My husband and I will be spending one day in Barcelona before a Mediterranean cruise this summer and one of our "must-do's" is having wonderful tapas for dinner. Anyone have any suggestions on the best place? We will be staying at the Hilton (located in the business district on the Avda Diagonal) and plan on visiting the "main" sights (ie Gothic Quarter). THANKS!

Cal Pep:
Plaça de les Olles 8, Barcelona, Spain
Phone: 93/319-6183
Were excellent the last time we were there!

LeighB,
Ditto! If you only have time to do one "tapas experience", I suggest that visitors make that experience at Cal Pep (but it's a taxi ride from the Hilton, where I have stayed before, to the Placa de les Olles in the Ribera section of the Old City). It's heavy on seafood dishes, but the last time I was there the couple next to me were enjoying a pasta dish then roasted chicken, so it's not exclusively seafood.-a market driven menu. It's fun and utterly unique. I just let the chef/owner (the one with glasses and the raspy voice) order for me-I tell him to fix for me whatever he thinks is best.
But for dinner I'd arrive not a single second after 8 p.m., as the bar stools (under 20, if I was counting properly) at the counter are snapped up very, very quickly-the 3 tables in the tiny back dining room require a prior reservation.

Another great place for tapas which would be closer to you, in the Eixample district, would be the Cerverseria Catalana on the corner of Rambla de Catalunya and Mallorca (Mallorca 236). That's a long, long walk from the Hilton (I've done it) but a shorter taxi ride. I thank poster Jean Valjean once again for the excellent recommendation of this place. It's open
from 10 a.m.-2 a.m.

Have fun!

Wow, great info Maribel! Looks like we'll have a decision to make!!!

Another place I could recommend, if you want to do something "authentic" is Casa Tejada (Tenor Viñas, near Turo Parc). Excellent, traditional tapas, done the right way. It is not cheap (for tapas, that is).

When you get there, ask for Vicente and trust his recommendations. He'll suggest whatever is fresher or just better for that day. I don't know if he's still there.

It is a short ride from the Hilton, just take a bus and get out on Placa Josep Taradellas, then walk to Turo Parc. In summer, they have a bunch of tables outside. Really nice.

Somewhat unrelated, but an update: We had the opportunity through the cruise line to change to another hotel and will now be staying at Le Meridien right on La Rambla!!! Hopefully there is something closer by now with excellent tapas!!! No long cab rides to see and eat what we want!

In the area known as La Barceloneta which looks like a tiny Mediterranean fishing village there is a number of seafood restaurants. A few blocks up from the beach is Paco Alcalde where they have over 50 tapas displayed over a bed of tree branches.