Barcelona | Restaurants | Food | Coffee Shops | Prices

Food in Barcelona

Introduction

The fact that Barcelona is located on a central junction in south europe, and the fact that it is a cosmopolitan city in which bussiness people, merchants and tourists, that part of them are citizens of neighbour countries, are meeting, brings Barcelona to absolutely be a celebration of tastes and smells with plenty of culinary pleasures with are waiting to yoy, the tourists/travelers in a big variety of restaurants, coffee shops and bars.
Barcelona is known in its tapas bar, places which reminds "buffet" but in a traditional spanish style, in which the Catalonian - Spanish food, the tapas, which are small appetizers served as a basic dishes, are being served. Other popular dishes in Barcelona and in Spain at all are Paella, Sarsuela, Fideua and also casserole dishes, legume dishes, great seafood dishes and meats.
The tapas are sometimes called Pinchos, small snack dishes origin in Andalusia in south Spain, which developed during the 19th century while accompany the cherry wine. The name is due to the need to cover the wine jar with a plate (Tapa) in order to avoid the flies from entering into it.
Except to the restaurants, coffee shops and bars variety, it is recommended to visit and examine also the beautiful and high quality markets in Barcelona, the delicatessens, confectioneries and bakeries and to assemble random dishes in a low budget.
Excellent fish restaurants can be found in the streets that are closed to the harbour. In the Gotic quarter restaurants which serve traditional spanish food can be found and in the GRACIA area, which is crowded in weekends, several exotic restaurants: Lebanese, Egyptian, Chinese etc can be found.
In Barcelona, the main meal is lunch. Supper is smaller meal and it is being held much later in the evening.

Barcelona: Restaurants and International chains

Hard Rock Cafe

This restaurant belongs to the international Herd Rock Cafe chain. It has an American style menu as it accepted it the chain. Between the dishes you can find steaks, good hamburgers, grilled salmon, pastas, variety of salads, sandwiches and lots of deserts. The chain concept is to display in its restaurants artifacts and items from the Rock world that were belong to rock stars and celebrities. Inside the restaurant in Barcelona there are items of Merilin Monro, Jimi Hendrix, the rolling stones, Aerosmiths, Elton John and even Elvis Pressly. The decoration is beautiful and makes special atmosphere. Barcelona's youth are overfilling the place, and so do many tourists.
Address:
Located in the center of town, in Catalonia square
Plaza Catalunya 21
How to go to Hard Rock Cafe?
Metro: get off at Catalunya
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Sunday - Thursdau from 12:00 till 02:00
Friday & Saturday till 03:00
Prices level:
Medium.
Website:
The website of Hard Rock Cafe

Little Italy

This modern restaurant in the Barceloneta area serves traditional Italian dishes along with dishes with Mediterranean and French influence. The restaurant reminds in its structure and in its character, the New York clubs with the several levels., with wood roof and with dark parquet floor. In the place there are live shows of Jazz music, usually on Wednesday and Thursday, and the restaurant is a place for recreation for fashion audience and many business people. The menu is being changed and being replaced often, but some of the special dishes are always available.
Address:
Rec, 30, Passeig de Born
How to go to Little Italy?
Metro: get off at Jaume I or Barceloneta.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
The restaurant is open daily for lunch between 13:00-16:00 and for supper between 21:00-24:00.
Prices level:
Meduim - High
Website:
Will be update soon.

Les Quinze Nits

This restaurant is folk and very popular one. It serves dished from the Italian local kitchen. There is always long line in the entrance, but it moves fast and it is worth waiting. The service is quick and effective; the food is not sophisticated and not some kind of Gourmet, but it is definitely represent the Catalan basic kitchen. The audience consists of locals and visitors.
Address:
Placa Reial 6
How to go to Les Quinze Nits?
Metro: Line 3, get off at Liceu station
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
The restaurant is open daily for lunch between 13:00-15:45 and for supper between 20:30-23:30.
Prices level:
Pretty cheap.
Website:
Will be update soon.

Barcelona: Restaurants and Local chains

Txapella

Bar, restaurant that serves Basky kitchen delicatessen. The place is a huge hall with two floors in it. In the first floor people are sitting on the bar and in the second floor people are sitting on regular tables. There are people who are saying that this is the best Tapas-Bar in Barcelona and maybe even it whole Spain. The food is fresh and tasty, the variety is large and the service is warm. It is important to order places ahead otherwise you will need to wait because the place is always full.
Address:
Passeig de Gracia 8.
How to go to Txapella?
Metro: Get off at Catalunya station and from there, 5 minutes walk on Passeig de Gracia Street.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Will be updated soon.
Prices level:
The price level is low if you just order several Tapas for tasting but become expansive if you want to taste large variety from the offered dishes. Sitting on the bar will cost less than sitting on regular tables.
Website:
Will be updated soon.

