The best restaurants in Barcelona

What is it? A restaurant that is firmly rooted in traditional Catalan culinary history (it’s name is taken from the oldest known Catalan cookbook, dating from 1324). 

Why go? Here, the creativity comes from the way they combine flavours – always anchored in Catalan culinary tradition. All the vegetables at La Sosenga are organic and locally sourced, and every supplier is listed at the end of the menu. And dishes are spectacular, like the combo of beans, potato and black trumpet mushrooms: stewed trumpets with Iberian pork jowl, grilled yellow beans and homemade potato gnocchi – a dish that refreshes the pure spirit of Catalan cooking with a creative twist. The menu changes every month, though, so you’ll just have to give it a go. 

Time Out tip: The best thing about this restaurant is its monthly seven-course tasting menu for just €35. 

Address: Carrer de n’Amargós 1, 08002 Barcelona

Opening hours: Tuesday-Thursday 1-4pm, Friday-Saturday 1-4pm, 8-11pm, closed Sunday-Monday

Expect to pay: €35 for the tasting menu

What is it? What began as a spin-off of its older sibling, Bar Alegria, has grown into a solid example of author-driven cooking with a distinctly Mediterranean and Barcelona spirit.

Why go? Casa Luz lives up to its name (meaning House of Light in English): set on a rooftop overlooking Plaça Universitat with incredible views. And the food is great too – especially the tasting menu. It starts with a few small bites inspired by the tradition of vermouth hour – like mussels in carrot escabeche, or toast topped with Cantabrian anchovy and smoked butter – before moving on to more robust dishes like skate with potatoes and suquet made from rock fish, or their now-iconic tomato tartare with nasturtium leaves and kizami wasabi.

Address: Ronda de la Universitat 1, 08007 Barcelona

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 1.30-3.30pm, 7-11pm

Expect to pay: €8-14 (starters and small plates), €16-26 (main dishes), €6-8 (desserts)

What is it? A former humble neighbourhood bar transformed into a place dedicated to traditional Catalan and Castilian cooking.

Why go? Bar Canyí’s menu is short and to the point: three grilled dishes, two escabeches, two salads, three fried options, two stews and two desserts. It changes with the seasons and there are no permanent dishes, but you’ll always find classics for the nostalgic – mussels in escabeche, meatballs, capipota (a traditional Catalan tripe and trotters stew), fried red gurnard, fricandó… Prices range from €3.50 for a gilda to €15 for the baby squid.

Time Out tip: Although they offer sparkling, white, rosé and red wines from Catalan and Spanish wineries, they have a particular fondness for fortified wines from Jerez de la Frontera.

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Address: Carrer de Sepúlveda 107, 08015 Barcelona

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 12pm-11pm, closed Sunday-Monday

Expect to pay: €6-12 (tapas and starters), €12-25 (main dishes), €5-7 (desserts)

What is it? A Greek restaurant that takes inspiration from the broader culinary world of the Mediterranean.

Why go? Margarit’s menu draws on traditional Hellenic roots, interpreted with personal layers, imaginative twists and plenty of technique. Two dishes that are particularly worth trying: tarama – a distant cousin of brandada de bacalao – which they make with brined cod roe, bread crumb and lemon juice, served with diced beetroot and carob bread powder. And hava, a distant relative of hummus made with yellow split peas, topped with salted little tunny, sun-dried tomato and caper leaves.

Address: Carrer de Margarit 58, 08004 Barcelona

Opening hours: Wednesday-Saturday 1-4.30pm, 8pm-12am, Sunday 1-5pm, Monday 8pm-12am, closed Tuesday

Expect to pay: Around €45 per person

What is it? A small, carefully run neighbourhood eatery in the more residential part of Poblenou – with no brunch and no expats in sight.

Why go? This is the kind of place you’ll want to return to often: the menu changes constantly, everything is 100 percent seasonal, and the prices remain refreshingly modest. This is a small restaurant – you could call it a bistro – where Bertozzi puts his masterful touch to work creating dishes from local produce, cooking on a human scale. Try the green beans with smoked stracciatella, homemade miso made from leftover bread and candied almonds, and the Iberian presa tataki tonnata. 

Address: Carrer de Llull 259, 08005 Barcelona

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 1-3.30pm, 8-10.30pm, closed Sunday-Monday

Expect to pay: Around €30 per person

What is it? A spacious spot next to the Santa Caterina Market, centred around a low, comfortable red bar where you can either grab a quick bite or settle in for a good while.

