Skip Las Ramblas, eat one street over
Restaurants with photo menus and waiters waving you in along Las Ramblas charge a premium for the location. Walk into El Born, up to Gracia or down to Poble Sec on Carrer de Blai and both quality and value jump.
Dishes to order
Pa amb tomaquet (bread rubbed with tomato, 2 to 4 euros), patatas bravas, bombas, croquetas, pulpo a la gallega and esqueixada. Catalan classics worth trying include escalivada and botifarra amb mongetes. A spread of 4 to 6 tapas for two with drinks runs 25 to 45 euros off the tourist strip.
Vermut and the aperitivo hour
A local ritual is fer el vermut around noon on weekends: a glass of house vermouth with olives, anchovies or crisps for a few euros. Bars in Gracia and Sant Antoni do it best. A relaxed way to bridge sightseeing and a late lunch.
Timing your meals
Kitchens serve lunch 13:30 to 16:00 and dinner from 20:30 to 23:00. Bars offering full meals at 18:00 are usually aimed at tourists. Plan an early sight, a long lunch, then tapas later in the evening.
Let a local guide the way
A guided tapas crawl visits several bars in one evening with food and drinks included and a guide who explains each plate. It removes the guesswork and squeezes a lot of eating into a short trip.
Frequently asked questions
- Where can I find authentic tapas in Barcelona?
- Head into El Born, Gracia, Poble Sec or Sant Antoni and away from Las Ramblas. Carrer de Blai in Poble Sec is a famous run of tapas and pintxos bars.
- How much do tapas cost in Barcelona?
- Individual tapas run 3 to 7 euros. A shared meal of 4 to 6 tapas for two with drinks costs about 25 to 45 euros once you leave the tourist streets.
- What time is dinner in Barcelona?
- Locals eat dinner from 20:30 to 23:00. Lunch is the bigger meal, served 13:30 to 16:00. Places serving full meals at 18:00 are usually tourist oriented.