Barcelona and Madrid restaurants recs

Going in two weeks. Any thoughts would be appreciated

Thanks

Alan, I am currently in Madrid for a few days and can say the food is insanely good and relatively inexpensive. Visit the website Catavino.net for info, and definitely hit the Mercado San Miguel which is crazy busy on the weekends but has everything you might want to taste (I just did a comparison tasting of 3 vs 4-year old bellota, WOW).

Walk around and when you’re hungry, stop in a bar that has no tourists and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Alan, I don’t know if you saw my recommendation in the Barcelona Hotel thread, but this restaurant in Barcelona is one of the best I have ever been to. We’re talking French Laundry level…

Cinc Sentits

I lived in Madrid for about 8 years so here are some of my favorites:

Mercado San Miguel - this place is heaven when its not too crowded. It does have way too many people visiting on the weekends so during the week its great. Try a little of everything. I highly recommend the shellfish and seafood there, i always make sure to get percebes (barnacles) because I have yet to find any outside of Spain.

If you want another seafood option, the following restaurants are pretty known - Tres Encinas, El barril, pescaito. Spain is second largest seafood market next to Japan so for not having any access to the ocean, you still find great shellfish in Madrid.

Jose Luis - traditional spanish tapas. This is a chain, and I normally steer clear of chains when it comes to culinary tourism, but this is an exception.

Sanceloni - awarded 2 michelin stars. Fine dining, tasting menu is the way to go as it tends to be in most places like this.

EL Llando - a Madrid all - time institution for Spanish cuisine. They are famous for their wines and huevos rotos.

I recommend going to either suckling pig or roast lamb for a long spanish lunch one day. The kind of 3 hour lunch that will put you well into a food coma, so dont plan for doing much after. Typical places are Asador de Aranda, El Botin (touristy but good and it is the oldest restaurant in the world), and there are a few others i cant think of right now. This is also nice to do on a weekend is a day trip to Segovia, a small town outside of Madrid that specializes in this.

The best Jamon producers are either Joselito or 5 Jotas. YOu have to try both to see what Im talking about, its definitely the ‘Cru’ of spanish ibericos. Joselito has a restaurant, Sula, and 5 jotas has tapas establishments throughout the city.

There is this street called Cava Baja, in the neighborhood ‘La Latina’ which is really nice during the week but can be too crowded during the weekends. Its filled with inexpensive tapas bars and restaurants in one of the older more picturesque neighborhoods in Madrid. There is a lot of good and inexpensive tapas places in La Latina.

I can go on and on and am happy to give you more advice or suggestions, if you tell me what neighborhood you are in, i can see what is nearby. Enjoy!!

I love Inopia in Barcelona alot. They used to have their own website but couldnt find it. Here is some info - history
Incredible place if you love GREAT food in a casual setting. Get there early as they rope off entrance fairly early. Went 2 nights in a row last time I was in town.

I think they closed?

In Barcelona, Pasadeis del Pep, sister establishment of Cal Pep. Both recommended, but the Pasadeis (alley) is still in my memory over five years later. It is hard to find. Be prepared to grope around a little bit getting there and get very detailed directions. Further, a reservation will be essential.

Cheers,
fred

[quote=“Serge Birbrair”]

when we discovered this one we ate there every day. 3 blocks from Sagrada, no tourist, friendly staff and excellent wine list.

Man, I’ve been looking for a place that serves good aardvark’s feet.

Pardon my peasantry, but what the heck are these?

That would be a shame as it is the bomb. I was there last in 09.

“Inopia” might not have closed — there’s still a damn good tapas joint there (with a small Inopia sign still up), but it’s operating under a different name — at least, this is the case when my wife and I ate there this past November. It was, however, our 3rd place tapas joint during our 5 days in Barcelona. The #1 spot goes to Tapac 24 for it’s consistently awesome food. The #2 spot goes to Cerveceria Catalana, which had higher highs than, but also lacked the consistency of, Tapac 24. We actually went to Cerveceria Catalana twice b/c their razor clams and prawns are just ridiculously awesome. I found the calamari at Cerveceria Catalana bland and boring, fyi. At Tapac 24, everything we ordered was awesome. Finally, in Barcelona, we had a very nice fine-dining dinner at Osmosis – I highly recommend it.

