slangevar

My husband and I will be in Barcelona, Madrid and central Portugal this winter and are looking for truly unique restaurant / bar experiences in those areas. Price isn't necessarily an object, but we're not looking for fancy.

What do I mean by "truly unique?" I mean like the tiny price-fixed restaurant in a cave in Paris. The yakitori bars that just appear under the tracks at dusk in Ginza. The crazy food trucks in Los Angeles. Hebberoy's crazy restaurants in Portland. Or even those tiny hole-in-the-wall places that are famous among locals. Real dining/cultural experiences.

Here are three we're already planning to hit:

BARCELONA
Inopia: http://www.barinopia.com/ (the video sold us)

Cuines Santa Caterina: http://www.cuinessantacaterina.com/

MADRID
La Terraza del Casino in Madrid (molecular gastronomy): http://www.casinodemadrid.es/sp/gast...raza/index.htm

p.s. We LOVE tapas & wine and are fairly adventurous in terms of what we'll eat.

Robert2533

Good luck! We go for the food, wine and service, not the "uniqueness". Being unique does not always translate into being good.

If you love good food, then read Maribel's Guides.

slangevar

We absolutely like good food, but I think you can have both. The "under the tracks" yakitori bars in Tokyo cost almost nothing, but some of them serve amazing food, and the experience is priceless. Same with the Los Angeles food trucks... the Koji truck isn't much to look at, but it's delicious and fun.

I know Madrid and Barcelona have those places, too, but it's hard to find them as a tourist, since they always seem to spring up deep in non-touristy local neighborhoods.

Nikki

Where in central Portugal? We had two meals in the Alentejo that might fit your criteria. In Evora, the Taberna Tipica Quarta-Feira. Off on a back streeet, tiny (reservations essential), you eat whatever the chef/owner is making that day. Best meal I had in Portugal.

And off the beaten track in Hortinhas, near Terena, a local place surrounded by farms where they make one thing a night also. Café-Restaurante Monte Agricola. Very inexpensive and wonderful food, fresh from their garden.

slangevar

Hi again Nikki! Definitely Lisbon and Sintra, but our travel plans there are completely open.

We've actually been considering Evora since reading about it in the low budget Portugal travel report that's being posted right now. And the Taberna Tipica Quarta-Feira sounds like EXACTLY what we're looking for!

I love the sound of the Café-Restaurante Monte Agricola, too... will have to see if we can get to there.

Thank you so much!

OHcharlotte

Hi there,

after reading your very interesting post, i have the perfect solution for you, at least in Barcelona.

The place is called "la champagnaria" and this place is exaclty what you were describing. At about 7 every night, the restaurant picks up a lot and You have to fight to put your order in, there are serviettes all over the floor and they serve traditional spanish meats and cava. And it is very well price. I go here at least twice a week because i love it so much.

Here is the direction:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...9&z=17&iwloc=A

Buen provecho.

OHcharolotte

(Oh-barcelona)

Attnymom

We loved Cal Pep in Barcelona (http://www.calpep.com/). We got there about 45 minutes before it opened and were second in line. About 15 minutes before it opened the line stretched all the way down the street. When they open the garage door type front door everyone files in and takes seats at the bar in order of arrival. We never saw a menu - the waiter asked if we liked meat and shellfish and then just kept putting dishes in front of us. We had a nice couple who spoke a little English sitting next to us and they recommended their favorites as well. The food was delicious and the experience was one I'll never forget.

Note that it is kind of hard to find because the front door is so non-descript. It looks like a garage door with the name of the restaurant hand painted on it. We wandered around the little square where it is located for a few minutes until we found it. It is not fancy at all but we loved it - definitely our favorite (and most memorable) meal in Barcelona.

slangevar

OHcharlotte and Attnymom - those are both spot on!!

OHcharlotte - La Champagnaria sounds crazy and wonderful - perfect for a night out in Barcelona.

Attnymom - It's funny... I swear I saw the site for Cap Pep at some point in the past few weeks, but didn't write it down because I knew nothing about it. But your review sold me... we love low-key places where you have to trust the chef (and are rewarded for doing so).

