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Home - City Guide - Barcelona - Food and Drink | ||
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Food and Drink Catalan cooking combines traditional Spanish dishes with elements from French and Italian cooking to create a cuisine that is among the richest and most sophisticated in Spain. Four staple elements are used as the basis or the accompaniment to many dishes: sofregit (tomato and onion fried in olive oil); picada (a mix of crushed saffron, ham, bread, nuts and garlic); all i oli (garlic mayonnaise); and the quintessentially Catalan samfaina (a delicious combination of aubergines, peppers, onion, tomatoes and garlic). Rice dishes, sausages, and thick, rich stews are particularly prevalent. Specialities of the city include a variety of excellent seafood, escudella carn d'olla - a chickpea-based stew groaning with meat and vegetables and fideos a la cazuela - a noodle dish with pork, sausages and sofrito. As throughout Spain, bars and restaurants in Barcelona serve small portions of food known as tapas as stopgaps between meals; several tapas dishes can be combined for a substantial snack. Typical dishes include patatas bravas (potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce), calamares fritos (fried squid), chorizo (spicy sausage) and pa amb tomaquet (bread soaked in olive oil and spread with tomato). Catalan wines from the Penedès region, and particularly the sparkling variety known as cava, provide the perfect accompaniment to a meal. Eating is an important part of life in Barcelona, and restaurants and tapas bars can be found all over the city. In recent years new establishments have sprung up in the area around the redeveloped waterfront serving good seafood with views across the harbour. Lunch is normally eaten at about 1400. The menu del dia (set meal) is usually a bargain, with many restaurants offering three courses for about Pta1000. Some menus will even include beer, wine or water in the set price. Dining à la carte is more expensive. In the evening, dinner is served from 2030, but most people eat after 2100. Advance booking is necessary in all middle or top-of-the-range restaurants especially on Fridays and Saturdays. Sales tax (7%) is almost always included in the menu price; but service is usually at the customer's discretion. It is customary to add 10% or round up the bill. Restaurants For simple but delicious Catalan cuisine try Agut, Carrer de Gignàs 16 (tel: (93) 315 1709), in the Gothic Quarter. A three-course dinner costs Pta3500. Traditional food, a friendly atmosphere and copious amounts of wine have made this place a Barcelona favourite since 1924. More home-cooked Catalan delights can be found at Egipte, Carrer Jerusalem 12 (tel: (93) 317 7480), a small, friendly restaurant lurking behind La Boqueria market. This is the place to come to escape the tourist hordes and mix with the locals. A three-course meal costs Pta2000. Other good choices for local dishes are Celler Can Mateo, Passeig Sant Joan 149 (tel: (93) 457 6054), in the Eixample district or Roig Robí, Carrer de Seneca 20 (tel: (93) 218 9222 or 217 9738). Established in 1836, Set Portes, Passeig Isabel II 14 (tel: (93) 319 3033) is a Catalan restaurant on the waterfront with plenty of traditional atmosphere and enormous portions. Specialities include paella de pescado and zarzuela Set Portes - a fishy mixed grill. The restaurant keeps serving until 0100 every day and a three-course dinner costs Pta3200. Another recommendation for paella and fish dishes is Rocxi Port in the Vila Olímpica, Moll de Gregal 17 (tel: (93) 221 0021), where a three-course meal costs Pta3000. Merendero de la Mari (tel: (93) 221 3141) is located inside the Palau de Mar in Port Vell - the former city dockyard. This cosmopolitan restaurant serves Catalan-Mediterranean cuisine including an abundance of seafood dishes and has a beautiful waterfront terrace. Tapas bars are often more tempting than traditional restaurants and, with the right combinations, a tapas meal can be just as filling as a starter, main course and pudding combination. Tapas bars line the length of Carrer de la MercÉ and Passeig de Gràcia, and can be found dotted throughout the city. Places to try include Euskal Etxea, Placeta Montcada 13 (tel: (93) 310 2185) - a Basque bar with a buzzing atmosphere; Cal Pep, Plaça de les Olles 8 (tel: (93) 310 7961), or Casa Tejada, Tenor Viñas, off Plaça Francesc Macià (tel: (93) 200 7341). Other top tips for tapas are Irati, Carrer Cardenal Casañas 17, a hugely popular bar which serves Basque-style specialities for Pta130 a time and Bar Castells, Plaça BonsuccÉs 1 (tel: (93) 302 1054). Taverna El Glop, Carrer Sant Lluís 24 (tel: (93) 213 7058), serves legendary chorizo in rustic surroundings. International food can be enjoyed at a growing number of good quality restaurants in the city. Ya Shi Ma, Avinguda Josep Tarradellas 145 (tel: (93) 419 0697), serves the best Japanese cuisine in Barcelona for about Pta6000 per head. Jean Luc Figueras, Carrer Santa Teresa 10 (tel: (93) 415 2877), boasts a Michelin star and an outstanding reputation. The restaurant is located in a renovated town house and serves up a gourmet menu of the best of Spanish cuisine from Pta10,000. Further afield, gastronomic delights are on offer at Tram-Tram, Carrer Major de Sarrià 121 (tel: (93) 204 8518). The husband and wife team creates delicious Spanish dishes, which can be sampled in the menú degustación. The food is perfectly complemented by a beautiful garden setting. A three-course dinner costs around Pta4750. To the north of the city, El Racó de Can Fabes, Carrer Sant Joan 6 (tel: (93) 867 2851), is considered one of the best restaurants in Spain and serves irresistible Mediterranean cuisine in stylish surroundings for Pta13,500. CafÉs No visit to Barcelona would be complete without a coffee in the CafÉ de L'Opera on La Rambla at number 74. Open daily until 0200, this is a cafÉ as it should be - delicious coffee, newspapers in wooden holders, chandeliers, endlessly fascinating clientele and consummately professional elderly waiters in full black-and-white garb. Nearby, Ambos Mundos on the Plaça Reial is rightly popular with tourists as a perfect spot to people-watch. Schilling on Carrer Ferran is a chic and hugely popular hangout that sells a good range of cavas, wines and beers alongside sandwiches and desserts. Horchatería Fillol, Plaça de la Universitat 5, serves excellent milkshakes and good simple breakfasts. Alternatively, try one of the chocolaterías serving coffee, hot chocolate and pastries all along Carrer Petritxol. The best traditional tearooms include Salón de TÉ Mauri on the corner of Carrer Provença and Rambla de Catalunya and Salón de TÉ Libre I Serra, Ronda Sant Pere 3. A more up-to-date experience can be enjoyed in one of the trendy places on Plaça del Sol. |