Barcelona Restaurants

Catalans are legendary lovers of fish, vegetables, rabbit, duck, lamb, game, and natural ingredients from the Pyrenees or the Mediterranean. The mar i muntanya (literally, "sea and mountain"—that is, surf and turf) is a standard. Rabbit and prawns, cuttlefish and meatballs, chickpeas and clams are just a few examples. Combining salty and sweet tastes—a Moorish legacy—is another common theme, as in duck with pears, rabbit with figs, or lamb with olives.

The Mediterranean diet, based on olive oil, seafood, fibrous vegetables, onions, garlic, and red wine, is at home in Barcelona, embellished by Catalonia's four basic sauces—allioli (whipped garlic and olive oil), romescu (almonds, hazelnuts, tomato, garlic, and olive oil), sofregit (fried onion, tomato, and garlic), and samfaina (a ratatouille-like vegetable mixture).

Typical entrées include habas a la catalana (a spicy broad-bean stew), bullabesa (fish soup-stew), and espinacas a la catalana (spinach cooked with oil, garlic, pine nuts, raisins, and bits of bacon). Toasted bread is often doused with olive oil and spread with squeezed tomato to make pa amb tomaquet, delicious on its own or as a side order.

Beware of the advice of hotel concierges and taxi drivers, who have been known to warn that the place you are going is either closed or no good anymore and to recommend places where they get kickbacks.

Barcelona may have more bars and cafés per capita than any other place in the world. Cafés serve an important function: outdoor living room, meeting place, and giant cocktail party to which everyone is invited. Be advised: the sidewalk cafés along the Rambla are noisy, dusty, overpriced, and overexposed to thieves and pickpockets. Bars and cafés close at varying hours, though most of the hot spots in and around the Born are good until about 2:30 am.

Catalan wines from the nearby Penedès region, especially the local méthode champenoise (sparkling white wine known in Catalonia as cava), adequately accompany regional cuisine. Meanwhile, winemakers from the Priorat, Empordà, and Costers del Segre regions are producing some of Spain's most exciting new wines.

Menús del día (menus of the day), served only at lunchtime, are good values.