Barcelona and Madrid Restaurants
 

We are traveling to Barcelona and Madrid over Thanksgiving week, to visit DD who is on study abroad in Madrid. Travelers are myself, DH, 20 year old study abroad DD and 18 year old high school senior DD. I would love any and all restaurant and tapas bar recommendations, but first let me tell you what we like and what I've already done for Barcelona.

We like contemporary twists on traditional cuisine, creative cooking, fresh ingredients, fruits and vegetables. We love eating! But there are some things that one or more members of the family will not eat - think raw protein (some of us) and "unusual body parts" (all of us) - so we like to be able to have control over our selections. I've done a lot of research on Barcelona and think I need to move there for the food alone! Here's what I've done:

First: I got reservations at Tickets!!!! So excited and actually quite proud of myself for managing it! I cannot wait!

Second, other restaurants/tapas bars that I've read about and am considering:
Tapas 24
Bodega 1900
Gresca
Santa Gula (read about on Chowhound, sounds great - anyone been?)
Tapeo del Born
Pla
Bar del Pla
Pinotxo
Cal Pep
Bar Cañete

Places for paella/arroz con negro -I know Valencia is the real place to go for paella - we learned that from our Alhambra guide in Granada two summers ago! But we are not going to Valencia and we love paella! Please give me your opinions on these or other paella restaurants. Also, do I understand correctly that paella is typically eaten at lunch on Sunday? What about at other times?
7 Portes
Kaiku
Xiringuito Escriba

I know there are some significant places that are not on the list (Cinc Sentits, Hisop, Comerc 24, Alkimia). Some are closed for renovations, all are quite expensive for a family of 4, and as a general matter I am avoiding tasting menus for the reasons stated above about things we will not eat.

I welcome all opinions, including which ones are "don't miss" and other places you love that I've not considered. Also, we will be in Barcelona for 4 days and nights, including a Sunday and Monday.

I haven't done as much research yet for Madrid - please fell free to comment on where to eat there too!

Just as you will not be able to hit all sights (from your other post), you will not be able to hit all these restaurants in only 4 days !!! I'm sure you'll eat well and will be able to avoid your "dangerous" items. Enjoy !

FWIW, I loved the tapas at Tapeo and the rice (which is akin to, but not the same as, paella) at 7 Portes, where I had for dinner on a Friday evening -- both meals were excellent! But I defer to kimhe in all things involving Barcelona.

You'll find most restaurants wil be closed Sunday for dinner and all day Monday, thus limiting your choices. This goes for both Barcelona and Madrid.

Wow, you've done some really good research, and you're all up for a night to remember in Tickets! Some tough choices ahead, but you can't do much wrong with this list. Cal Pep is a blast, but close by Tapeo was our great food find last time in Barcelona, in March. The Coca de Sardina tapa even topped most of what we had at Tickets. http://www.tapeoborn.cat/tapas-menu/...ardina-en.html

Bodega 1900 is fifteen meters from Tickets, run by the same people, very different atmosphere but much the same take on the food.

When it comes to pealla, the many delicious local arrozes (rice dishes) are very close and tasty cousins to the paellas. I never leave Barcelona without having had the fabulous Arroz caldo at 7 Portes. http://www.foodspotting.com/places/1...73-arroz-caldo

Paella is very much a Sunday lunch thing, but never wrong to have a paella at lunchtime any other day of the week also. And many of the best paella places in Barcelona are in the good vibe Barceloneta district just inland from the beach (7 Portes is close to here also): http://www.timeout.com/barcelona/res...the-rice-stuff

About the Barceloneta district: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...taurants-spain

One more suggestions. Have an 18€ gourmet lunch in Somodó: http://www.somodo.es/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Catalonia.html

In Madrid I've used to be more into jazz and flamenco than food, and we've usually been in the mood for traditional Madrid fare. I come back to Casa Alberto from 1827, also an excellent little tapas bar in front of the restaurant. Popular with both tourists and locals, and a creative touch on traditional dishes: http://www.casaalberto.es/en/
https://11870.com/pro/casa-alberto

For a traditional Madrid tapas experience, I recommend Casa Revuelta in C/Latoneros, 3, just off Plaza Mayor. Great tapas and very popular with locals. Famous for the Bacalao rebozado tapa, but plenty of other goodies as well. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ta-Madrid.html
Peraps with a glass of vermouth at Sunday lunchtime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHu8zGsFuy8

Not far away, you'll find Txirimiri. Will give you an idea of why the Basque kitchen is considfered among the finest in the world. Splurge on pintxos for a few euros each: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ri-Madrid.html
http://www.txirimiri.es/restaurantes/

7 Portes open all Sunday and Monday
Tapeo open for both lunch and dinner Sunday
Cañete open all Monday
Cal Pep open Monday night.
Santa Gula open Sunday and Monday night.
Somodo closed both Sunday and Monday

And see Maribel's guide for restaurants in Madrid:
http://www.maribelsguides.com/mg_madriddining.pdf

Thanks all!