Thank you both so much! Two dinners down...

lobo_mau

TejoBar in Alfama/Lisbon.
Google "tejobar", they have a strong presence in youtube.
Conditions: less than 30 (at least in your minds), a vestigial Woodstock spirit and the willingness to share, either singing, playing an instrument, reading a poem or whatever you are able to do to entertain others.
The audience is very liberal concerning appreciation and applauses flow all the night long (noiseless applauses - see last paragraph).
They have a very international environment since the most part of foreigner exchange students "live" there (at least during the night).
The working hours are between 2am and the hour the neighbours get fed with the noise, complaint to the police, that goes there and ends the fun, up to 2am next morning.

lobo_mau

http://www.myspace.com/tejobar
Don't take too seriously the age issue (less then 30). I'm a lot over that mark myself, and I've seen there people of all ages. In fact, the importante factor is to have the right spirit.

Nikki

You do know that nobody under thirty was at Woodstock, right?
But that does look like fun.

slangevar

We're definitely over 30 (though not yet 40!), but we look and feel pretty young... and TejoBar looks like so much fun!

In the process of Googling "tejobar," I actually came up with a very cool site full of other unique Lisbon locations... posting here in case anyone Lisbon-bound shares our sense of adventure: http://www.spottedbylocals.com/lisbo...a/alfama-graca

Thanks, lobo_mau!

Revulgo

Suggestions for Madrid:
To have one super Madrilean "bocata de calamares" at La Campana or El Ideal, calle Botoneras close to Plaza Mayor.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_MaPKghgMjGM/R4...Madrid_053.JPG

Would you feel like to eat zarajos --deep fried lamb intestine wrapped around a stick -- at an offal restaurant called "Freiduria de Gallinejas", calle Embajadores 84.
http://www.casqueriasgonzalo.com/cas...o-zarajos1.jpg

To have one glass of wine (or two) at Taberna de Antonio Sanchez, calle Mesón de Paredes 13. This taberna was founded by a bullfighter in 1830.
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/2198609.jpg

Bar "Tupperware" at Corredera Alta de San Pablo, 26. The kitchest deco since Austin Powers, with Star Wars action figures and godzilla memorabilia adorning the wall behind the bar. The DJs are always happy to take requests. Downstairs can get very busy, but the upstairs area is usually far more relaxed, with the music at a lower volume and plenty of opportunities to mingle with locals. Open until 3am.
http://inthesity.files.wordpress.com...1/img_3006.jpg

lobo_mau

If conception counts, I know I have to extend the limit to 40 to find people who has been at Woodstock.

Nikki

That explains both how my husband could have been there and why he doesn't remember anything.

Nikki

Slangevar, that "spotted by locals" website has some great suggestions. Makes me want to go back to Lisbon and check those places out.

lreynold1

Hi, Slangevar,

I agree with Nikki, spottedbylocals is a great website! Thanks so much for posting it, I will definitely check some of the places out the next time I'm there.

I have eaten at several of the places, but the one listed there that I would single out for being really excellent is the Charcuteria Francesa. And it's in a beautiful part of old Lisbon, down from Principe Real close to the Praca das Flores, one of my favorite little pracas in Lisbon.

And the pizzeria/italian Casanova is quite good, cheap, and popular. Great location on the river, too. Laurie

macdogmom

After you have a great meal at Cal Pep, check out El Xampanyet for a cava. It has been around for a long time and is a great old time tapas bar in El Borne district. We went there every night when we stayed in Barcelona last May. Really friendly family that runs the bar and we met interesting people there every night.

slangevar

More great suggestions! I don't know if we're adventurous enough to try lamb intestine, but everything else is on our list (and maybe the intestine will be, too, after a few glasses of wine).

Glad everyone likes the spottedbylocals website - I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before now. It's basically everything my husband and I look for when we travel.

Revulgo

slangevar,
you also can try other delicacies: gallinejas (lamb large intestine), mollejas (thymus gland) filete de ubre (udder steak)…
http://www.mformacion.com/gallinejas/