The 22 best restaurants in Barcelona
Barcelona's impressive food scene covers all manner of cuisines. Head to the maritime district of Barceloneta if it's paella you're after, but if you want traditional Catalan dishes it's best to stick inland, in, for example, the Barri Gòtic or Gràcia, where you'll find tiled dining rooms and plenty of pa amb tomàquet (bread rubbed with tomato) and hearty stews. Tapas are not a Catalan speciality, but can still be found – from time-honoured classics on charming squares to deconstructed versions at those restaurants created in the aftermath of the gastronomic revolution spearheaded by superchef Ferran Adrià.
Below our expert shares her favourite restaurants in Barcelona, including affordable menus and five-star venues. Do note that many restaurants close for a period in August, and occasionally the whole month.
Find out more below, or for further Barcelona inspiration, see our in-depth guides to the city's best hotels, bars and nightlife, attractions, shopping and things to do for free, plus how to spend a weekend in Barcelona.
Find a restaurant by type:
Best all-rounders
Can Culleretes
The second-oldest restaurant in Spain, with a mention in Guinness World Records. Can Culleretes has been around since 1786, and many of its waitresses act like they have too. These redoubtable matrons chivvy customers into one of three main dining rooms, tiled and hung with oil paintings and photos of happy patrons, and then serve them no-nonsense but tasty Spanish dishes at really good prices. Try the wild boar stew, the suckling pig or the seafood 'pica pica' of plates to share. It can get busy with tourists, however, so you might want to book a later table.
Area/neighbourhood: Barri Gòtic
Contact: culleretes.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Casa Delfín
Casa Delfín used to be something of a Mediterranean greasy spoon, serving deep-fried fish to workers, and there was much hand-wringing when it was sold and spruced up. The new owners did a great job, however, and preserved the spirit of the menu as well as many of the features of the bright and airy interior. Try chickpeas, spinach and black pudding to start, perhaps, followed by liver and onions with sherry or roast lamb with rosemary and thyme. The terrace is the place to sit, if the weather allows, and is open year round.
Agua
There is a line of similar restaurants along the seafront here, but Agua is the most fun for its laid-back atmosphere, sunny, split-level dining room and large, lively terrace. It does get quite busy, but there's a comfortable reception area with a bar, where you can order something to nibble on while you wait. The main menu covers the Mediterranean basics, from paella to spankingly fresh fish, along with really tasty steaks, creative salads and plenty of child-friendly dishes. Book well ahead for a table on the terrace, which sits right on the edge of the sand.
Back to index
Best for families
Bella Napoli di Raffaele
A hugely popular Italian restaurant, known for its pizza but it's a crime not to try its other dishes (the gnocchi, for example, or the linguine con bogavante – lobster) and a range of Italian craft beers. The Neapolitan waiters move adeptly through the packed dining areas, and are famous for their charm – they will guide you through the menu, but it's hard to go wrong. The Sofia Loren pizza is a favourite, with provolone, rocket and bresaola, and the house pizza with aubergine, basil and parmesan is also good. Leave room for the homemade tiramisu, which is superb. You can also get pizzas to go.
Area/neighbourhood: Montjuic and Poble Sec
Contact: 00 34 93 442 50 56
Opening times: Mon-Sun, 1.30pm-4pm, 8pm-11.30pm
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Pepa Tomate
A sunny corner café and restaurant, with a cheerfully eclectic approach to décor. There's a short list of dishes that manages to cater to most tastes, whether you're after a fat burger and chips, a toasted sandwich or something a little more sophisticated – truffled tortilla, for example, or cod tempura with padrón peppers. Portions are generous, but leave room if you can for the creamy tiramisu, served in a Kilner jar. It's a great place to come with children, with a playground just outside and friendly waiters who will provide crayons to draw on the paper placemats.
Envalira
The place to come for good old-fashioned cooking in an unpretentious setting. It's not going to win any design awards, but Envalira can't be faulted on value. The speciality is paella and other rice dishes (such as arròs negre, the Catalan version made with squid ink), but this is also a good place to try dishes from all over Spain, particularly Galicia. Try, for example, tarta de Santiago, the Galician answer to bakewell tart. The restaurant is brightly lit and austerely (un)decorated, but if you book a table at the front near the bar you'll feel a little less hemmed in.