Bedar, lol! We can - we just need to eat 5 meals a day! :-)

kimhe, thanks as always for all the great information! Will look at your suggestions that were not on my list, and yes, I have started looking at Maribel's guide also.

Any additional suggestions welcome!

Xemei is something very special and outside any tourist track, the Bigoli en salsa Veneciana is good enough reason in itself to go back to Barcelona (after 1.35 in this video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lvcjtoh0tU

Our trip is almost here - we leave Thursday! Returning to this thread for some last minute advice. We're reasonably set for Barcelona, could use more advice for Madrid restaurants. Considering:

Vi Cool
Estada Puro
Lua
Taberna Laredo
Arzabal
Albora
La Catapa
La Revuelta
La Gabinoteca
La Latina tapas crawl, inc Casa Lucas and Txirimiri

Of course we can't go to all of them! Would appreciate all opinions and additional suggestions.

Also need suggestions for lunch in Toledo and Segovia.

Finally: flameno. Forgot to book! I think we can still get tickets for either Tues Nov 24 or Wed Nov 25. Thinking maybe Cardamomo because I've seen kimhe recommend one of the dancers performing there next week - Paloma Fantova. Thoughts? (kimhe?)

Please note that Casa Revuelta is not a restaurant, but an extremely nice traditional tapas bar with some serious goodies, the bacalao rebozado is a must: http://www.tripadvisor.es/Restaurant...ta-Madrid.html

When it comes to flamenco, Paloma Fantova in Cardamomo on Tuseday or Wednesday is a very good idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck7hMzNH3b8

So is Jesus Carmona in Casa Patas on Friday or Saturday (Nov 21 and 22 at 21h and 24h): http://www.deflamenco.com/revista/en...-dancer-1.html
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KW8JjCvnrE

and indeed also Guadalupe Torres in Casa Patas from Nov 23-26 at 22:30h: http://guadalupetorres.es/
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPat_VDBBrU

Casa Patas has arguably been the best tablao in the country in recent years: http://www.casapatas.com/

In Madrid I love to go to La Bola, Calle Bola 5 for cocido now that weather is colder. It's closed on Sundays but open on Monday-a great family meal!
http://labola.es/restaurante/

We were in Madrid a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the show at cardomomo.

Alfiletitos 24 in Toledo was one of our favourites while in Toledo. We ate in the upstairs restaurant (vs downstairs Taberna) had a very nice dinner here. They also get good reviews for lunch.

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant...La_Mancha.html

I highly, highly recommend Lua in Madrid.

Taberna Laredo is good, and casual but can be very noisy both upstairs and in the bar area. If you go there, the lamb chops are excellent. But I would choose Lua over that if you are looking for something elegant in a minimalist way.

Arzabal is good as well, and casual, but again, Lua tops these by a long shot.

I liked Casa Lucas and recommend the tapas crawl if you go at non-prime times. You could also do one in Retiro area, east of the Park.

MAdrid is a great, great eating city.

More on Lua, and T. LAredo from my report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...and-malaga.cfm

Here's a flamenco recommenation in Madrid for tonight Friday 20th and tomorrow Saturday 21st.

Lakshmi Basile "La Chimi" performs both nights at 21:30h in the prestigious flamenco studio Amor de Dios. Saw her live in a small flamenco club (Peña Pies Plomo) in Sevilla in 2008, a that was a great night. This could be a special experience, and very few tourists around. http://www.deflamenco.com/revista/co...onado-3-2.html

Estudio Amor de Dios is located in C/Santa Isabel, 5 (just off Plaza Santa Ana (close to both Cardamomo and Casa Patas). http://www.deflamenco.com/revista/es...de-dios-4.html

A recent portrait of Lakshmi Basile, she's definitely the real deal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdp7qXLKzuI