El Nacional Barcelona: a restaurant that used to be a theatre, a factory and a car park

If you're looking for a more casual outing and don't want to sit at a table, the bars are perfect. At the beer and tinned food bar, you can enjoy a glass of Estrella Damm. You can also choose from a wide range of draft or bottled beers and pair them with pinxos (tapas served on a slice of bread) or pickled mussels, scallops, razor clams and much more. A fantastic combo.
If you're more of a wine drinker, try the wine and cured meats bar, where you can sample a wide range of the best wines with DO from the Peninsula with some good pairings, such as a cheese board or freshly sliced Iberian acorn-fed ham.
A cocktail bar is a must! By day it offers you a drink with an aperitif while the night brings lots of surprises, when you can try the most exotic signature cocktails. You can also pair them with a selection of first-class tapas, including cured meats, cheeses and pinxos.
The oyster bar is the most exotic! You can enjoy a good cava and then try a variety of seafood, caviar, salmon, tuna or clams.
Now you can choose one the four bars or go all out and try them all!

Two casual options for very different moments. For some quick tapas, go to La Taperia and be surprised by the classics on its menu. Meanwhile at La Parada, you’ll find the perfect place to eat a light salad or simply treat yourself to some cake and a good cup of coffee.
No corner of the Peninsula is overlooked at La Taperia, as you’ll see on the menu, with a map showing where each dish comes from. The fried little shrimp, for example, are from Andalusia, and the tripe with chickpeas, from Madrid. The suggestions range from light cold tapas, such as Iberian-style 'cuts' or cheeses, to hot and heartier fare, such as stews and even paellas. And of course, at La Taperia, tapas can also be desserts, with some as classic as a good Catalan-style crème brûlée and other more enigmatic options, such as meringue with custard, toffee and toasted almonds. You can wash it down with an extensive range of wines or an ice-cold beer!
La Parada has a more metropolitan style and a menu that combines the alternative with the more traditional. You’ll find homemade pastries, assorted salads, fresh pasta or healthy bowls. For sweeter moments, there are also crêpes, sliced fruit, freshly-squeezed juices, cakes and the best coffee. Which ones do you fancy? The flat bread with ratatouille confit, cheese and lemon-macerated salmon, or roast meat ravioli with cream cheese... They also have vegan options, including the healthy bowls! And, for a snack, why not drink your coffee with an apple and cinnamon crêpe with pastry cream.

The name of this restaurant is a call to carnivores.
For meat lovers, La Braseria is the best choice for Iberian beef and ox steaks. They have a meat ageing glass cabinet so you can see the product directly and transparently, from where they will take the meat of your choice and cook it for you on the spot. The star method of preparation is the charcoal grill, but there is also a wood-burning oven and a regular grill.
They serve a wide variety of starters and meat, to be accompanied with salads or vegetables. But also simple fish dishes for those who prefer to avoid meat, two kinds of charcoal-grilled Galician octopus with potatoes. In fact, you can enjoy a full menu of grilled dishes, such as whole charcoal-grilled lettuce with garlic shoots and shredded desalted cod, followed by the secreto ibérico, a charcoal-grilled pork cut with aromatic herbs and potatoes, and a citrus diuretic to refresh the palate, such as the grilled pineapple with cinnamon and honey or a lime and celery sorbet. It's sure to delight your taste buds and even more so if you take in the views: surrounded by floral geometries and a few contemporary wheels hanging from the ceiling, plus an open cellar, dark furniture and very comfortable upholstered chairs. A very contemporary Noucentisme!

La Llotja is a complete contrast to La Braseria: ideal for lovers of delicacies from the sea. It also has a distinct decor, with a bright maritime style, full of white and blue tiles and furniture in light tones, a setting that acts as a prelude to its exuberant range of fish and seafood, which you’ll find displayed like in a fishmonger’s. The fish is cooked on the charcoal grill, in the oven, salt-crusted, steamed, carpaccio, tartare... and you’ll find different accompaniments, with salads or vegetables. This is one of the characteristics of the menu, that you can decide which fish or shellfish you prefer and combine it with a side: potatoes, vegetables, salad... Two other characteristics of the place that make it different from typical fish restaurants is that they have a section of stews from the Balearic islands, such as a Menorcan lobster stew, and a whole range of oysters to choose from, both Mediterranean and Atlantic.
Outstanding starters include the Mediterranean red tuna tartare with avocado, hazelnuts and sesame oil, and from the specialities, San Sebastian-style wild croaker fish with garnish. It’s worth trying some of the desserts, such as the wonderful Larpeira, a typical sponge cake from Galicia, with crème brûlée…
It’s open 365 days a year from 12 noon to 2 am and, if you want to book a table, keep in mind that you can only do so at La Llotja and La Braseria, although you can show up at any of them without booking.
Now you know about the sea of options you’ll find at El Nacional Barcelona! Which of the gastronomic currents will you choose!?