The breakfast I had at Cafeteria Panet in the Sants neighborhood was by far the most substantial breakfast meal during my time in Barcelona. I discovered the coca, which was labeled "Coca de Recapte, a traditional Catalan flatbread topped with tomato, eggplant, herring, and tapenade." I think the side with tomato also had piquillo peppers mixed in. We also shared a croissant sandwiched with jamon and cheese. This one didn't have a sign in English so I'm not sure what type of cheese. My notes tell me I couldn't taste the ham as much as I wanted to.


Beer and wine with breakfast - why not?

Close up of the coca


Close up of the croissant


And then we finished up with two donuts filled with chocolate, a cafe and a cafe Americano. The texture of both donuts was an exciting blend of a cake donut's denseness and the light, airy yeastiness of a classic south side donut. Those little packaged biscuits were pretty phenomenal too.


Close up of the better donut. These pockets of chocolate were nutella-esque.


Thankfully this did not set the pace for our remaining breakfasts in Barcelona - most often one pastry or simple sandwich and always cafe.

While I might not recommend seeking out this little "cafeteria" in particular (simply because you can get a lovely escalivada-topped coca in many places), the neighborhood may be more of a draw. It looked to be very traditional, had a large open air market, permanent shops, and several temporary booths along the street. I looked at a few other menus and meant to get back to this area for dinner, but never made it back. (Catalan was the preferred language at Panet, and an order for a "doble cafe" in Spanish resulted in the superb cafe Americano pictured above.)



Cafeteria Panet
c/ Creu Coberta, 91
08014 Barcelona
Tel. 932965094

(Edited to add why I don't consider Panet a destination and a couple photos of the restaurant I borrowed from this commerical association website http://www.creucoberta.com/es_socios_detalle.html?Id=72)
Editing all these posts to make photos smaller

I loved the vibe in Tapas 24. Energetic and young and did not feel like dining in a basement. Inventive menu packed with flavor bombs.

View from our seat at the bar


A beautiful piece of equipment and eggs everywhere!



Menu



Specials



The pan con tomate had great backyard tomato flavor even in April and was my favorite version during this trip.



One the right - Croquetta con Iberico: fragile crumb, creamy and pulverized filling



Bikini: delightful with truffles, ham and cheese



Bombas potato croquettes with aioli and chipotle-flavored sauce in foreground and Lamb skewers with cumin, coriander and I think turmeric in background. The lamb was charred crusty on one side and rare in the middle



Truita de trempo - tortilla with potato, onion and chorizo.



I loved how the center was runny like an egg yolk. (The whole thing was kinda wet, which made it seem yolk-like)



Caroxotes Fregioles - artichoke "chips" with the choke part still attached. A little bitter and needed salt. The thicker pieces tasted better but held in more oil.



Tonyina, Tomaquet i Soja - tuna, tomato, seaweed, scallion. This was the one miss for me. The sauce was similar to a Thai plum sauce and really overpowered everything else.



Alitas Coreanas - chicken wings, deboned with an Asian inspired Buffalo sauce (think orange chili sauce served at sushi places with a little Texas Pete mixed in)



Xocolata Amb Pa, Oli i Sal - the smoothest and richest ganache I could hope to eat. I found the olive oil to be superfluous and coated my tongue from the pleasure of chocolate.



Toronja a la toronja - supremed orange, fresh juice and candied rind. So bright and delicious. And a perfect match with our chocolate dessert. We had a playful banter with our server over whether this would be grapefruit or oranges. Evidently toronja means "orange" in Catalan.

cabrito wrote:

Awesome! I wish I could have one of those right now! Thanks, for posting your shots. They remind me, once again, of just how much I loved Barcelona.

=R=

Thanks, Ronnie! The Tortilla Espanola was one of dishes that stuck in my memory so much so that we now practice at home and continue to make about once a month. We've gotten to a pretty close approximation and it makes for a fine breakfast or snack. Plus it feels so Spanish to see a beautiful tortilla sitting out on the kitchen counter.

One more for post today.

I read on other sites that the mini chain, Taller de Tapas, was not worthy. I found quite the opposite in its charming outdoor setting and simple, delicious food. Maybe I ordered well. In any case, I'm not ashamed to have eaten here, and I'd happily return.

