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Barcelona's restaurant scene is an ongoing adventure. Between avant-garde culinary innovation and the more rustic dishes of traditional Catalan fare, there is a fleet of brilliant classical chefs producing some of Europe's finest Mediterranean cuisine.
Catalans are legendary lovers of fish, vegetables, rabbit, duck, lamb, game, and natural ingredients from the Pyrenees or the Mediterranean. The mar i muntanya (literally, "sea and mountain"—that is, surf and turf) is a standard. Combining salty and sweet tastes—a Moorish legacy—is another common theme.
The Mediterranean diet—based on olive oil, seafood, fibrous vegetables, onions, garlic, and red wine—is at home in Barcelona, embellished by Catalonia's four basic sauces: allioli (whipped garlic and olive oil), romesco (almonds, nyora peppers, hazelnuts, tomato, garlic, and olive oil), sofregit (fried onion, tomato, and garlic), and samfaina (a ratatouille-like vegetable mixture).
Typical entrées include faves a la catalana (a broad-bean stew), arròs caldós (a rice dish more typical of Catalonia than paella, often made with lobster), and espinacas a la catalana (spinach cooked with oil, garlic, pine nuts, raisins and cured ham). Toasted bread is often doused with olive oil and rubbed with squeezed tomato to make pa amb tomàquet—delicious on its own or as a side order.
Beware of the advice of hotel concierges and taxi drivers, who have been known to falsely warn that the place you are going is either closed or no good anymore, and to instead recommend places where they get kickbacks.
Aside from restaurants, Barcelona is brimming with bars and cafés, the latter of which can serve as an outdoor meeting spot or a place to socialize and enjoy a cocktail. Be advised that the sidewalk cafés along La Rambla are noisy, dusty, overpriced, and exposed to pickpockets.
Catalan wines from the nearby Penedès region, especially the local méthode champenoise (sparkling white wine, known in Catalonia as cava), pairs perfectly with regional cuisine. Meanwhile, winemakers from the Priorat, Montsant, Empordà, and Costers del Segre regions are producing some of Spain's most exciting new wines.
Named for the car-mechanic shop that once stood here, Benzina blends industrial-chic elements with splashes of color and excellent music (on vinyl, naturally) to create a hip but cozy Italian restaurant. The food, however, is center stage: the freshly made pasta is among the best in the city.
Top-notch coffee, homemade pastries and cakes, and healthy fare like avocado toast make this organic café a particularly bustling spot at breakfast. For lunch or a casual dinner, there's a long list of panini sandwiches, as well as excellent quiches and Italian-inspired salads.
The brainchild of two Venetian brothers, this Italian spot specializes in the cuisine of the Veneto region with exquisitely prepared dishes that lean heavily toward seafood.
Tucked away in a quiet street off the Rambla, this cozy, rustic-chic Italian spot specializes in "cicchetti," which are sort of like Venetian tapas, so you can taste a number of things. There’s plenty of wine, too; after all, "bacaro" means "wine bar" in Venetian.
This no-frills, big-flavor southern-Italian restaurant near the Via Laietana is a favorite with locals for its friendly prices, boisterous atmosphere, and generous portions of burrata, lasagne, ragù, carbonara, and so on, featuring authentic ingredients from the in-store deli. Leave room for the excellent tiramisu.
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