Your Food Journey Through Barcelona
Can you even imagine going to Barcelona without your belly rumbling at the thought of all the incredible food you’re about to witness? During our trip we’re not ashamed to say we ate our body weight and some more. The Spanish food, especially the Tapas for us, just hits the spot every time and drags us back to Spain constantly. However, Barcelona is one of Spain’s most cosmopolitan cities and has so much more to offer than just traditional Tapas!
The place to start is Mercado de la Boqueria, a market situated just off Las Ramblas. Here you can start your food journey by trying pretty much everything under the sun. You can sit at a little tapas stool and order Gambas al Ajillo (prawns with oil and chilli) and Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes with a garlic or spicy sauce), or you can wander around all the different stools sampling anything and everything.
It is busy and noisy but this only adds to the atmosphere and gives you the energy to fight over the last octopus salad at the end of the day! If you need a break you can get a freshly squeezed fruit juice (highly recommend the Kiwi and Pineapple mix) to relax in a corner with and watch the action unfold around you.
If your not one for markets, and some of the sense assaulting smells which come with them, then head to the Gothic Quarter and find a little Tapas restaurant there. There are so many hidden gems around the winding allies and it’s hard to go wrong. From experience, this can turn into a whole afternoon activity, have a few dishes (and a glass of red) in each restaurant and wander on to the next!
Now, if you’re looking for somewhere even more relaxing head to Place Riel. It’s a beautiful square which has restaurants and only restaurants under every arch. The square is a little more touristy and more expensive than other places but it has a really lovely atmosphere and you can watch children playing the the middle of the square and listen to some amazing local buskers while eating your meal.
Top Tip: We ate at DO one evening which had an amazing black rice Paella which we are still dreaming about now.
One of our favourite places was Restaurant La Pepita. It is a little out of town but its worth the trek north. It’s a quirky little Tapas restaurant with fantastic cocktails and if the locals eat there, you know its good! You may have to wait for a table but they have a bar two doors down which they will collect you from so the wait it no hardship!
Top Tip: order the cod and strawberry Tapas dish, we totally understand it sounds a little quirky but it truly is delicious!
Finally, if you’re a little Tapas-ed out, head north again to the Japanese Quarter. We experienced some of the best sushi here! They’re normally shut on Mondays and sometimes Tuesdays because many of the fishermen don’t work on Sundays, so you know the fish is going to be fresh! For lunch we can recommend Restaurant Japonès Toyo which we discussed in our Five Different Things to do in Barcelona post and for dinner Aiveno which has an incredible seven course tasting menu!
Travel is not complete without sampling the local cuisine and in Barcelona that is no hardship. The food is one of the biggest attractions of the region, and although you might have worked hard to fit into your speedos before your trip, when you arrive its time to let go and take it all in.
Enjoy! We want to go back RIGHT NOW!
