My wife and I are heading there in Sept for 4 days. Anyone recommend good hotels, restaurants and wineries to visit. I hope to keep the hotel bill reasonable.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/barcelona-and-madrid-restaurants-recs/39348/14 My comments in post #16.
Vila Viniteca, Agullers, 7 in Gothic quarter
has a great selection of wines, not just Spanish, and a wonderful gourmet food shop next door with 3 tables, amazing Spanish pork and cheese products, and 6 euro corkage fee. We spent several hours there on two days in a short trip. The joselito lomo may be even tastier than the joselito ham…
One of my favorite restaurants is Cal Pep … not expensive and worth the wait (no reservations) . Sit at the counter in front of him and let and go “Oma Casa” style
We were in Barcelona in July and stayed at Eric Vokel Grand Via Suites. Great place in Eixample with full kitchen, allowing one to “buy local” and prepare meals accordingly. Had a very nice dining experience at nearby La Clara restaurant - very authentic seafood-based Catalan cuisine. Tapas and bar upstairs, full restaurant downstairs. Order in Catalan and you’ll be a hit with the staff.
After an awesome visit at Casa Battlo, we asked a staffer where to go nearby for tapas, and he directed us to Tapas 24. Very good experience, great tapas, friendly staff.
Lots of other great tapas places as this thread indicates. Barca is a great place for foodies.
Cheers,
Doug
Ate at Montiel and did the 7 courses 7 wines for 75 euro. My wife loved it albeit the leg of prosciutto that sat next to our table above her head. Excellent service and truly unique experience for us.
We stayed at the Fashion House (Eixample - three blocks from Placa Catalunya) which was 70 euro a night for a full bed and shared bathroom. Nothing special but central and very clean and quiet.
No wineries, sry.
Bar del Pla, in El Born district, for very good tapas.
I don’t know what’s reasonable to you, but we rented a very good 1-bedroom apartment in the Eixample district, specifically where the Catalan Modernists buildings are. An oasis for those looking to unwind and relax from the heavy touristed and pedestrian-congesterd areas. Very quiet, locals neighborhood and only a block away from a nice market La Mercat de la Concepcio. 5-minute walk to Passeig de Gracia and 10 minutes to Plaza Catalunya. Nice restaurants all around
By the way, if you have the time, the train trip to Monserrat is very cool.
I woul stay at Hotel Casa Fuster if it is in your price range.
Cal Pep and Passadis del Pep are both excellent restaurants (I like Passadis a bit more).
Bar Mut is fun and great.
Personally, I hated Las Ramblas. Tacky tourist trap with bad food.
The Gaudi houses are well worth a visit.
Don’t miss the short side trip to Figueras, birthplace of Salvadore Dali, for the Dali Museum.
Have a great time.
Andrew
Such an incredible city. Off the top of my head:
Restaurants: Cal Pep, Jamonisimo (best ham on earth), Pinotxo in the Bocqueria (whole Bocqueria really), Abac, Cinq Centits, Rias de Galicia (incredible Galician seafood), Paco Meralgo (higher end tapas) etc etc. In general, just eat as much Jamon Iberico as you can and you’ll be fine.
Hotel: We stayed at the Hotel Majestic, which was reasonably priced, superbly located, and highly recommended (great rooftop bar too). I know there are other great options too.
Sights: All the Gaudi stuff, especially the Parc Guell; the Picasso Museum; la Bocqueria; the whole area around Passeig de Gracia/Eixample; the Gothic Quarter; the beach and waterfront; Sagrada Familia; etc.
Hi, Vamsi,
I second Ryan’s recommendation of Paco Meralgo (a play on the phrase: “para comer algo” = “to eat something”). The wine list is very reasonably priced, though only very young wines are available. Locals go often to Asador de Aranda for the 21-day old lamb and the chuletillas de cordero (I like the place a lot - the Tibidabo branch is, to me, the best one there).
Have fun!
N
Suculent in Barcelona for dinner. Slammed a 2008 Venus “La Universal” there from Montsant district. Fried mussels in garlic were perhaps the highlight of the meal.
We enjoyed also the Barcelo Hotel–great 360 view of the city from the swimming pool on the top floor…
Cal Pep , a great bistrot . Everybody I’ve recommended it to go , loved it . Don’t sit at the bar , but go to the small restaurant in the back .
I’m pretty sure the back room a Cal Pep takes reservations, but it may only be for larger parties. We also really enjoyed El Xampanyet. I can also recommend that you avoid Alkimia where we received a lot of over salted food and poor service.
I completely agree with SteveC on this, but with one big exception: you must visit the market La Boquería (aka El Mercat de San Josep) on Las Ramblas. If you are even slightly into food, this is one of the world’s true meccas of gastronomy.
Wait, gastronomy? Yup! Ideally you will go on weekday morning (Saturdays are slammed, and closed on Sunday I think) and you will take your breakfast/early lunch at one of the incredible food counters within. The classic one is Pinotxo run by the gregarious, always smiling Juanito. But each has it’s own primary focus and all are amazing.
Here’s a little piece by Gerry Dawes on La Boqueria/Pinotxo/Quim/etc.: http://www.gerrydawesspain.com/2011/10/foreword-by-gerry-dawes-for-english.html
The restaurants mentioned by SteveC essentially feature the “cuisine de mercato” - you will be eating the food you saw that morning in the market. Cal Pep is queue-up only I think, so grab some reservations for Passadis del Pep. It’s centrally located in El Born in a wonderful little area of shops and restaurants, but you’ll need to know where to find the front door (it’s near the ATM machine and looks nothing like the restaurant you’ll find at the end of a long hallway). You get what’s good that day, plate after plate, course after course, one amazing delicacy of the sea after another.
Oh yes, and please take me with you. 
I have to disagree with this- the bar is the place to eat. Fun, lots of action. The line was out the door the first time we ate there- but probably waited an hour, have some Cava or Cervesa while you wait in line!
Can we move this to Travel (and merge it with the other Barcelona thread already underway there) so I can find it when I need it?