Why go? Wine is important here, but the food is the star of the show. Try razor clams quickly grilled on the plancha, courgette flowers in a light, crisp tempura, or horse cecina sourced from Santa Caterina itself, among other things. The tomato salad is outstanding – easily among the best in Barcelona. And if you follow it with grilled butifarra (served with escalivada or another seasonal garnish), topped with deeply caramelised onion, mustard and ñora pepper oil, you’re well on your way to happiness.

Time Out tip: The 200-or-so wines here are almost all low-intervention.

Address: Plaça de Santa Caterina 3, 08003 Barcelona

Opening hours: Wednesday-Thursday 1.15-4.30pm, 7.30pm-12am, Friday-Saturday 1.15pm-12am, Sunday 1.45pm-12am, closed Monday-Tuesday

Expect to pay: Around €40 per person

What is it? A Michelin-starred restaurant that has held the distinction almost continuously since opening in 2004, with a bold style of cooking that still preserves a classical French touch.

Why go? Barcelona has many Michelin-starred restaurants, but as the years pass – and as some Michelin kitchens grow ever more technically elaborate – Caelis’s style becomes even more appealing: refined cooking with all the knowledge and resources behind it, yet where the real focus is on the succulence and coherence of the dishes rather than technical virtuosity.

Time Out tip: There’s a very reasonably priced lunch menu, which can include dishes like macaroni stuffed with squid and foie gras.

Address: Via Laietana 49, 08003 Barcelona

Opening hours: Wednesday-Saturday 1.30-3pm, 8-10pm, closed Sunday-Tuesday

Expect to pay: Tasting menus are roughly €125, with premium menus around €170, lunch menu about €65. 

What is it? A restaurant by two young chefs that lives up to its name: the space is rectangular, with a long bar dominating the room and square, industrial-style metal plates, where some dishes even arrive threaded onto skewers.

Why go? They talk about four or five ingredients per plate and a simple style of cooking, but there’s actually a lot of work and complexity behind the food here at El Rectangle. Try the vegan mushrooms, leek and lemon, and the grilled squid, which comes stuffed with its own fillet and tentacles, served with caramelised onion. Underneath, there’s a broth made from prawn heads, crab and mantis shrimp – homemade, of course – combined with a touch of roasting juices and lime: a spectacular surf-and-turf combination.

Time Out tip: The idea is to share around five plates between two people. 

Address: Carrer d’Enric Granados 101, 08008 Barcelona

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 1-3.30pm, 7.30-10.30pm, closed Sunday-Monday

Expect to pay: Around €30 per person

What is it? A seafood spot with Empordà influence and a laid-back vibe: think marble counters, high tables, a more intimate second floor and a fantastic terrace along the promenade. 

Why go? For good, simple seafood, as well as Lluritu’s very good ‘surf and turf’ dishes. Try a cold plate of cauliflower and apple cream, cured prawn, prawn tartare, asparagus and pea shoots, or delight in a hot dish of pig’s feet and prawn ravioli (don’t knock it). Rice dishes are brilliant too – our favourite is the surf and turf with fish and pig’s ear, which is neither dry nor soupy. 

Address: Passeig de Sant Joan 72, 08009 Barcelona

Opening hours: Wednesday-Thursday 1pm-12am, Friday 1pm-12.30am, Saturday 12.30pm-12.30am, Sunday 12pm-12am, closed Monday-Tuesday

Expect to pay: Seafood €3-12, hot seafood €12-18, mar i muntanya plates €14-20, rice dishes €18-25 and desserts €5-7 

What is it? An affordable neighbourhood spot in Sant Pere i Santa Caterina (which is welcome, because this is one of Barcelona’s most gentrified neighbourhoods), that’s also part of a multi-concept food space. 

Why go? Bar Puntal is a bar-restaurant specialising in small plates for sharing, with very reasonable prices but careful execution and 100 percent seasonal produce sourced directly from small producers (they also offer a dish of the day with dessert). The artichokes with bacon and romesco was a highlight. 

Time Out tip: While you’re here, check out the other spots in the space – the bakery El Colmado and the evening dining room La Taula Puntal with a creative tasting menu. 

Address: Plaça de Sant Cugat 1, 08003 Barcelona

Opening hours: Wednesday-Saturday 1-4pm, 7-11pm, Sunday 12-4pm, closed Monday-Tuesday

Expect to pay: Around €25 per person

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