Food in Barcelona, because every trip needs a post dedicated solely to it.
I found a couple of new restaurants and revisited the old favorites.
Etapes
I only tried this place because it was one of the only restaurants that took a last minute reservation on a Saturday. Happy mistake, because it turned out to be amazing. I only found out afterwards it had a Michelin star (and well deserved!) for its superb authentic Spanish dishes. Hands down, the best paella I've had in Barcelona. They've got a small menu that is decently priced for an upscale restaurant.
Tasting menus available for 35 or 60 euros. Not bad!
They've got a decent Spanish wine selection as well. I especially loved this sparkling wine that's rounded on the bottom. Beautiful and tasty!
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| Fish and eggplant soup |
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| Ham and tomato bread |
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| Salad |
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| Meat and cheese ravioli |
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| I had to get this when I saw another customer ordering it - so flavorful and fresh! I've had plenty of paella and this was perfection. They only offer seafood version, you can taste the sea, but it's not fishy. |
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| Duck, although not their specialty, was delicious. |
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| Triple chocolate cake |
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| Tiramisu |
Gresca
Beautiful little restaurant with a clean, modern interior. The rise to fame for this 1 Michelin starred restaurant is thanks to the being created by a chef who used to work at
El Bulli, once rated the best restaurant in the world as well as having a huge impact in the molecular cuisine. Food here is similar with molecular influence in the dishes.
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| Interior |
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| Menu |
The menu is tiny, food even tinier, and the all-white interior with a silent clientele might not be everyone's cup of tea. Even so, you have to admit the dishes are worthy of appreciation.
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| Sardine |
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| Pig skin 'noodles' in a broth |
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| Egg souffle with potato shavings |
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| They somehow cooked only the egg whites, leaving the yolk untouched inside. Cool! |
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| Pork belly, skin glazed and cooked to perfection. |
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| Seafood risotto |
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| Smoke ice cream with toasted nuts. It tastes like sweet smoke! |
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| Coconut ice cream. They really went overboard with this creation. Delicious and beautifully presented! |
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| Olive oil with frozen yogurt and pistachio/chocolate. Olive oil is enveloped in a gel. which pops when you touch. |
Irati Taverna
This is one of my go-to places in Barcelona. I can never have enough of their seasonal foods and it is amazing every time I go. It is known for its casual stand-up-and-eat pintxo (tiny tapas, snacks on bread) bar section, but you can make a reservation for a table. They have a separate menu and the tables are nearly always empty. I suppose it is pricier at 10 euros per dish in comparison to 2 euros per pintxo.
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| Bar section |
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| Indoor seating. Look how they pour wines! |
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| Homemade chorizo |
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| Local farmers' tomatoes |
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| Ham! |
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| Duck with pears |
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| Seasonal red peppers |
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| My favorite, suckling pig with crispy skin and ratatouille on the bottom. Mmmm. |
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| Thinly sliced figs with ice cream. Highly recommended! I've never been as impressed with fruits as these figs. |
Botafumeiro
We always make sure to visit this restaurant at least once per trip. They specialize in fresh seafood and plenty of catches-of-the-day are available. It's one of the best known in Barcelona and quite busy, so we make sure to ask for a private room for a bit of calm. There are local singers that come and sing while playing guitar, which is much better appreciated in this room than out in the bustling crowd of the main dining room!
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| Their biggest fish at 5kg (12lb) |
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| Huge seafood tower complete with crabs and oysters for only ~100 euros. |
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| The entire 5kg of fish cooked! |
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| Photo of us with the plate for size comparison. Fish so large is a daunting task |
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| It took a party of 9 to finish one seafood tower and a single fish. |
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