earlgee

I'm traveling to Barcelona in July. We are staying at Le Meridian Hotel (Ramblas District?)
What are the best places to eat in that area.
Also what is Le Meridian Hotel like ?
thanks, earlgee

Aleta

Excellent dining in Barcelona. I am quoting our costs in dollars in January 2002, so consider change in Euro, but it gives you a base. Price is for 2 people, with wines.
Reasonable and very good Italian at La Taiga Florio at C. Villarrod 190. (For 2 with wine $36). For lunch, just the appetizer buffet would make a most enjoyable meal.
Memorable dinner at La Dama, ($127) at Diagonal 423. A modernist building, its a period piece, plus the food and service were excellent. Also Casa Cavet, ($71, no dessert)in a Gaudi building was a medium priced restaurant with a great setting and very good food.
I am not a fan of staying in the Ramblas area. It's the noisiest, crowded, and where the pickpockets concentrate.
We stayed at the Majestic Hotel, 2 blocks from Casa Mila. It wasn't 5 star, but comparable to a Marriott in U.S. Loved the location. I believe their air conditioning is very good, which is a prime consideration in July.

marktynernyc

I tried Fodor's restaurant rec Can Gaig - it was terrific (10/2000). Take a cab - it's a bit outside the city center. I read a positve review in Gourmet last year.

I 've only read reviews of this place but it sounded really interesting, contemporary Catalonian, influences of E Bulli:
Espai Sucre, Princesa 53

Cicerone

In my experience, there are not a lot of good restaurants in the Ramblas area. An exception would be the Taxidermista restaurant in Plaza Reial (Pl. Reial 8, Tel. 93 412 4536) I think I found it via chowhounds.com. I enjoyed it for lunch, as the square is very pleasant and quiet and you can eat outdoors. Would be good for dinner too as it will still be light fairly late into July.

Ramblas is great people watching, and the hotel is well-located. It is an easy walk up to Passiag de Gracia. I have only been in the lobby, so can't comment on the rooms, but the lobby was nice so that's usually an indication.

Hre are my personal restaurant favourites to date in Barcelona:

Drolma ? Majestic Hotel, Paseig de Gracia 70, tel (34-93) 496-7710

Wins all sorts of awards for its nouvelle cuisine. Often rated the best restaurant in Spain. Small and elegant, maybe 15 tables. It is somewhat expensive, we paid about $255 for diner for two with two cocktails and a bottle of cava. However, it is worth it for a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary. Try to get a window seat.

Taberna del Cura, Gran de Gracie 83 tel (34-93)-218-1799
Botafumeiro, Gran de Gracia 81 (34-93-218-4230

These are sister restaurants next door to each other which have the same menu. The Botafumeiro was first and is very well known. The sister restaurant opened to take the overflow ? and I actually like the atmosphere there better as it is a bit more rustic and less crowded than the Botafumeiro. As the menu is the same in both places, it doesn't really matter. I have been several times and never been disappointed. Seafood is their speciality ? try to cold seafood appetizer plate ? more like a meal. Excellent sangria. Moderate to expensive. Reservations recommended.

Aqua ? Pg Martim 30, tel: (34-93) 225-1272

Great seafood restaurant located down on the beach. This is one of the exceptions to the rule that the are very few good restaurants on the waterfront. They don't have a lot of indoor tables, so you would need a reservation at least a day in advance. They have an outdoor terrace which would be great in the summer. Very lively place, good music. To find it, go to the Hotel Arts (Ritz Carlton) and walk out to the boardwalk in front of the hotel. With the Hotel Arts behind you, turn right and walk down the boardwalk and look for a small glass room on the boardwalk with the name "Acqa". This is the entrance to the restaurant, which is down a flight of stairs. You will pass at least two of these glass boxes, one called Posit (looks like another good restaurant) and one call "Baja" (to be avoided). You can also access this from the beach itself. Moderate to expensive. This would also be good for lunch on a nice day.

Set Portes ? Passeig Isabel II 14, 73-74, tel (34-93) 319-3033

A very good Cataluyna restaurant with a large and varied menu. Paella is their speciality. Charming décor with black/white tile floor and wood paneling. Noisy but in a fun way ? lots of families and big parties. It is a large restaurant, so you could probably get a table just by walking in. Very good value for money.

Hotel Arts ? lunch on the pool terrace

This is a great place for lunch. You get a great view of the water from here. Piazzas and other western dishes, it is fairly expensive for lunch (about $60) but worth it on a nice day if you are down on the beach.

Lesli

(Excerpted from my trip report) Barcelona:

Cerverceria Catalana, c/ Mallorca 236. Very good lunch at the counter: arroz negro (w/calamari & ink), thinly sliced fried artichokes, and two beers for about 15E.

