Although our love for Madrid is profound and eternal, here at Madrid Food Tour we also adore the capital’s big rival \u2013 Barcelona. It’s sexy, it’s modern, it’s got a beach! And it also serves up fab food. Eating in Barcelona means experiencing Catalonia’s “sea and mountain” cuisine: a fusion of fresh seafood and earthy ingredients from the region’s hilly hinterland. But enough talk. If you’re wondering where to eat in Barcelona, read on. Below is a list of the best (in our esteemed opinion) tapas bars and the best restaurants in Barcelona.<\/p>\n
Tapas in Barcelona<\/h2>\n
Cal Pep<\/a>:<\/strong> You’re nobody until you’ve queued for a spot at Cal Pep (yes, either reserve a table, or get there early and be prepared to wait for a seat at the bar). Frequented by locals and tourists, this place has become a reference point for Barcelona’s tapas scene, serving up delicious monkfish, baby squid with chickpeas and whatever tasty morsel caught the chef’s eye at the market that morning.<\/p>\n Pla\u00e7a de les Olles, 8<\/em><\/p>\n Quimet i Quimet:<\/strong> Canned food is for dogs, right? Wrong! Tiny, always-packed and family-run, Quimet i Quimet keeps things oh-so-simple. Behind the bar Se\u00f1or Quim creates an avalanche of delicious cold tapas \u2013 some of the city’s best \u2013 with ingredients pulled directly from cans. In Spain, canning is considered an excellent way to conserve certain products, especially seafood. And a couple of mouthfulls here will make you a canning convert.<\/p>\n Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes, 25<\/em><\/p>\n La Paradeta<\/a>:<\/strong> Is this one of the best restaurants in Barcelona? Or is it a fishmongers? Aha! It’s both. At La Paradeta you browse mountains of fresh fish and seafood on ice, take your pick, then it’s passed to the kitchen for cooking. Yep, it’s that fresh. Add a bottle of chilled white wine, and you’re in seafood seventh heaven.<\/p>\n Carrer Comercial, 7<\/em><\/p>\n Casa Delf\u00edn<\/a>:<\/strong> Relax on the buzzing terrace, sipping cava (Spain’s answer to champagne \u2013 with most of the stuff coming from Catalonia) and grazing on market-fresh, deliciously rustic dishes that wonderfully capture Catalonian cuisine.<\/p>\n Passeig del Born, 36<\/em><\/p>\n Vaso de Oro<\/a>:<\/strong> Eating in Barcelona \u2013 and Spain for that matter \u2013 is all about informality. Elbow your way to the bar, grab a drink, and just start ordering. And this down-by-the-beach grill joint is testament to that approach. It’s narrow, it’s bustling, it’s loud. And you can’t leave without trying their grilled steak.<\/p>\n Calle de Balboa, 6<\/em><\/p>\n La Cova Fumada:<\/strong> Feel like going local? This neighbourhood tapas bar opened in 1944, and hasn’t (thankfully) changed much since. They’re famous for their\u00a0bombas\u00a0(literally “bombs”, spicy potato and chorizo balls that explode in your mouth) and morcilla amb citrons (blood sausage and chickpeas).<\/p>\n Carrer del Baluard, 56<\/em><\/p>\n La Plata:<\/strong> Another rustic tasca with zero pretensions. This place is famous for its tomato & onion salad, fried anchovies and its botifarra (a Catalonia pork sausage) served on bread.<\/p>\n Carrer de la Merc\u00e8, 28<\/em><\/p>\n Tapeo<\/a>:<\/strong> Now for something a little more modern. Chef Daniel Rueda gives traditional dishes a 21st-century tweak at this casual, yet classy, tapas bar. It’s all good, but special mention goes to the beef cheek and the grilled squid.<\/p>\n Carrer de Montcada, 29<\/em><\/p>\n Tickets<\/a>:<\/strong> El Bulli \u2013 the once greatest restaurant in the world, headed by wizard-cum-chef Ferran Adri\u00e1 \u2013 has sadly closed. But you can still get your Ferran-fix at Tickets, the tapas bar he’s set up with brother Albert. The place is kooky, always packed and \u2013 typically of the Adri\u00e1 bothers \u2013 the food is weird, wonderful and totally delicious. If you’re trying to decide where to eat in Barcelona and you’re only in town for a night… well, this place is just the ticket. But beware! Book ahead or you’ll never get in the door!<\/p>\n Avinguda del Paral\u00b7lel, 164<\/em><\/p>\n Lolita Taperia<\/strong>:<\/a>\u00a0Couldn\u2019t get a table at Tickets? Fear not. Around the corner is Lolita to the rescue. Once run by world-famous chef Albert Adri\u00e0 (he\u2019s since opened a five-restaurant empire around the corner), this small and casual tapas bar serves some of the best takes on traditional dishes in Barcelona. Everything is cooked fresh to order in a tiny bar-side kitchen, and be sure to check with the waiter what\u2019s good that day. Then sit at the bar, or out on the sunny terrace, and let the afternoon or evening unfold plate by incredible plate.<\/p>\n Calle Tamarit, 104<\/em><\/p>\n La Pubilla<\/a><\/strong>: This small restaurant near the\u00a0Mercado de la Llibertat in Gr\u00e0cia is one of our favorites. It\u00a0is local, market-fresh cuisine done right and the menu changes often. Reservations are highly recommended, as the place is small and the locals are in the know! Try it for their famous “desayuno con tenedor” (farmers’ breakfasts) or for their lunch offerings. La Pubilla closes at 5pm and doesn’t reopen for dinner.<\/span><\/p>\n Placa de la Llibertat, 23<\/em><\/p>\n One last tip:<\/strong> the best restaurants in Barcelona are NOT located on La Rambla… so spread your wings, explore, experiment and let us know if you stumble across a gem that we don’t know about!<\/p>\n![\"El](\"http:\/\/madridfoodtour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/El-Vaso-de-Oro-bar-Barcelona-1024x682.jpg\")
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<\/a>And when you’re not eating…<\/h2>\n