of signature dishes here, but the fresh fish and seafood from the Arenys de Mar fish auction are invariably excellent. The dining room, a long glass rectangle surrounded by nature, adds to the elegant experience. It is easily reached by the Calella train from the RENFE station in Plaça Catalunya.
Ctra. Real 54, Ctra. N II, 2 km (1 mile) south of Arenys de Mar, Arenys de Mar, Catalonia, 08350, Spain
Known For
- Classic Catalan cuisine
- Ultrafresh local seafood
- Iconic restaurant
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and 2 wks in Oct. No dinner Mon.
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$$ | Eixample |
Streamlined but traditional Catalan cooking means this busy and attractive spot is always packed. The crowd may be boisterous, but the dining room is seriously elegant, with crisp white tablecloths, leather chairs, and a loftlike wall of windows. Excellent hearty food, smart service, and some of the best pa amb tomàquet in town will have you squeezing in for a table.
Balmes 47, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08008, Spain
Known For
- Traditional Catalan cuisine
- Always packed
- Best pa amb tomàquet in town
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted, Reservations essential
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$$ | Barceloneta |
Its proximity to Barceloneta’s bustling Passeig de Joan de Borbó makes this old-school tapas restaurant popular with tourists, but that doesn’t keep the locals away. Traditional Catalan small plates, including a delicious version of bombas—potato balls stuffed with meat, deep fried, and topped with a spicy sauce—are delivered by gruff but efficient waiters.
Maquinista 3, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08003, Spain
Known For
- Bombas
- Seafood tapas
- No-frills ambience
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
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$$ | Eixample |
Just two blocks uphill from Gaudí's Sagrada Família church, this kitchen serves lovingly prepared and clued-in dishes ranging from warm goat-cheese salad to foie (duck or goose liver) to chuletón de buey a la sal (beef cooked in salt). Decidedly old-school, the interior is largely unchanged since the restaurant opened in 1976. The "Yaya" (an affectionate term for grandmother in Spanish) was apparently of Basque origin, as the cuisine here is a pleasantly schizoid medley of Basque and Catalan.
Sardenya 364, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08025, Spain
Known For
- Old-fashioned charm
- Great value
- Medley of Basque and Catalan cuisine
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$$$ | Eixample |
Mont Bar's cramped interior belies the size of the flavors delivered from its kitchen. Star-quality morsels such as an oyster with apple and beetroot, and mochi stuffed with Mallorcan sobrassada (cured sausage) are complemented by an immense wine list. Don't be fooled by the laid-back ambiance as the size of the bill will be everything but casual.
Diputació 220, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08011, Spain
Known For
- Upmarket bistro atmosphere
- Pricier than the laid-back ambience might lead you to think
- Mix of fine-dining dishes and barroom snacks
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
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Filled with couples night after night, this candle-lit dining spot is an atmospheric spot that plays up the room's ancient stone, brick, and wood. The cuisine is light and contemporary, featuring inventive salads and fresh seafood, as well as options for vegetarians and vegans.
Bellafila 5, 08002, Spain
Known For
- Romantic ambience
- Extensive wine list
- Affordable lunch set menu