Eating in Barcelona

Breakfast

 

Eggs Benedict at Le Coq & Le Burg

 

Cute interior serving, as the name suggests, eggs and hamburgers.

Lunch

The best meal of the trip was at  Café de l’Academia. For 10 euro you can sidle up to the bar for a salad, the plate of the day and dessert.  If you choose a table over the bar, the menú del día will still only ring in at 14 euro.

Located in a tiny courtyard, set back from the busy streets of the Barri Gòtic, Café de l’Academia is a casual affair. Market fresh veggies and catalan sausages were on my  menú del día, which I ate in absolute engrossed silence. I refused to share.

Perhaps then it was bad karma that got me in the end. We discovered this restaurant on Friday, and since it’s closed on weekends, that meant I could only eat there once.

Afternoon snack

Jamon. Jamon everywhere you look.

And what goes better with jamon than cheese?

Conveniently located a few steps from Café de l’Academia is Formatgeria La Seu.  Owned by the lovely Katherine, a Scottish woman who chastised me for leaving my iPhone sitting on the counter after taking some shots of her cheese shop.

She was right. There is something about being a tourist that makes the sensible part of your brain turn off. I would never put my phone down in Rome and turn my back, but I was so caught up in the Spanish farm cheese that I couldn’t think straight.

Three cheese and a glass of wine for 3 euro. No wonder I wasn’t paying attention to my things… it was the best snack of the trip.

Tapas

Barcelona is not known for tapas, but the popularity of Tapas 24 shows just how in demand the dishes can be. Started by Carles Abellan, previously of elBulli, the place is essentially standing room only.  I managed to snag a spot at the bar without a wait: the beauty of dining alone.

To start, pa amb tomàquet – Catalonian bread with tomatoes. Being the self-proclaimed bruschetta connoisseur that I am, I wasn’t expecting much, but one should never underestimate the power of tomato, garlic, salt, new olive oil and fresh bread. Delicious.

Next up, la bomba de la Barceloneta. The ultimate comfort food.  Potatoes, meat and romanesco in a perfect little pouf.

I ate many bombas. I ate many patatas bravas. This was the best of the bunch. I wanted 2. 3. 4! But I made the mistake of ordering a croquette to switch things up. I won’t bother with the croquettes in the future.

Finally, calamari with Romanesco.

Cava

In between, during and after all this eating was cava. So much cava.

For a quick drink after browsing the market, try  Mam I Teca.

To visit any/all of the above:

Le Coq & The Burg
Avinguda Gaudí, 8
080025 Barcelona
Neighborhood: Sagrada Familia
0034 934 330 908
Tue – Sun: 9:30am – 6pm

Café de l’Academia
Calle Lledo, 1,
08002 Barcelona
Neighborhood: Barri Gòtic
0034 933 19 82 53
Mon – Fri: 1:30pm – 4pm & 8:45 pm-11:30 pm
Closed the month of August

Fromatgeria Le Seu
Carrer de la Dagueria, 16
08002 Barcelona
Neighborhood: Barri Gòtic
0034 934 12 65 48
Tues-Thurs: 10:00 – 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Fri- Sat: 10:00 am – 3:30 pm & 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Closed the month of August

Tapas 24
Carrer de la Diputació, 269
08007 Barcelona
Neighborhood: L’Eixample
0034 934 88 09 77
Mon: 8:30 pm – 11 pm
Tues – Friday: 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm & 8:30 pm – 11 pm.
Sat: 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Mam I Teca
Carrer de la Lluna, 4
08001 Barcelona
Neighborhood: El Raval
0034 934 41 33 35
Weds – Fri: 1 pm – 4 pm & 8 pm – Midnight

2 thoughts on “Eating in Barcelona

    • L'americana says:

      Absolutely! You eat cheese, yes? Because that is an entire food group for me 🙂 It might be a bit heavy on starch and dairy, but there are plenty of seasonal veggies as well.

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