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Restaurants in Barcelona

A selection of Barcelona's best restaurants in all areas of the city


In Barcelona, the Spanish and in particular the Catalan cuisine is at home. However you can also find an exquisite international cuisine, since people from many countries live in Barcelona.

If you would like to eat fish or seafood the former fishing area near the Barcelona’s beach is Barcelona's first address. In the Gothic quarter (Barrí Gotic) in the centre of Barcelona you will find a rather wide variety of restaurants from around the world. In the district of Eixample, outside the mass tourism of the old city, a traditional Spanish cuisine dominates.

From Thursday to Saturday, you should reserve a table.

Opening times

Spaniards eat compared to the Middle-Europeans rather late. Lunch is served between 14:00 and 16:00 in the afternoon and you don’t eat dinner before 21:00. Some restaurant’s kitchens often open only from 21:00 to about 24:00 due to that. Around the Rambla in the Gothic quarter, many restaurants have adapted to the tourists and open the kitchen earlier.

Pricing and Payment

Spanish-Catalan recipes

Bring a little flair of the Catalonian home with our delicious recipes. From the classic paella to tapas.

Many restaurants offer a cheap lunch menu (menú del día), salad, main dish, dessert and a drink. Prices range from 6 -15 €.
At night you should calculate with slightly higher prices. Of course every price class restaurant can be found in Barcelona - from fast-food restaurant to gourmet temple. Often the prices are indicated on the menu cards without the 7% value added tax (IVA).

Only one person pays at a table. The breakdown of the invoiced amount you have to do among yourselves.

Restaurants in Barcelona's districts

Restaurants in Barcelona's Old Town

Restaurants in Barcelona's Old Town

The Old Town, with its neighborhoods Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter), Raval, Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera and Barceloneta is the center of Barcelona city.
In Barri Gotic and in the southern part of La Ribera, also called El Borne, you will find especially traditional Catalan and Mediterranean cuisine and tapas bars. In Raval, a classic immigrant neighborhood, many restaurants and bars offer African, Asian and Middle East cuisine.
In the Old Town district of Barceloneta, located Between Port Vell and the sea, you can particularly find fish and seafood restaurants. In most of these restaurants the food is cooked fresh from the market and the prices are comperatively low.

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Restaurants in Barcelonas district Eixample

Restaurants in Eixample

In terms of gastronomy the Eixample district is the most creative part of Barcelona’s culinary landscape. You’ll discover a colorful mix of traditional, modern, or even experimental cuisine. In addition to the well represented Mediterranean cuisine, there are also cooks from all over the world creating magic in Eixample. They come from Asia, the Middle East, European countries or Spanish regions such as Andalusia and the Basque country.
In Eixample you’ll find predominantly moderate to fine dining, you can also visit a number of Michelin-starred restaurants here.

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Restaurants in the artist’s district of Gràcia

Restaurants in the artist’s district of Gràcia

Up until 1898 Gràcia was an independent city, which was connected to Barcelona by the Passeig de Gràcia at the borders of today's Old Town.
In Gràcia you can find small, narrow streets, alleys and charming squares, which are seemingly chaotically arranged. Everything here is a little more relaxed than in the rest of the city, which is what helps give this artistic hot spot such charm.
Several star-rated restaurants and other establishments of high-class gastronomy have settled here. But there are also very many traditional restaurants with reasonable prices here.

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Traditional cuisine in the Eixample

Restaurants in Sant Martí

Sant Martí is the city district that borders the east of the old city and Eixample. The former industrial area is now an area with many new homes, shopping centres and malls, as well as a lot of restaurants, bars and pubs. This is a good place to go out, especially in the districts Vila Olimpíca, Poblenou and Clot.
One special attraction is undoubtedly the town beach, a large extent of which is assigned to the district of Sant Martí. Behind the beach there is a wide green strip, covering long distances on the coast road.
In culinary terms, you will mainly find Mediterranean cuisine here, including a wide range of fish and seafood. However, international restaurants can also be found here.

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Food at the foot of the Montjuïc

Food at the foot of the district Sants-Montjuïc

A picturesque mountain, at whose feet is the fair. There are many places of interest around and on the 250-metre-high "mountain", however there are only a few restaurants here.

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Restaurants with Michelin Guide Star awards

Restaurants with Michelin Guide Star awards

Barcelona has transformed itself into a real gourmet destination. Its location between the Mediterranean and the mountains, its proximity to France, the influence of other Spanish regions and the world cuisine of the multicultural population inspire the most creative chefs. In Barcelona these chefs have created one of the most diverse and globally prestigious gastronomy scenes.
In Barcelona over 20 Restaurants have been awarded with one or more of the Stars. There are also numerous restaurants that the Michelin Guide has recommended.

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Franchise restaurants and fast food

Franchise restaurants and fast food

Fast food is not just fast food. Here we introduce the Hard Rock Cafe in Barcelona and fast food franchises well known especially in Spain.

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Tips for dining in Restaurants in Barcelona

Seating in restaurants
Please wait at the entrance of the restaurant until the waiter lead to a free space. Often a waiting area is set up at the entrance. In bars and pubs you can sit at a table yourself. Not usual it is to settle at a table where someone already sits.

Tipping
Local people in Spain only give a little tip. In restaurants you give about 5 percent, or you round the amount up to an "straight" sum. Leave the tip on the table when leaving the restaurant.

Smoking in restaurants and bars
From 2011, a tougher non smoking-law applies: Smoking is generally not allowed in bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Previously possible exceptions, such as separate smoking areas in restaurants or bars, no longer exists. But on terraces you can smoke as before.

Recognize good restaurants
When the Spanish meal time a restaurant is full, then that is a good sign. But judge not too easily: in the empty tapas bar next door, guests may come just two hours later.