Price Categories
Prices for a three-course dinner per person with a bottle of house wine:
€ = under €25
€€ = €25–40
€€€ = €40–60
€€€€ = over €60
Restaurants
The hill is more an open space for picnics than somewhere for dinner, but the cultural centres have attractive cafés and there are several xiringuitos (kiosks) in the parks serving snacks. Down the hill in the Paral.lel and Poble Sec districts, options range from corner bars to state-of-the-art tapas.
Catalan
Òleum
Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
Parc de Montjuïc
Tel: 93-289 0679
www.laierestaurants.es/mnac_oleum
Open: Tue–Sat L & D. €€–€€€ [A [map], B2]
Enjoy contemporary Catalan dishes within the gracious surroundings of the Throne Room in the Palau Nacional (today’s National Museum), where Alfonso XIII officially opened the 1929 Exposition. Stunning views by day and night.
International
Fundació Joan Miró
Avinguda de Miramar, 1
Tel: 93-329 0768
Open: Tue–Sat L. €–€€ [S [map], C3]
Choose from the select menu of pasta, wok and Indian dishes in the luminous setting of the Miró museum or have a snack in the courtyard.
Spanish
Barramón
Blai, 28–30
Tel: 93-442 3080
Open: Mon–Fri D, Sat–Sun L & D. € [D [map], D2]
This bar-cum-restaurant, on a lively pedestrian street in Poble Sec, has a great young atmosphere and serves various risottos, among other good things. It’s one of the few places in Barcelona where you can try the Canary Island speciality papas arrugadas (‘wrinkled potatoes’).
La Caseta del Migdia
Parc del Migdia
Tel: 693-992760 (mobile)
Open: summer Wed–Sun L & D, winter Sat–Sun L. € [F [map], B4]
Alfresco rustic eating with an amazing view, hidden away in the pine trees. One of the few spots you can watch the sun set in the city. Try grilled sardines accompanied by rumba on summer nights, or take a picnic and buy drinks at the bar.
Elche
Vila i Vilà, 71
Tel: 93-441 3089
Open: Daily L & D. €€€ [G [map], D3]
Famous for its paella and other rice dishes since 1959, when the parents of the present owners brought the recipes from Valencia.
Restaurant in the Fundació Joan Miró.
Gregory Wrona/Apa Publications
Quimet i Quimet
Poeta Cabanyes, 25
Tel: 93-442 3142
Open: Mon–Fri L & D (tapas), Sat L. € [H [map], D2]
You’ll find wall-to-wall wine bottles (with an unusually wide choice by the glass) and excellent tapas in this tiny, authentic bar run by the third generation of ‘Quims’.
Tablao de Carmen
Poble Espanyol, Av. de Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 13–27
Tel: 93-325 6895
Open: Tue–Sun D. €€€€ (includes show) or tapas menu €€€ [J [map], B1]
One of several restaurants in the Spanish Village. Touristy but can be fun. This one has a good flamenco show twice a night, with a set dinner, or you can have lunch in their patio.
Tickets
Av. Paral.lel 164
Open: Tue–Fri D, Sat L & D, Sun L. €€€–€€€€ [K [map], D1]
Word has spread so fast about Ferran Adrià’s spherical olives and hot cheese and ham airbags that you need to book months in advance via the website to get a look in at this high-end tapas bar with staff in circus garb. The Adrià Brothers’ empire continues to spread, so watch out for new openings in this neighbourhood.
La Tieta
Blai, 1
Tel: 93-186 3595
Open: Tue–Sun L & D (tapas). € [L [map], D3]
A small but very simpático bar recently opened by two sisters, with a range of gourmet tapas like salmon tartare as well as traditional favourites like tortilla de patatas. Drinks include some interesting wines sold by the glass, beers and the house special vermut, which comes with a dish of olives.
La Tomaquera
Margarit, 58
Open: Tue–Sat L & D, Sun L. €€ [: [map], D2]
No phone, no reservations, no credit cards, but always packed. A rough-and-ready restaurant where large portions of grilled meat are served with the essential dollop of allioli and house wine. Snails are the speciality.
Bars and Cafés
La Confiteria
Sant Pau, 128
[# [map], E2]
This beautiful former pastry shop with a well-preserved modernista shop front and interior is a great place to stop off for a coffee before tackling the cultural activities on Montjuïc or a restorative cocktail afterwards.
Gran Bodega Saltó
Blesa, 36
[¢ [map], D3]
This wonderful old bodega, revived in the 21st century, has become an essential stop in Poble Sec’s increasingly trendy scene. Like an unofficial cultural centre, its quirky decoration, Sunday lunchtime vermut and live music attract a colourful crowd.
Sirvent
Parlament, 56
[∞ [map], D2]
One of the best places in town to try an orxata – a very cooling, traditional drink made from xufas (tiger nuts). They are also experts in turrón, a nougat-like sweet eaten at Christmas.