Area/neighbourhood: Gràcia
Contact: 00 34 93 218 58 13
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 1pm-11pm; Sun, 1pm-5pm
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Gelateria Italiana Deliziosa
The last few years have seen a tidal wave of ice cream parlours opening in Barcelona, but for most people this family-run gelateria will always remain unbeatable. A refurb saw away with the olive-green wood panelling and 1960s fonts, sadly, but the ice cream is still made and sold fresh every day, with the purest ingredients. It's hard to pick a favourite, but the fig is a speciality, and the liquorice is good for novelty value. There is a second, smaller branch in the Born at Placeta de Montcada 12, near the Picasso Museum.
Back to index
Best for cheap eats
Les Quinze Nits
The Andilana group now owns an impressive nine restaurants around town, and though they all have different names, they all work on the same principles – extremely elegant dining rooms in attractive old buildings, with creative Mediterranean dishes at budget prices. These include all manner of fish and meat dishes, and some colourful salads. Les Quinze Nits was the first branch and continues to be the most popular, with queues snaking across the Plaça Reial (there is a no-bookings policy), but you can always try your luck at nearby branch La Fonda (C/Escudellers 10), which may have a shorter queue.
Bormuth
A split-level tapas bar that opens out on to two streets. Bormuth is friendly, lively and has reliably good food. The selection of tapas includes fresh options such as lentil salad and tabbouleh, along with all the classic croquetas, tortilla and so on, but my favourite is the fried aubergine drizzled with honey (a Cordoban recipe). Get there early for the tables on the street or in the open-fronted section facing the handsome façade of the Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria.
Mosquito
Mosquito seems to change its identity every few years, but the basic concept is cheap, quick and good Asian food. For the time being, that means Chinese dim sum, with a few other dishes from around the continent – Japanese gyoza dumplings, Thai curries, and noodle dishes – thrown in for good measure. My favourite is the Vietnamese pho (a steaming beef broth into which you stir herbs, chopped chilli and beansprouts to taste), though sadly this is only available at lunchtime. It can get quite chaotic in the cramped bar area – book one of the tables at the back if you can.
Elisabets
Elisabets is a wonderfully old-school place, with little by way of decoration but for a few old radio sets dotted around the walls. It specialises in the sort of food your grandmother used to make. No-frills, huge portions of osso buco and other stewy delights are served up as part of the fixed-price menu, though there is an à la carte menu, too. Note that Elisabets is only open until 5:30pm.
Back to index
Best for fine dining
Shunka
An excellent Japanese restaurant hidden down a side street near the cathedral. Time was, you would often see Ferran Adrià in here. However, a shake-up a few years ago meant that some of Shunka's finest chefs were moved to a new branch round the corner, Koy Shunka, which promptly gained a Michelin star, and this one was slightly relegated to second position. This one is far cheaper, however, and does what you'd expect – all varieties of sushi, tempura, teriyaki, noodles and plenty more – and well. Reserve a seat up at the bar surrounding the kitchen for a really good show.
Area/neighbourhood: Barri Gòtic
Contact: koyshunka.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Alkimia
There is a kind of alchemy going on at this restaurant where the deconstructed, theatrical takes on Catalan standards show Ferran Adrià's influence. An opening salvo of deconstructed pa amb tomàquet (the traditional bread rubbed with tomato) in a shot glass is just the beginning. Jordi Vilà is a serious chef, with a Michelin star to prove it, and his dining room has a serious air. The restaurant sits within the microbrewery and gastro space of the Fábrica Moritz, and has a separate dining area – Al Kostat (At The Side) – with a simpler, more accessible (read also: cheaper) menu.
Area/neighbourhood: Eixample
Contact: alkimia.cat
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
Compartir
Little sister to the distinguished Disfrutar (currently at the top of the World's Best Restaurants list and at which you are unlikely to secure a table without some serious forward-planning), Compartir is run by the same team and has a similar approach to playful haute cuisine – at a lower price tag.
