Eats in Barcelona
 

I am going to be in Barcelona for only a full 2 days. Any suggestions on great, traditional places to take my Mom? (She's never been but I have)

A wonderful traditional place near the waterfront where we enjoyed a huge paella and a fantastic grilled fish platter, as well as many other good choices:

Set Portes, Passeig d'Isabel II, 14
telephone 93 319 30 33

Restaurant Marisqueria is very busy at Lunch. It's almost on the beach but I don't have an address. Portions were very generous. I don't know how the people eat so much.

One place I recommend is Euskal Etxea, a Basque tapas/pintxos bar. Fantastic food at very reasonable prices and great atmosphere.

Placeta Montcada 1-3

One restaurant I <b>don't</b> recommend:

Restaurant Elche
Carrer Vila i Vil&agrave; 71

It was recommended in a few guidebooks as having one of the best paellas in town. Unfortunately, we had a lousy dinner. They screwed up my paella and only told me 50 minutes after I ordered, so I had to wait another 30 minutes and the new paella wasn't what we had ordered. Plus it was very bland. Spain not being known for its customer service, they naturally didn't offer to leave the paella off the bill or even a free desert or coffee. A huge disappointment for our last night in Spain.

If you want a good meal in BCN, get away from the beach and head into town. If you want tapas (which are not a traditional staple in Catalunya), I suggest Ceverceria Catalana. Just look it up on-line, it's on the corner of Mallorca and Rambla Catalunya. La Fonda, which is right off the Placa Reial (off of La Rambla) is a large, busy restaurant. It's traditional Catalan food, which is reasonably priced, and I recommend it (it is part of a family of restaurants, but it's actually pretty good and not too touristy).

If you want a good place, where you will dine with locals and really feel a part of BCN, head up to Sarria to a place called Bar Tomas. They have the best bravas in all of Barcelona, so order a few plates and drink some clara. It's on Avinguda de Sarria (I think) and it is well worth the trip on the Metro. Once you're up in that neighborhood, it's a great place to wander around.