In Madrid for high end, consider La Terraza del Casino. Great service, great food, but not cheap.

For a good pig-out (sorry, pun intended), I’ll second Botin. Touristy yes, but very tasty and reasonably priced in relative terms.

Percebes (Goose barnacles) Goose barnacle - Wikipedia

After looking for so long, now available in America

http://www.tienda.com/food/products/se-70.html

We will be making our first trip to Spain in October and I really appreciate the information!

Cheers,
Andrew

Thanks for the recommendations (which our Concierge agreed).

Tapac 24 has a couple of small counters (almost like a diner), and several communal tables. Friendly and helpful waitstaff. It’s not a typical tapas place with loads of food on the counter to tease you. English menu is available. It seems high school Spanish isn’t enough. We dined here twice. The first time we sort of ate safe. The second time we were more adventurous. This is a really fun place, and a short walk from Las Rambla.

Cerveceria Catalana was a place we wanted to go to on Friday night at 8:30. When we arrived, the place was mobbed. Always a good sign, but Dan Hammer doesn’t do 90 minute waits. Please note (as we found out when we headed back) that there is a separate waitlist to eat outside. FYI >>> No reservations). This is a tapas place that you want to eat at. Everything is on the counter, and trust me when I say you want to order 1 of everything. They have a 15 Euro assortment of 5 styles, some of which were better than the others. Interesting tastes nontheless. The Sangria cost 10 euros a pitcher ($14 USD). This was the best sangria I tasted all week.

As for Osmosis, it’s easy to get reservations weeknights. Weekends are a little more difficult. Our Tuesday 9:00 (2100) reservation was made online. I was disappointed when we walked in. How could such a hot restaurant look so plain and simple. Well my friends, you’re not eating plain and simple. We were presented with the 42 Euro 7 course tasting menu. This place was outstanding, as was the service. We were there for 3 hours, alone most of the time. Another couple walked in at 10:00 and sat upstairs. We sat downstairs. If you were to tell me dinner would be 3 hours, I would have laughed at you. Dinner was perfectly paced. We were comped a glass a champagne, opps, I mean cava, as an after dinner drink. Classy, elegant, and I’m sorry we didn’t eat here earlier in our trip as we would have returned. The wine list is Spanish. The only problem was that the list was very affordable. Just a couple of expensive wines. When I get settled, I’ll look for my notes and fill in.


All of the above are within walking distance, or an easy 5 or 6 euro cab ride back to Las Rambla.

Brian, thanks for enhancing our dining experience in Barcelona.

Dan, your experience puts a smile on my face. I’m looking forward to your fill-ins, shall you have the mind to type them up.

I’ve not been to Adria’s new Tickets in Barcelona, but a regular drinking buddy has and here is a link to his write-up and photos of the place.

Try out Paco Meralgo (Barcelona) and, for cheap but super fresh seafood, Ribera Manero as well. My write-up and photos here.

Best,

N

Very helpful thread! Any suggestions for interesting/fun wine shops?

Try Vila Viniteca (Agullers 9. Barcelona) and Lavinia (Avda. Diagonal, 605 - 08028 Barcelona). The wine shops of El Corte Inglés, the one at in El Avinguda Diagonal617 08028 Barcelona in particular, are also good.

Just wanted to say thanks for the Osmosis recommendation. Went there last Saturday night and it was fantastic! Very reasonably priced, excellent and very reasonably priced wine list as well.

Just came back from Barcelona last week end. I was on a sports week end with my buddies so no fine dining this time. I suggest the following:
Monvinic - Possibly the best wine bar I have ever been to
Vaso de Oro - Absolutely loved this place, great tapas bar in the Barceloneta district. One time I was there for more than three hours!
El Xampanyet - maybe a bit touristy but great tapas bar in the Born
Tapas 24 - Also very nice and a little more inventive
Did not like Cerveceria Catalana too much, food quality was average and they feed you with the shovel