Al fresco tables were right in the square, and pedestrian traffic was close by.



The menu had an English translation. What a racket - charging a premium to sit outside.



Padron Peppers



Galician Clams with white wine and garlic



Langoustines - grilled with olive oil, garlic and a dusting of paprika. Eating these was a seminal moment in my life. A thing to be cherished - sweet, delicate meat, more seductive than lobster or crab. A food memory milestone that needs repeating.



Chickpeas and Spinach - the creaminess of these chickpeas is without rival. The barnyard bacon fat put this over the top.
[I was so inspired I bought some dried chickpeas to bring home, and no matter how long I left the beans to soak in their liquid - overnight, 2-3 days - they never achieved that same textural quality.]



These guys serenaded the square



Looks like one of the langoustine claws eluded me.



Taller de Tapas
Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol, 9, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
+34 933 01 80 20

(Edited to resize pictures.)

Hmmm, just ran across this thread, wish I would have checked a couple of months ago!

Will keep it brief with two additions and a comment. Depending on how long you spend in Barcelona, you may just want a beer. Two very fine options in that regard. One, a place called El Vaso de Oro in Barceloneta, an old school tapas bar where they also happen to brew a very fine American style pale ale, among a few other brews. Lively and terrific service. Tapas was excellent also.

There was also a place I stumbled across out wandering one evening whose name, Ale & Hop, called out like a beacon to a palate weary of the Estrella family. Many craft brews from across Spain, Italy, etc, along with a good selection of some Euro brews better known to Americans. Didn't eat, but really liked the place quite a bit.

Arrived in Barcelona Sunday afternoon for 5 nights. My 1st thoughts walking around La Rambla where we stayed and the Bari Gottic is how do they support all these restaurants? Almost every storefront is an eating establishment and they all look great, except for KFC, McDonalds, etc. The architecture is spectacular and I haven't seen any other European city with so many narrow, medieval streets. I love this place.

Dinner that night was in the Barceloneta at La Mar Salada. It was recommended for seafood, open on Sunday, and we weren't disappointed. Apps were avocado involtini stuffed with ceviche and artichoke hearts with bone marrow, quail egg, and trout caviar. The involtini was very good but the artichoke was one of those revelatory experiences. Next was octopus with potatoes and paprika served cleverly as several rounds of potato with another round of frilled octopus on top stuck with a vertical toothpick bathed in a simple but flavorful oil oil and paprika. I finished with a crab gazpacho which was the only dish good, not great. I've had a few versions of gazpacho and agree with RonnieS that I've had no versions better here than good ones in the states.

Breakfast Monday was a bit of grazing at the Boqueria, with a pastry here a juice there, and a cone of jamon de bellota. I think we all agree this is Disneyland for LTHers. I wish I was in a condo with a kitchen so I could cook some of this great stuff. We came back for lunch later at Universal, one of the sit down counters. Pinotxos was packed and there was some mighty fine looking seafood being served here. We had a plate of mixed seafood of cockles, mussels, shrimp, langoustine, and needle clams, perfectly cooked and wonderful. We also got a plate of mixed wild mushrooms that were sautéed and put to shame the same funghi I buy at home. Dinner was a 2 part tapas crawl. Our start was Cal Pep and it was everything you all have been talking about. We loved it all and I will just mention that we had the padrone peppers, tomato bread, patatas bravas, fried whitebait(or whatever those little fish are), and jamon croquettes. I hated to stop but we did want to try another place. Pep was in fine form. A couple blocks away was Euskal Eixea which is actually pinxos as opposed to tapas. In an open display case are plates of different tapas all stuck with toothpicks. They are all the same price and you just take what you want and leave the toothpicks on the plate. When you are finished they count the toothpicks and charge you accordingly. They are about 1 euro each. There were probably about 20 varieties and we liked all the ones we tried. I love the concept. If somebody tried it here they would probably go broke as I believe as with income tax time, too many toothpicks would go unreported. Everywhere we ate we went with the house wines or cavas and they have all been excellent.