La Tramoia, Rambla de Catalunya 15. Tasty tapas and bread w/tomato in an attractive contemporary setting. Reasonable prices, especially for the neighborhood.

El Rodizio Grill, Consell de Cent 403. A fairly upscale self-service place (white table linens) with a great buffet that includes an expanded salad bar, grilled vegetables, fruit and cheese, etc. They have various meats roasting on spits, which are carved to order. With wine, beer, or water and coffee 14.45 E. You may have dessert and full bar drinks at extra cost.

Cal Pep, Placa de les Olles 8. Had a great lunch at the counter here. I ended up chatting with my neighbor, who turned out to be my college roommate's sister! I asked the guy behind the counter to bring me "tapas de pescados variados", and he did so. Pimentos de padron, cocinas, frito misto of shrimp, calamari and tiny fish, and langoustines with what I think was caramelized fennel - yummy! With 2-3 glasses of house wine and tomato bread, 28E.

El Xampanyet, c/ Montcada 22. Fun, bustling atmosphere. The cava is nothing special and the seafood is in cans, but everyone is enjoying themselves.

Vinya del Senyor, Placa Santa Maria. Cozy little wine bar with great selection and terrace seating in front of the lovely church.

Vox Populi, c/ Caputxes 6 (just behind Placa Santa Maria). Appealing pintxos on display,1E each, and decent house wine at 1.05E/glass. A light dinner including two glasses of wine for about 8E.

Euskal-Basea, c/ Basea 8. Bustling place with vast display of yummy pintxos and cidre, beer or wine to go with them. Lunch about 8E with two drinks.

Hostal de Rita, c/ Arago 279. Part of the same group as La Fonda, Quinze Nits, Crema Canela and La Dolce Herminia, this is in the Eixample, near Passeig de Gracia. White table linens and good service. Delicious fish soup, veal medallion in port sauce, dessert, coffee and half bottle of wine for about 24E.

PS: If you don't like seafood of all varieties (whole, and in the shell), you may want to give Cal Pep a miss. There's no menu, little English, and seafood is what they do.

Delegator

As mentioned earlier, chowhound.com is a good site for this. if you search using the term "barcelona" you'll get hundreds of responses. Someone on that site mentioned that it seemed like everyone is going to Barcelona this year.

artlover

I loved La Dolca Herminia--2 blocks towards Ramblas from Palais de la Musica at Magdalenes 27. The food was excellent and very inexpensive and they even have a non-smoking section (which is how we got in without reservations as it was full.)

ThinGorjus

There are many cafes along the Rambles where you can have a meal at a reasonable cost. One is called RED APPLE. This cafe serves pizza, salads, soups, etc. It is not fancy, but it gets the job done. For a nice dinner, try 7 Portes on Passeig Isabell II. The paella at this restaurant is extraordinary. A word of caution: if you are going to be walking along the Ramblas, please do not keep your wallet in your back pocket. I have witnessed pickpockets strike and then disappear into the crowds on the Ramblas. These pickpockets can get your wallet and be gone in 3 seconds, I kid you not.

shelbel

My husband and I were not impressed with Cal Pep (I know many people here rave about it so sorry!). We had been travelling all day and were really looking forward to eating there. We squeezed ourselves in at the bar and were "welcomed" by a waiter who immediatley said we only had 30 min to order, eat and leave. With his "kind" help we orded breaded artichokes, fried sardines, cuttlefish, the tortilla of the day and the tomato bread. The food was just OK and we never did receive the cuttlefish even though it was on the bill. The tortilla looked good, but it had sausage in it so we didn't eat it.

travel_gal

We just came from Barcelona and agree with the other poster about Cal Pep. I think they have gotten so popular that they are so rude to their customers. It took us forever to find it then we were so disappointed. Our favorite restaurant was Can Gaig, again mentioned by another poster. We also went to the Taxidermista for lunch and enjoyed it. We ate at La Dama(very good), Jean Luc Figuerio(ok) and Botafumeiro. Unfortunately, my son ate something at Batafumeiro that made him sick for a day. By far, Can Gaig was our favorite.

mhoogeveen

Hi,
I was in Barcelona last weekend and the food is wonderfull and has a very good price-quality report.
Personally I thought 7 portes was a bit too touristic, but is does have good food for a reasonable price. My favourites were :
1. Passadis del Pep, not on a budget though. They don't have a menu either and just go with the flow....excellent quality and paid +/- 150 euros for 2.
2. Can Majo, near the beach. Have lunch or dinner on the terrace. I had the huge grilled seafood platter, 30 euros consisting of a starter + main course with lobster, very good. WE paid +/- 75 euros for 2, starters, wine, coffee etc. included.
Have fun and enjoy yourself !