Its cavernous dining room is fun and relaxed – driftwood is suspended from the ceiling and elegant deco curves are balanced by rustic Catalan tiling – and a complement to dishes that look as good as they taste. The marinated sardines with emulsions of carrot and coconut are a standout – a Pollock on the plate and a flavour explosion on the tongue.
Area/neighbourhood: Eixample
Contact: compartirbarcelona.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
Cinc Sentits
Every accolade – including two Michelin stars – has been deservedly heaped on Cinc Sentits and its haute take on Catalan cuisine. To maximise the diner's experience of what chef Jordi Artal can do, these days the restaurant only serves fixed menus – eight courses for €185 (£154) or 10 courses for €200 (£166). Expect dishes such as pigeon served three ways, including a paper pouch containing 'false rice' made from its thigh, and some table-side theatre. The restaurant is also known for its wine selection, and wine pairings are available for each menu. There is a chef's table for those that like to watch the action close up.
Back to index
Best for walk ins
Milk
Milk performs all sorts of functions. It's a stylish but relaxed place for a late-night drink, a restaurant that feels more like a really good pub (with grub to match – from homemade burgers and steak sandwiches, to smoked salmon fishcakes and the occasional foray into Asian cuisine), and it's a great place for a relaxed brunch with the papers. Choose from eggs Benedict, banana and walnut pancakes or just a good old-fashioned fry-up, and maybe treat yourself to a bloody Mary or a mimosa. Best of all, you can rock up for brunch any time up to 4:30pm.
El Atril
Here, you can sit in the stone-walled dining room or under umbrellas on the little Plaça de Sant Cugat. In season, one of the best things to order is a big bowl of moules et frites, but there's plenty more to choose from, including sea bass with truffle, tuna tartare with a tapenade of sundried tomatoes and olives, and pork with quince alioli. Light and healthy options include inventive salads and a vegan burger. Brunch is served at weekends.
Quimet i Quimet
Everybody's favourite tapas bar is about the same size as a large wardrobe, and it can be a struggle to abide by the 'no standing on the pavement' rule. It's still worth it, however, for the wonderful montaditos – delicate little arrangements balanced on a slice of French bread and made in front of your eyes. Highly recommended is the smoked salmon with cream cheese, soy sauce and honey, but there's no real list. The bar also specialises in wine (bottles of every vintage line the walls) and conservas (tinned seafood), most of which is surprisingly good.
Chez Coco
This is the place to come for a date, if you can get one of its cosy high-backed booths. It's a charming space, with many original features such as oak panelling and a tiled mosaic floor. More recent decorative additions include plunging chandeliers, cobalt blue upholstery on the booths, and an open kitchen hung with copper pans, where various kinds of bird roast slowly on rotating spits. The menu is French and fairly ambitious, but the best bet is to stick to the fried poussin and fat wedge chips, which are excellent and reasonably priced.
Back to index
Best for seafood
Cal Pep
Not quite a tapas bar, not quite a seafood restaurant. Cal Pep does have a cosy dining room at the back and a terrace to the side, but if you sit there you'll miss all the fun. Better to stand at the bar (or wait your turn patiently behind those at the bar) and watch the cooks working the stoves. There is no shtick here apart from superbly fresh seafood, served simply and on plates designed for sharing. Non-fish eaters will also find plenty to eat, however – try 'the tortilla trampera' with chorizo and alioli.
Can Solé
Another of Barceloneta's excellent paella restaurants, this one a little more upmarket than most (with prices to match), and attentive waiters – there can't be many restaurants that provide reading glasses to diners. There are two specialities: paella in various forms, and what is known as 'grandmother's spoon food' – steaming hotpots of chickpeas with chorizo, lentil and potato stew, onion soup with a poached egg and Emmental stirred through it, and so on. There is a quiet dining room upstairs, but the best place to sit is downstairs by the open kitchen where you can watch the action.
Set Portes
An elegant old paella and seafood restaurant, under an arcaded walkway down near the port. It's been around since 1836, and the great and the good to have graced its tables are immortalised in little plaques on the backs of the chairs. Despite its vast size – there are several dining rooms – and history, sympathetic lighting and accommodating waiters make it feel both cosy and friendly, something quite unusual in a restaurant of this stature. The food is excellent, respecting old recipes while occasionally adding a new twist. If you're feeling extravagant, go for the zarzuela – a tasty casserole with lobster.
