Barcelona top picks-restuarants under 40 Euros
 

Looking for suggestions for restaurants, tapas, bars, etc for under 40 euros in Bracelona.
Also what are your favorite dishes at these restaurants?

Barcelona is a big city.
One person's favorite dish, is other person's yuck.

€ 40 per person is almost impossible to spend in regular bars.
Unless you line up with the rest of the tourist bus crowd at the "in" places like Cal Pep, you can rarely spend more than € 20 pP in a bar on food and drinks before you either explode or are seriously hammered. A regular bar charges around €2 for a beer or wine and €2-4 for regular tapas/raciones.

You will hardly find "real tapas" in BCN, i.e. a mouthful of free (!) food with your drink. At least I have not found any, which has not that much to say, of course.

The district of Born is full of "tapas restaurants", though, where tapas equals raciones. Two or three should fill up most people. Just wander around and pick the one you like.

If you are looking for bars, try the Xampanyet on c/ Montcada in Born. The xampanyet, by the way, or the better cava (=champagne) is a quite popular drink in Barcelona - not only for "festive moments", and very affordable.

Restaurants are a different thing. Since I often travel on my own, I rarely eat there. I like the ambiance of bars better. But just a personal preference. Others will probably have more and better advice.

Brooklyn:

Danon is so right...so I'll just name a few places we enjoyed (all still under €40, I think):

In the Barrio Gotic, <b>Agut</b>, an old etablishment...<i>autentico</i>
In Barcelonetta, on the beach, <b>Can Majo</b>.. but if bothered by swarms of flies, go inside if there are tables...we did.
Same area, <b>Ca Sole</b>, nicely appointed interior, excellent choices of several dishes.

For a unique breakfast experience, hop into La Boqueria, off the ramblas and go to the stools at a kiosk marked "Bar Kiosco" where the bow-tied Juan will regale you with his pictures on magazine covers; famous guy, he'll tell you!

Tapas bars are everywhere, so much so I don't remember the names of many. We did find a rather good one right across from the big fountain at Placa Catalunya... and another down the ramblas called Cervezeria.
stu

Two "sit down" "table cloth" restaurants we enjoyed are Quatre Gats and The Attic. Our meals there for the 2 of us ranged between 70 and 85 € total, but we didn't have any wine, except for a pitcher of sangria at The Attic. The meals were excellent. Service very good.
Quatre Gats, recommended by lots of guide books, has a long history and claims that Picasso and his pals hung around the place, and in fact a Picasso painting adorns their menu.
The Attic, near the top of the Ramblas, is upstairs. If you get there early (around 7), or have a reservation, you might get one of the tables overlooking the Ramblas.
Dress code would be a up from "tourist grunge." Shorts and t shirts definately underdressed. I felt good in dockers and a long sleeve shirt. Service at the Attic was particularly attentive.

There are lots of good suggestions in Maribel's guide at www.maribelsguides.com.

Check out the Restaurante Windsor (www.restaurantwindsor.com)

Thanks for the suggestions! I've been to Barcelona several times before and I'm just looking for new places to explore on my 3rd visit there this year.

Hi,
Literally just got back today from Barcelona. We ate at Cerveseria (sp?) Catalan on Mallorca St twice. Tapas are delicious & reasonable. This is a very popular restaurant that is always packed. We had to wait one hour both nights but it's worth the wait.

Also really enjoyed Taller de Tapas in Born, next to Our Lady by the Sea Church. We also liked Sagardi in Born, across the street from TAller de Tapas. They serve pintox style tapas, which are the tapas served in San Sebastian.

Recommend Cafe Virrenia for lunch in Placa de la Verrenia in Gracia neighborhood.

Also Rosalert for seafood in Eixample neighborhood.

Try Llossa for breakfast in Eixample.

Go to the market Santa Caterina, there is a fantastic restaurant there.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&...,0.004796&z=18

Is that true, that tapas aren't served gratis with each drink you order in Barcelona like in Andalusia?

El Born is a great place for tapas and Taller de Tapas is reliable. Sagardi, right there also, has a better reputation but is often hard to get an outdoor table.

For 2 euro over your 40, the tasting menu here is fabulous:

www.restaurantedruida.com/

We had wonderful seafood paella at Cava Mar on the Barceloneta waterfront.

Pirineus, near the cathedral, had fairly priced and good food. Even though it's near tourist central it had a local crowd.