Barcelona Restaurant Picks For The Local
 

Hello Everyone,

My wife and I will be visiting Barcelona in early September and staying near Placa Reial. We are looking to choose some restaurants, and in the past have had some trouble falling into the 'tourist trap' type of places recommended by concierges and travel guides. We're looking for a more authentic experience.

We've looked at a few and would like some opinions if anyone has been to these places?

Blavis
Bacaro
Viana
Jai-Ca
Bar Canete

Has anyone been to these places and can provide an opinion on them?

Does anyone have any good local spots (Tapas, food specific to the region) that they can recommend that are a little off the beaten path?

We already heard to steer clear of anything on Las Ramblas..

Thanks for the help in advance!

Best,
Tom

Cervesería Catalana, Quimet & Quimet. Bar Central in Market are three where locals go as well as tourists, went to bar Central 3 times during our week in Barcelona and it was the best

Quimet Quimet was so jammed with young American tourists last time I went, during March several years ago, that I gave up and left. I never did see where the huge attraction was once it got well known by the masses. A lot of their dishes are based on conservas, which are canned goods, albeit of a high quality. I can make muchof that at home.

If you want to know where tourists are scarce, look at TA reviews and see how many are in English and how many in Spanish. Although I happen to have loved Cal Pep in the past despite the fact that there are many, many tourists. Early September it would be pretty hard to avoid them anywhere in the cneter city, I imagine.

Blavis looks good too me but cannot say I've been.

I loved Quimet. They have their own microbrewery and also make their own jams and pickles e.g. membrillo to go with the sandwiches or cheese and meat boards. If you get there early ish you'll probably be lucky enough to get a stool at the counter. It's brimming with atmosphere and well worth a visit despite being a victim of its own success to an extent.

I also really liked the seafood counters in La Boqueria where they'll cook baby octopus etc to order.

Welcome I taste Barcelona © - Tapas and Wine walking tours
We did a Barcelona wine and tapas tour with Paul as our guide. He was wonderful, full of history and wine expertise and all the places we went to on the tour, we never would have found. We really enjoyed the tour and we had 7 of us including Paul, my husband and myself and 4 ladies from London who were a very fun group!

I was decidedly disappointed with Cervesería Catalana. :(
I was very pleased with Tapeo, which still gets very favorable reviews.