Barcelona

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Restaurants & bars

The first Spanish food revolution came in the early 1980s with a group of enlightened Basque chefs who had the audacity to steal some of the stars and the limelight from their French counterparts. The second is happening now, this time with Catalonia as its powerhouse. Once again the catalyst for change has been a chef, this time Ferran Adrià and his legendary restaurant El Bulli on the Catalan coast.

Tapas tips
Along with bullfighting and flamenco, one of the many and oft-cited differences between Barcelona and other Spanish cities is the dearth of decent tapas bars. Tapas in Catalonia are a pale imitation, where they exist at all, and generally to be found in the bars belonging to immigrants from Andalucia, say, or Galicia. The custom of giving a free tapa, or just saucer of crisps and nuts, is almost unheard of in Catalonia, and hopping from bar to bar is not as popular as it is in other regions, so consequently a caña/canya (draught beer) comes in a larger measure.

What has caught on big time in Barcelona are pintxo bars – their Basque origin means that the word is always given in Euskera – such as Euskal Extea. A pintxo (be careful not to confuse it with the Spanish term pincho, which simply refers to a very small tapa) consists of some ingenious culinary combination on a small slice of bread. Platters of them are usually brought out at particular times, often around 1pm and again at 8pm. Pintxos come impaled on toothpicks, which you keep on your plate so that the barman can tally them up at the end. The Brits hold the worst reputation for abusing this eminently civilised system by ‘forgetting’ to hand over all their toothpicks.

 

Without a decent grasp of the language, tapas bars can be quite intimidating unless you know exactly what you want. Don’t be afraid to seek guidance, but some of the more standard offerings will include tortilla (potato omelette), patatas bravas (fried potatoes in a spicy red sauce and garlic mayonnaise), ensaladilla (Russian salad), pinchos morunos (small pork skewers), champiñones al ajillo (mushrooms fried in garlic), gambas al ajillo (prawns and garlic), mejillones a la marinera (mussels in a tomato and onion sauce), chocos (squid fried in batter), almejas al vapor (steamed clams with garlic and parsley), pulpo (octopus) and pimientos del padrón (little green peppers, one or two of which will kick like an angry mule).

 

What happens when
Lunch starts around 2pm and goes on until roughly 3.30pm or 4pm; dinner is served from about 9pm until 11.30pm or midnight. Some restaurants open earlier in the evening, but arriving before 9.30 or 10pm generally means you’ll be dining alone or in the company of foreign tourists. Reserving a table is generally a good idea: not only on Friday and Saturday nights, but also on Sunday evenings and Monday lunchtimes, when few restaurants are open. Many also close for lengthy holidays, including about a week over Easter, two or three weeks in August or early September, and often the first week in January. We have listed closures of more than a week wherever we can, but restaurants are fickle, particularly on the issue of summer holidays, so call to check.

 

Money matters
Eating out in Barcelona is not as cheap as it used to be, but low mark-ups on wines keep the cost relatively reasonable for northern Europeans and Americans. All but the upmarket restaurants are required by law to serve an economical fixed-price menú del día (menú is not to be confused with the menu, which is la carta) at lunchtime; this usually consists of a starter, main course, dessert, bread and something to drink. The idea is to provide cheaper meals for the workers, but while it can be a real bargain, it is not by any means a taster menu or a showcase for the chef’s greatest hits; rather, they’re a healthier version of what in other countries might amount to a snatched lunchtime sandwich.

 

Laws governing the issue of prices are routinely flouted, but, legally, menus must declare if the seven per cent IVA (VAT) is included in prices or not (it rarely is), and also if there is a cover charge (generally expressed as a charge for bread). Catalans, and the Spanish in general, tend to tip very little, but tourists should let their conscience decide.

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