Going to Barcelona Tomorrow..Suggestion Wine Store, Restaurants, etc

Going with wife and almost grownup kids. Great wine stores? Hole in the wall restaurants with 3 star Michelin food? Other suggestions? Thanks!

Monovinic
Bar Mut

Search the travel forum. tons of information there on recent Barcelona trips.

Vila Viniteca. Like a candy store.

Also Silvestre for dinner (Bib Gourmand) if you want something a little upscale and different than standard fare.

Yes! Vila Viniteca. Be sure to have a look in the cellar behind the glass door, some great stuff at amazing prices in there but you may have to dig for a bit. I don’t think that they actually have an idea of what is really in there so you may find things with original pricing that they will honor (experience talking.) Also be sure to go next door to their gourmet store for jamon, cheese and snacks. As mentioned, check out the Barcelona posts for some fantastic food recos.

Thanks everyone for the help. Andy

I would add Ciudad Contral and Cal Pep (lunch only) (for food, not necessarily wine).

Monvinic is closed for August. Reopens on the 4th September.

If you go anywhere for dinner, make sure you book a table at Eldiset in Born. Top quality Catalan food and wine in a really modern setting, just lovely.

We do have a couple of non-Michelin star restaurants here that offer very good value for money. The best I can think of is restaurant Montiel. If I remember a 9 course menu with wine pairings was close to 100 euros a person, and the food is just outstanding.

Not a restaurant, but Bar Pinotxo in La Bocqueria is not to be missed. It’s a great spot for lunch.

Was in Barcelona last week and had dinner at Gresca located in the Eixample area. Food can say was well priced and tasted on point.

Some pictures of the meal attached.

Had meals at more casual spots suchs as La Alcoba Azul and El Vaso De Oro both were Tapas bars, and both served food that represented dining in Barcelona. Bar Pinotxo is currently closed, not too sure as to when it would be back open from the summer holidays, but yes its an establishment but to be missed if its open!

A couple of restaurants that I’ve had very good experiences at are, for fine dining, Windsor and for more casual fare, La Clara. Both have excellent wine lists and as one would expect, especially for Spanish wines.

+1 for Montiel. We were there about six weeks ago (with an 11 and 8 year old), and not only was the food extremely good, the price was very reasonable (I think even less than 100 euros for adults with wine) and they were very accommodating with our kids

Another interesting and inventive spot was Agust Gastrobar in Sant Antoni. Enjoy Barcelona!

-jason

Just returned from a whirlwind trip to Barcelona, Paris and Lyon and I need to give a shout out to Restaurant Informal at the Serras Hotel, our new favorite restaurant in Barcelona and an experience that blew away all others on this trip. As I’ve mentioned here before I travel for work and eat out A LOT. This was not a work trip for me (it was for my wife) but we were the guests of my father-in-law’s art dealers who tend to spoil the artists they represent. Among other places in Paris we dined at Carré des Feuillants (Michelin **) Auguste (Michelin *) and Il Sorrentino. In Lyon we ate at a couple of standard Brasseries but the highlight was an afternoon of meats, pates, cheeses and Champagne at Muraato a quaint “Food and Wine Boutique” in the center of the city. The charcuterie was outstanding and the Emmanuel Brochet Le Mont Benoit was delicious and perfect for the occasion.

Paris and Lyon were great, but our meal at Informal blew all others away. The chef at Informal is Marc Gascons who garnered 2 Michelin stars while cooking at Els Tinars in Girona. The story goes that he tired of cooking “formal” food at Els Tinars and moved to Barcelona to open an informal place that served great food in a comfortable, unpretentious environment. Well, he succeeded! The food is Catalan with some Mediterranean and western influences. We started with a couple of “nibbles.” First were the chicken croquettes, a Catalan staple but these were by far the best I have ever had. Crispy, creamy and meaty with a ton of flavor. We also ordered the Patatas bravas which turned out to be the single best fried potato dish (perhaps the best potato dish period) I have ever had. They slice potatoes ultra thin, place 12 layers in a dish, weigh them down and then bake them for 15 minutes before cutting them to size and frying to perfect crispiness. The result is WOW! Just WOW! My starter was once again, the best example of a Catalan classic ever. Free-range roast chicken cannelloni, Jabugo ham, smooth Parmesan béchamel and seasonal mushrooms is how it is described on the menu but they took this classic to another level and left me wanting more. The show stopper however was this dish: Crispy pork trotters salad, blue lobster, nuts and herb “all i oli.” Once in a while, a dish will make me sit up and say WTF? This was one of those dishes and we ordered a second as one was not nearly enough. The Vegetable risotto, Mascarpone cheese, scallops and Iberian pancetta and Pumpkin ravioli and Tou dels Til·lers cheese, vegetables, walnuts and spinach were also awesome, but the pig trotter salad was OMG good and stole the show. For my main dish, I had the Ribeye which was the best steak I have ever had outside the USA and perhaps one of the top 3 of all time. As good as a steak can get, perfectly cooked and well seasoned with large but finely grained sea salt. This was served with spicy red curry brown rice and vegetables and came with a wonderful, subtle Bearnaise sauce. I also tried the Grilled veal fillet with foie gras, puff pastry, figs, caramelized onion and watercress salad which was awesome and the Blue lobster grilled in its own juice, fennel and crispy potatoes which was amazingly delicate and light and showed off how good blue lobster can be. Of course we drank well too! With starters we had Colet Assamblage, a Pinot Noir, Chardonnay Cava from Penedes. This bubbly was light and zippy, and perfect with the nibbles. We followed that with a bottle of Massuria Mencia from Bierzo and then had a bottle of Spanish Pinot Noir from Celler Escoda-Sanahuja which is located in the DO of Conca de Barbera in Tarragona. The winery is bio dynamic and AFWE for sure. The 2013 La LLopetera was at first a bit reduced and funky but quickly blossomed to reveal fresh red and blue fruit with zippy acidity and tons of verve! At first sniff, I believe that most would say Burgundy, but this wine reminded me of a slightly funky version of a young Arnot Roberts PMR Pinot. I loved it. Unfortunately it does not appear to be readily available here in the USA.

On top of the fantastic food, the service at Informal is outstanding! Dannie, the restaurant manager, was fantastic as was the rest of his staff. It was a perfect evening, topped off with a glass of Brandy de Jerez at the rooftop bar overlooking the Barcelona harbor. If you find yourself in Barcelona, do not miss Informal!

I reserved Informal. Any of the Michelin 2 star places in Barcelona exceptional? What about the 1 star places or should I just go back to Informal at least once?

Had an excellent meal at Roca Moo. I would go for a table and not the counter.

Had a very nice lunch at Hoffman.

Had Paella on the beach too that was excellent.
http://www.tribuwoki.com/en/restaurante/barracuda-castelldefels/

George

In September we ate at ABaC and Laserte, definitely two star Michelin restaurants. We also ate at Gaig which is worth the price

Thank you Darren for suggesting Informal. The meal was excellent and a great value. I posted the food porn on Facebook.

You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed it, can’t wait to get back there myself.

Not a huge Coravin fan but they had one and I was able to taste a few wines before pulling the trigger. [cheers.gif]
http://www.vilaviniteca.es/shop/en/vila-viniteca-collection-75-anniversay-in-alkimia-22-nov-bcn.html

They had several wine makers make special 75th aniversary cuvees for them in 2007. After tasting I bought the one from Rene Barbier and Sarah Perez.