Tuesday morning we found a little gem for breakfast on La Rambla with a beautiful art nouveau facade called Antigua Casa Figueres(Pasteleria Escriba). The owner was one of Barcelona's most celebrated pastry chefs and the mantle has been handed down to his son. We had buttery croissants and I think a xuixi(sp?), the pastry filled with amazing cream and coated with crystal sugar. His chocolate creations were like jewels, in fact some were actual rings in a jewelry box. There are also great looking French type tarts and pastries and macaroons. Viena, on La Rambla is home to what Mark Bittman from the NY Times called the best ham sandwich in the world. I'm not sure about that but it was a mighty fine jamon baguette. They also had what they called a minced beef baguette but it was more shredded than minced and served with melted cheese and mustard. Very tasty. We had a lighter lunch because dinner was at Tickets. Their reservation policy is similar to French Laundry. Reservations open only online 2 months previous to dining at midnight Barcelona time. I heard you have 5 minutes to score one of the 80 seats. We were attending a larger dinner party at a resort and I excused myself and my iPad, and headed for the men's room. After furiously typing away trying to get to the reservation screen it suddenly popped up with available times. I scored 9:30. You can put it on the board, yeeeessssssss! I walked back into the party with fist pumps. They all thought I was a moron(no comments please). Anyways, it's quite a show, worth the effort, and is a very special experience. I had a bunch of the dishes RonnieS had and I'm not as eloquent as him so I will just list what we ate. Watermelon sangria squares, manchego airbags, tomato salad, toro with avocado and seaweed sauce, 2 versions of oysters, razor clams in escabeche, fried fish, and some platter of different chocolate creations. Whew! What a show!

Yesterday we went back to Escriba. Lunch was at Sagardi, another pinxos bar with some of the same looking items as Euskal. This was bigger with many more selections and equally good. I noticed underneath the name is Euskal Taberna and it turns out it's the same owner and he has a mini empire of about 8 of these, all a bit different. Dinner was 7 Portes. We enjoyed the small platter of mixed seafood. I know what Ronnie had said about the paella but we owed a visit there to another friend who had recently tried it. We got the rich man's paella and loved it. I haven't had many paellas, and none in Spain so I don't know what to expect. Ronnie I know what you mean about the caramelized rice but I thought there was enough meat to balance it. Their style isn't as tomatoey as the Valencian style.

This morning we just had a bite at the hotel. Lunch was at Tapas 24, another superb recommendation. They had the best tomato bread of the trip, followed by bravas, crispy fries topped by that wonderful mayo and a spicy red sauce. White asparagus were topped with a light aioli. Jamon croquettes were very crispy and gooey. There was a sweetbread special served on puddles of delectable puréed potatoes. We finished with stewed lentils and chorizo to die for. Dinner will be light at another Euskal version next to our hotel. Tomorrow we head to San Sebastián for 3 nights. Dinner will be at the only 3 star I could score-Akelare. Ole!

Rev'Andy - you've probably hit on one of the important points of a Barcelona trip, one I wish we'd known.

If you're staying near Las Ramblas or the Bari Gotic, don't get a hotel with free breakfast. Even if it's more expensive, you'll really, really enjoy picking up some breakfast items in La Boqueria market.

Thanks for the tip. We're on our way to San Sebastián today. You are absolutely correct. I booked thru hotels.com and by declining breakfast the room was $70 less per night. What a no brainer. It worked out great.

fried whitebait(or whatever those little fish are), and jamon croquettes

.

When I asked what he called the chiquito pescado he laughed and said the same thing- little fish.

I’ve got a few pictures to add to my previous post.

I mentioned dinner at La Mar Salada. Dishes were more innovative than we expected.

involtini stuffed with ceviche



artichoke hearts with bone marrow, quail egg, and trout caviar



octopus with potatoes and paprika



Tapas 24 also had some interesting looking dishes.

A different version of bravas



white asparagus topped with aioli



sweetbread special served on puddles of delectable puréed potatoes



incredible stewed lentils with chorizo

I'll be in Barcelona a few times a year in the near future so I was happy how big of an impression it made on me. We spent close to three weeks in Spain and the longest tenured stay would be here where two of my good friends currently reside. Having done both Barca and Madrid on the same trip it's pretty safe to say they're very different from each other. Barcelona felt much more touristy and has as many people that speak English as there are Spanish. Madrid seemed much more business oriented while while Barcelona was all about the nightlife. Here are some of my favorite Barcelona bites. Check out the full report HERE if you want to see some of the other spots I made it too.