Back to index
How we choose
Every restaurant in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighbourhood favourites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to best suit every type of traveller's taste – and consider the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest opening and provide up to date recommendations.
After stints living in Seville and Madrid, in 2001 Sally Davies settled in Barcelona's El Born, a stone's throw from Ciutadella Park and the Santa Caterina market, two of her favourite places anywhere.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
A power cut delayed our flight – can we still claim?
Q We were booked on a package holiday in May with to Mallorca, flying from Manchester airport to Palma with Ryanair. There was a power cut at Terminal 3, which caused a delay in refuelling. Eventually the plane moved to a different terminal to refuel. The whole performance took so long that the crew couldn't fly us as they would have been over their legal working hours. A new plane and crew was found, but we eventually took off at 2.30am, about six hours late. Ryanair are saying it's the responsibility of Lastminute, and vice versa. How can we get compensation? Katy L A Sorry to hear about this dismal sequence of events. I imagine that instead of arriving at your hotel by around midnight, you reached it at dawn. In terms of strict liability: Ryanair should have provided a meal while you were waiting to depart. If for some reason vouchers weren't provided, and you had to fork out, then if you have an itemised receipt you will be able to claim from the airline. After that, though, I am afraid that your entitlement is rather more opaque. Under air passengers' rights rules, you would be entitled to £350 in delay compensation if you can demonstrate the problem was of Ryanair's making. But the initial trigger for the delay appears squarely to reside with the airport's inability to sustain the power (albeit to a far smaller extent than Heathrow in March). What happened thereafter can be traced back to the original issue. A lawyer might mount the following argument: that the first flight crew could have flown to Mallorca within their legal hours; the fact that the plane would have had to spend the night at Palma, with the return flight heavily delayed, is irrelevant. But Ryanair would riposte that finding a new aircraft and crew was an example of excellent resourcing, and the solution that caused the least possible delay for passengers as a whole. I sympathise with that argument, and I think a judge might do the same. So I reluctantly suggest you put it down to experience. You might also consider a claim against for the loss of a night of your holiday, but I fear that might prove a waste of effort too. Q I am booking Eurostar from London to Brussels at the end of July for the family: two adults and two children, aged 15 and 13. We'll be staying for three nights in total. Is it best to stay in Brussels or in Bruges, Ghent or Antwerp? The kids want to visit Paris for the day, too. Debra S A On the Belgian options: please cross Bruges off your list right away. While it offers top-grade culture packed into a superbly preserved medieval city, your teenagers would rightly point out that the Unesco-listed historic centre is full of older tourists and offers little for people of their age. Ghent is livelier and only half an hour by train from Brussels. You might all enjoy a spin on a bike around one of the two excellent velodromes. Antwerp, an hour from the Belgian capital, has still more to offer. Illusion Antwerpen is a particularly fun collection of illusions (upside-down rooms, weird mirrors – that sort of thing). Chocolate Nation, claimed to be the 'largest chocolate museum in the world', is an excellent counterpart to the Flemish frites-with-everything cuisine. I recommend Antwerp as a day-trip from Brussels, rather than a place to stay. The capital itself is richly rewarding for families. The city centre is eminently walkable, with an implausibly high density of excellent places to eat. The Comic Art Museum celebrates the Belgian comic strip tradition. The splendid Atomium, outside the city centre, is a 1958 version of what the future will look like. In the impressive Parc du Cinquantenaire, Autoworld Brussels is an amusingly retro car museum. Finally, if you want to combine Brussels and Paris, the sensible way to do it is an 'open-jaw' itinerary. Take the Eurostar train out to Belgium and stay a couple of nights. Then catch another Eurostar (the continental version, formerly known as Thalys) to Paris in around 90 minutes for an overnight stay. Return next day to London on the direct Eurostar. But personally, I'd stay in Belgium every time. Q I made an error booking a flight with a Greek airline, Sky Express. I realised my mistake immediately and tried to cancel without penalty, but got nowhere. Should I be able to cancel within 24 hours? Kaz T A Having made a few online errors when