we are staying in Hotel Pulitzer for 4 nights. outside of the tapas bars, we are looking for restaurants that serve catalan and spanish cuisine. while we are staying in the eixample area, we are open to go to other areas. our price range is up to 50 euro for a tasting menu. any ideas feloow travellers?

I had an excellent dinner here in 2011; the tasting menu was 48 euro last winter; modern Catalan.


http://www.hisop.com/flash/index1.htm

Both Can Culleretes (from 1786) and 7 Portes (from 1836) serves up traditional Catalan cuisine, 7 Portes being the most stylish. Both are also popular with tourists, but they have been around as emblematic Barcelona restaurants for quite some time for both food and atmosphere reasons.

Can Culleretes: http://www.culleretes.com/
Photos: http://www.google.no/search?q=Can+Cu...w=1600&bih=991

7 Portes: http://www.7portes.com/angles/libro.php
Photos: http://www.google.no/search?q=7+Port...w=1600&bih=991

any idea how to book on line? thanks for the great tip.

I can recommend Cerverseria Catalana on Mallorca St in the Eixample neighborhood. They serve tapas, but they are excellent and the best restaurant we went to in Barcelona.

I can also recommend Rosalert, AVgda Diagonal 301, a seafood restaurant. The food was delicious & the waiters were very friendly & helpful & enjoyed helping us choose our seafood. You go up to the seafood counter to choose what you want.

online booking:
http://www.7portes.com/angles/reserva.htm
[email protected]

i am so hungry now. thanks everyone for sharing

A low to mid range option for Catalan food:
http://www.lallavordelsorigens.com/

One of the restaurants is also in Eixample near the university.
Their dishes usually come in sizes that are between a full course and an appetizer. So you can sample at least two plus dessert without feeling too stuffed.
In addition, they also got sample menus.

Not one of those fancy places and not exactly the "fine dining experience" which places like Set Portes or Cinc Sentits offer, but IME the only place that organizes its menu according to regions so you can taste the differences in "mountain Catalunya" food vs. the more maritime fare.

The food is quite authentic, which means that the dishes sometimes contain ingredients not that fashionable any more. And reflect the more basic, hearty fare of usually not so rich people that had to live on what their region could offer - ages before molecular or fusion cuisine.
Obviously, you will not find tapas on their menu.

One of my favorites is the coca bread with sobrassada (sausage spread) from Mallorca plus Manchego-style cheese, topped with honey. Sounds really weird, but tastes surprisingly good.

When you eat "a la carte", you should manage to get two items plus wine for €15pP or less.

wow---a lot of help from all of you

I have eaten at Set Portes and Origens.

I found Set Portes not great and very touristy.
Origens. seemed authentic, friendly ,reasonable and the food was really good.

Mixed opinions about 7 Portes, but on the informative 11870.com-site Spanish customers seems to be very satsisfied, generally describing it as "un clásico". http://11870.com/pro/restaurant-7-portes/page1
http://www.lavanguardia.com/ocio/201...-175-anos.html

Lots of history in the walls. The greatest flamenco dancer of all times, Carmen Amaya from the close by Somorrostro district (Barceloneta), used to perform here as a young girl together with her father, and Federico García Lorca - possibly the most important Spanish poet and dramatist of the twentieth century - resited his masterpiece Romancero Gitano (Gypsy Ballads) for the first time in public here.

Carmen Amaya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCca6...eature=related
Lorca and Gypsy Ballads: http://www.spainisculture.com/en/obr...ro_gitano.html

I can recommend Cafe Accademia in the Barri Gottic area. The food was excellent and the restaurant small and charming. It is high on our list for our return trip to Barcelona in June. The nearest metro if you need it is Jaume.

I'll second the recommendation for Set Portes. We had a very nice lunch there and I can see why customers would call it "un clasico." The food and service were both good, and it didn't seem "touristy" at all.

the responses have really helped us plan our evenings. thank you to everyone.