Les Quatre Gats

An old institution active since 1897, published due to the fact that Picasso was used to visit it when he lived in Barcelona. The place is located in the center of the city, not far from Plaza Catalonia. The restaurant name translation is "The 4 Cats" and its meaning is a well common Spanish expression that is saying: "A group of unimportant people, just 4 cats". The menu offers a variety of dishes from the local kitchen. The coffee in the restaurant is one of the best in Barcelona. It is recommended to come here to start the day with breakfast and coffee. During the day the place become crowded and in the evening the place is pretty stuffed. Most of the time there are piano and violin musicians that pleasant the visitors time and sometimes there are live music shows.
Address:
Carrer Montsio 3
How to go to Les Quatre Gats?
Metro: get off at Catalunya station.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Open daily, 08:00-02:00, continuously.
Prices level:
Medium.
Website:
The website of Les Quatre Gats

Restaurante Los Caracoles

A very stylish and much esteem restaurant in Barcelona, with rich history. The food being served is a traditional Catalan kitchen food. The popular dishes that made the place so popular are special fried chicken and snails. There is also grilled meat and grilled fish and also Paiya and other rice dishes. The internal design of the place is original and interesting – wine barrels are decorating the space, the walls are full with celebrity's pictures. It is more than recommended to pre order a place, although sometimes you can be luck and find a place also without pre ordering.
Address:
The restaurant is located in the Gothic quarter, not far from Rieal Plaza.
How to go to Restaurante Los Caracoles?
Will be updated soon.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Open all the week from 13:00-24:00.
Prices level:
Pretty high (around 40 Euro per person)
Website:
Will be updated soon.

EL RACONET

The restaurant is located in the corner of two streets and named "The little corner" just for this reason. The restaurant can have 20 people inside and few more outside, and it is simply decorated. The menu can expose some really gladdening surprises, not to mention the desert.
Address:
The restaurant is located in the corner of Enrique Granados and Rossello.
How to go to EL RACONET?
Metro: Line 3 (Green) or Line 5 ( Blue), get off at Diagonal station, go towards the exit of Balmes street, walk in the Rossello street until the corner of Enrique Granados street.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Monday-Thursday from 08:30 to 20:00. Only breakfast & lunch are served in these days.
Friday and Saturday from 08:30 to 24:00. Bbreakfast, lunch and also supper are served.
Prices level:
Will be updated soon.
Website:
Will be updated soon.

Buffet Libre

This is a chin of salads bar only, so the place is recommended due to the enormous number of tasty salads in it.
Address:
The branches are located in:
Valencia 29
Ronda Universitat 449
Diagonal 263
How to go to Buffet Libre?
Will be updated soon.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Will be updated soon.
Prices level:
Will be updated soon.
Website:
Will be updated soon.

Bota Fumiero

There are lots of restaurants in Barcelona but this is absolutely amazing. You can enjoy here an excellent Gourmet meal. Local high quality food is served. This is the place to order a real Paiya. It is recommended to pre order a place, due to the fact that the place is full with people in dinner time
Address:
Grande Gracia 81
How to go to Bota Fumiero?
Will be updated soon.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Will be updated soon.
Prices level:
Pretty cheap.
Website:
Will be updated soon.

Barcelona: Coffee Shops

Cafe de la Opera

Classic and well know coffee shop, a real institute in Barcelona, located in the La Rambla boulevards. The atmosphere is relaxed and pleasant and the location is great from which you can observe on people walking in the boulevards. The coffee shop got it name due to its position in front of the Opera building. In the past, the artists were used to gather here before and after there shows in the Opera Theater. In the coffee shop, food is also served, the salads are very good, but for a real meal it is recommended to go to another place. This place is worth a visit if you are looking for excellent coffee, hot chocolate, very good cakes, alcoholic drinks and a small variety of Tapas. In the morning there is good breakfast.
Address:
La Rambla 74
How to go to Cafe de la Opera?
Metro: get off Liceu station.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Open daily, 08:30-02:00.
Prices level:
Medium.
Reasonable price level for this kind of place.
Website:

Sandwich & Friends

A young and stylish meeting place, serves a huge variety of sandwiches and light meals. The place is decorated in modern and cosmopolitan way. The place offers 50 creative combinations of sandwiches, in which each one of them is named after one of the "Friends". There is also a big variety of salads for those who prefer to avoid the big amount of bread, and also pizza, cakes and pastries.
Address:
Passeig del Born 27
The chain has 3 more branches in Barcelona. See addresses in the website below.
How to go to Sandwich & Friends?
Metro: get off at Jaume or Barceloneta stations.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Open all the week from 09:30 to 01:00, and on weekends till 02:00.
Prices level:
Medium.
Website:
The website of Sandwich & Friends

ARC Cafe

Coffee shop "ARC" is named after the two arches in the middle of the ceiling of the place structure. "Arco" in Spanish and "Arc" in Catalan means arch. This place is one of few in Barcelona where the food is combination of creativity, simplicity, freshness, excellence and funny price. It is a very good place to have lunch or light dinner. The coffee shop includes two floors, around 15 tables for two or four people in the first floor and around 10 tables in the second floor. The first floor is a wide space with bar in it. The cooking area is exposed for everyone. Fruits pictures are decorating the place.
Address:
Carabassa 19
How to go to ARC Cafe?
Metro: Line 3 (Green), get off at Drassanes station, go towards the exit of Ramblas street, walk in the Ramblas boulevard in its left side until the Colombus monument, turn right to Ample street and after the church square, turn left to Carabassa street.
Open Hours, Activity Hours:
Sunday-Thursday, 10:00-02:00
Friday-Saturday, 10:00-03:00
Prices level:
Low price level.
Website:
Will be updated soon.

Barcelona: Pubs / Bars

For info on Pubs / Bars in Barcelona read in page Entertainment, Recreation, Nightlife.

Tips & Recommendations

Some Tips/Recommendations related to food and restaurants in Barcelona, all from personal experience and accumulated experience of many other tourists:

In supermarkets, 5 liter water buttle costs 1 euro

Barcelona - Food, Restaurants, Coffee Shops