booking flights, I sympathise. I now try to ensure that someone is looking over my shoulder while I buy, double-checking my every move. If that isn't possible, I read out loud the reservation details to myself to try to ensure the trip is exactly what I intended. (When booking through a human travel agent, they should ensure I get what I need.) Travel vendors are generally unforgiving about online booking errors. If you book through an online travel agent, any subsequent changes are likely to be extremely expensive once you click to pay. Even booking directly with an airline, the default is that you get no leeway to change or cancel your booking free of charge. If you need to cancel a Sky Express booking because you have inadvertently booked something completely unsuitable, the airline says 'only airport taxes are refunded'. It does, though, allow changes for €35 (£30) plus any increase in fare compared with the original ticket. The best free cooling-off opportunity is provided by British Airways. If you book a BA flight direct, you can cancel for a full refund within 24 hours of purchase. This offers the chance of saving money, incidentally; sometimes you may find the fare has fallen overnight; if this happens and you are still within the 24-hour window, cancel and rebook at the lower price. The two largest low-cost airlines, easyJet and Ryanair, have slightly different policies. EasyJet allows cancellations within 24 hours of making the booking for a fee of £49 (if done online, £6 more for speaking to an agent). Ryanair has a 'grace period of 24 hours from the time of your original booking to correct any minor errors you may have made' free of charge. What constitutes a 'minor error'? Dates or times of the flight (though if the new one is more expensive, you must pay the fare difference), and even booking flights in the wrong direction, eg Dublin to Manchester rather than the other way around. But these airlines are the exception rather than the rule.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
We ditched the UK to live in a €3,000 caravan in Benidorm - now we pay no council tax, energy is cheap and it costs just £24 to pop home on a flight
A British couple have ditched living in the UK full-time to move to sunny Benidorm in a caravan. Gemma and Nicky purchased an old caravan for €3,000 - or £2,500 - and have since transformed it into their 'home from home' in Alicante's Villamar camping site. The couple have raved about the benefits of uprooting to the coastal city on their TikTok account @ including 'cheaper living' with 'no council tax, no energy bills, [and] no TV licence.' Worlds away from rainy England, the couple now spend their time sunbathing in hot temperatures and enjoying the area's dining scene. When they're not relaxing, the duo are putting their DIY skills to use and refurbishing the once-derelict caravan, which was out of use for seven years before they bought it, into their dream holiday home. While they currently use the caravan as a holiday home for up to 90 days within a 180-day period, they hope to obtain a Spanish residency to live there full-time. Before they put their stamp on the home, the caravan featured drab interiors and a dirty exterior. Now, it boasts two modern bedrooms, a kitchen fit with a breakfast bar, a living room with a television, and a toilet. Gemma and Nicky have also added an air conditioning unit to help combat Benidorm's often-balmy temperatures. Taking to TikTok, the duo revealed that low costs are a big reason why they love staying in Benidorm. The pair claimed to pay just '£24 to £40' for 'cheap flights' from the UK to Benidorm, adding that it costs 'more in a taxi at home to get to town'. Next, the couple raved about the warmer weather, which allows them to sit out and enjoy 'sunshine 300 days a year'. Gemma and Nicky added that they've also found a community at the Villamar camping site, thanks to its 'friendly staff and residents'. They added that it has, 'Lovely cheap food, no big bills, no stress, [and] no problems'. The pair also said they enjoy its 'cheap beer', 'three beautiful pools, and onsite supermarket and hairdressers'. In another clip, the couple broke down their costs for one trip to Benidorm for an unspecified amount of time. The pair said that they spent £33 per flight, just £60 on food, and £10 on electricity, adding, 'Happiness [is] priceless.' However, they pay an additional £5,000 per year for site fees to use the amenities, including an indoor, heated pool. Among the site's facilities is also a supermarket. Discussing the shop and sharing footage of its well-stocked interiors, the pair said, 'It has everything you need. English brands available, including beers.' Now their caravan is almost complete, they can enjoy all the area has to offer, including a wide range of restaurants and bars. Since first sharing their journey, the content creators have racked up over 95 thousand likes on their videos. Viewers have taken to the comment