Leche de Pantera Rosa - We got in late and upon our arrival hit up the town. My friend brought us into this bar famous for their "Pink Panther' liquor which tasted like a potent bottle of horchata. A couple cups of these followed by a visit to the social club was the start of a buzz that would last through the plane ride home.


Quimet & Quimet - Never thought a canned seafood spot could be so much fun. Great vibe and even better bites like this signature eat which can best be described as Spanish Style bagels and cream cheese with lox. The honey truffle oil took these over the top.


Bar La Plata - Visited quite a few boquerias and found this one to be the best by far. They only offer four things on the menu and of course they're all good. Ex. These Fried Sardines pictured up above. Dirt cheap wine straight from the barrel too.


Ciudad Condal - My friend brought us here for a feast in which he did all the ordering, and we ate what felt like most everything but it's these pressed croissants with jamon, cheese and honey truffle oil I remember the most. So good.


Cerveceria el Vaso de Oro - Red Meat and Foie Gras. Enough said. Oh and they also brew their own beer here, it goes great with this plate.



La Cova Fumada - Maybe my favorite food stop of this part of the trip. A real deal locally loved gem. They cook seafood fresh to order and do amazing things with simple comfort foods like sausage and beans as well as the house artichokes and the popular Barcelona tapas, the bomba, which they're said to have created.


El Quim de la Boqueria - Cant do Barca and not visit the La Boqueria market which is an amazing sight to behold. It might be tourist priced but its worth stopping in checking out all the amazing vending stalls. If you're going to eat go here for their famous baby squid and eggs breakfast. By no means is it cheap at $16 Euros but it sure did hit the spot.


Lolita Taperia - My friend is a regular here and we basically tried everything they still had available on our visit. It was pretty much all really good and the service was the best we had in Spain. Before Tickets, there was this and they're still going strong. Terrific tuna tartare.


Tapas 24 - Another trendy taps bar from a well known Barcelona restauranteur, it also lived up to the hype. The Bikini sandwiches pictured upthread were great as was the McFoie burger seen here. Surprisingly the cochinita pibil tacos were on par with many of the best examples I've had stateside.


La Taguara - Being an international city comes with cuisines from all over and I ate a wide range of non-Spanish bites on this trip. Everything from Greek to Italian to Mexican was consumed and this Venezuelan arepe stuffed with shredded beef and condiments was the winner. It made for a nice cheap bite when all the Spanish spots were closed.

We got back recently from our first visit to Barcelona. What a beautiful city! Incredibly vibrant, fun place. I'd been to Madrid 10 years ago and was totally unimpressed so wasn't expecting a whole lot, but this place blew me away:



Fabulous markets:


But I dunno, every meal seemed to taste the same. I get tired of fried food and jamon pretty quickly, it seemed like every menu was rolling out the same old standards for the tourist trade. I'd like to know what they're doing with all that amazing produce they have on display at the markets, the sole fresh vegetable dish I found was this sad little mold of steamed veggies:


I'd certainly go back, but it wouldn't be for the food. But, on to France!!

Beef, do you know where that Pink Panther drink bar is? Heading there next month and would love to check out the original.

Great report, btw

EDIT: think I answered it myself...Tasca El Corral??

http://www.culinarybackstreets.com/barc ... e-pantera/

I'm making it back to Europe for the first time since 2013 and I'll be flying in and out of Barcelona and then driving up into Languedoc Rousillon (hitting Carcassonne, Pezenas, Montpellier as well as various other points between. Total of 12 nights, 3 of which will be in Barcelona (I'll be travelling 5/14 to 5/26)

I'm parsing the thread, but as I've never been to Spain I'm pretty in the dark as to where to begin - I'm very comfortable in France, as I lived there for 5 years as a kid and still speak pretty good French, but despite a year of high school Spanish, my skills are limited to "me llamo Roberto."

Has anyone done any of the Tapas tours? As I'll be travelling solo, I'm thinking that might be a thing to try. Also, I'm interested in any thoughts on good activities in Barcelona - I'm in the early stages of planning.

I'm thinking of driving into France via Puigcerda so as to get a good look at the Pyrenees so any suggestion of places to stop of for lunch along that route are welcome too. On the way back I'll take the coastal route.

Sorry, can't help you with Spain, but I can recommend a couple of really great spots in France. I've spent considerable time in Montpellier doing research on my book. The neatest spot around there is a little town called Mèze. It's right on the lagoon, with a tiny port surrounded by excellent fish restaurants. The oysters couldn't be fresher. With a chilled glass of piqupoul in one hand, an oyster in another, heaven can be approached.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A8ze

I'm sure you're familiar with Collioure. It's on the coast road just a bit north of the Spanish border. Probably the only unspoiled French Med coastal town.

Have a great time!

Geo

Thanks Geo! Meze is on my list, actually, I was guessing it might be a really good spot. I'm thinking of spending a couple days in Montpellier, so any suggestions there would be handy. I think I'll start a separate thread on Languedoc-Rousillon so as not to clutter up this one. Thats the area I'm going to really need help with, there's lots of info on Barcelona to be found, but Languedoc info is a lot more sparse.

Leaving for Spain late next week, beyond excited but still really overwhelmed. Every time I read someone's posts here and elsewhere, I want to go where they went!

Thanks for the great Barcelona pics and tips. We won't be doing Tickets or anything famous like that, but it is good so see that the Bouqueria isn't a total tourist trap with "bubba gump" options. [Whenever visiting friends tell me want to go to navy pier and eat at bubba gump, I excuse myself from that day's plans.] Sounds like we might find some good eats there.

Getting close but any last minute "don't miss" suggestions are welcome.

One really fun thing to do near Barcelona--if you like wine/sparkling wine--is to visit the Spanish cava region, which is only 40km from the city; you can come very close by commuter rail and even take a cab, if you have no car. One of the best tours is Freixenet: http://www.freixenet.es/cava/vis-comollegar

Geo

Does sound fun, we just won't have enough time . I'd hoped to hit Porto in Portugal as well, just can't squeeze in everything I'd like to see. Thanks for responding.

Cocktails at Dry Martini was one of my favorite experiences while in Barcelona. The food in the back room at Speakeasy was also fantastic.

My Dry Martini Flickr
My Speakeasy Flickr

I will be visiting Barcelona this coming week and am really looking forward to it! I have been going through these threads and think I have a pretty good grip on things, for the most part. With that being said, if there are any enthusiastic recommendations, I am always open.

We will be splitting time between Barcelona and the resort town of Sitges, so I will have limited time in the city itself.

I'm hoping to nail down the following things:

1. Old school bars with traditional tapas served along with drinks (I can't find much reliable info on this - I've seen a few different folks on the internet complain about various places because the plates were too small...at a tapas restaurant...). So I'd love suggestions. This seems like a decent bet:

http://vasodeoro.com/

2. Where to go for Jamon? Where is the best place or the place with the most varieties?

3. General tapas exploration - I have a few places earmarked but am definitely open to other suggestions:

http://calpep.com/

http://www.carlesabellan.com/mis-restaurantes/tapas-24/

http://www.euskaletxeataberna.com/

---

Am I on the right track here? Luckily there is a ton of resources in this very thread, which is really helping me out. Just want to clarify a few specific things before I leave. Thanks!

On subject #1, you might want to consider Carrer de Blai, a pedestrain street which is just east of the Poble Sec metro station on Avenue de Parel-lel. There are something like 20 tapas/pinxtos places, and you can hop from one to the next. It's not fancy dining at all, but the food is good and cheap, and it's really a neat experience.

Our favorite meals in Barcelona when we went back a couple of years were
Lolita
Paco Meralgo
we had great Tapas and a lot of fun watching
Flamenco at El Tablao de Carmen
we also took a cooking class that was tons of fun and that involved a lot of eating and a LOT of drinking LOL
I think the company was called
"cook and taste-Barcelona"
I found them on TripAdvisor, and I'm sure I reviewed them- same screen name- irisarbor.

We're heading to Barcelona in September, and I'd love to get some updated recommendations!