section to share their thoughts on Gemma and Nicky's Spanish lifestyle, with one writing, 'Amazing. Wishing you lots of happiness in your new home.' A second said, 'Absolutely brilliant, I have started saving right now. Be over early next year for a look.' A third wrote, 'These are amazing guys excited to follow along. [It's] very inspiring to me.' Gemma and Nicky have impressed viewers with their caravan renovation, with one dubbing it 'inspiring' Another added, 'Wow guys it looks like a new caravan. I wish you all the happy memories to be made for years to come in your beautiful caravan.' It comes as multiple British women are flocking to Australia to work in mines and earn up to £4,400 for just two weeks of work. As an increasing number of young people complain about the lack of career opportunities in the UK, others have found a solution Down Under as FIFO workers, which stand for Fly In Fly Out. FIFO, an employment type where professionals fly to and from remote locations for shift work, has grown in popularity in mining and resources sectors, particularly in states such as Queensland and Western Australia, according to Bravus. While it may not seem like a typical career path, multiple individuals have left their lives behind in England and Ireland to work a blue-collar mining job in sunny Australia. Hardcore manual labour might not be for everyone, but the hefty sums of cash on offer after just hours working on the sites have lured countless Britons to give the job a go. After struggling to find opportunities with her Film Degree from Queen's University in Belfast, Caithilín Hughes, 26, left Ireland's Derry for a machine operator job in Perth 's mines. The lifestyle change was admittedly not a passion but part of the 'money game', she told the Irish Independent. Caithilín told the newspaper, 'The average hourly wage for a machine operator is around $55. We work 12-hour days for 14 days straight. That's around $9,240 before tax.' Given that she's on a working holiday visa, she's taxed 15 per cent on her first $45,000. She added, 'Now I spend my days driving huge machines in the mines of Western Australia, earning in two weeks what would take some at home in Ireland, nearly two months to earn.'
Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Telegraph
Thousands of sun loungers removed in Majorca after anti-tourism protests
British holidaymakers heading to Majorca next summer will face increased competition to secure a sunbed, after the Spanish island announced that it would remove 1,700 from beaches around Palma. It comes after pressure from locals, who say there is hardly any space left to lay out their towels. Similar rules were put in place in Costa Blanca last year, where police began confiscating sunbeds placed on the beach before 9.30am and charging offenders £214 to get them back. Palma's council said it planned to reduce the number of sunbeds across the city's beaches by about 20 per cent. Playa de Palma, the largest, will have its 6,000 loungers reduced to 4,436. In Cala Major, the number of sunbeds will decrease from 300 to 250. In Cala Estància, in Can Pastilla, 132 will remain from an original 150. In the suburb of Ciutat Jardi, 300 will be cut to 288. Residents say they struggle to find space because of the large number of pay-per-use sun loungers and parasols, a problem made worse by the fact the island's beaches are receding due to years of sand erosion and rising sea levels. Anti-tourist sentiment has soared in Spain in recent years, with regular protests taking place across the country. Last summer, activists armed with water pistols soaked holidaymakers as they dined outside cafes in Barcelona. In March, anti-tourism campaigners in Majorca published an open letter telling visitors 'not to come' and that they were 'the source of our problem'. A demonstration organised by Southern Europe Network Against Touristification is set to take place on June 15 across several Spanish cities and islands – including Majorca – as well as in Venice and Lisbon. The campaigners say too much tourism prices out locals and causes environmental issues. A study by Fotocasa, the housing platform, last year showed that the average monthly rent in the Balearic Islands had risen from €562 to €1,451 in a decade, with prices considerably higher in hotspots such as Palma. Authorities have in response announced plans to limit the number of tourists arriving and invest in local infrastructure projects. In March, the Balearic Islands government, which administers Majorca, announced a slew of ' tourism containment measures ', which included increasing a tax on visitors and putting a levy on hire cars. Barcelona has announced a €30 million scheme to revitalise the tourist hotspot of Ciutat Vella after public services reportedly suffered because of the area's popularity with visitors. The plan involves redesigning public spaces and converting old buildings into arts centres, as well as investing in housing and schools.
