Barcelona Good Value Eating

[tjdnewyork]

BCN experts,

I’m heading over to Barcelona for work and fun for about six weeks. Thought I’d ask for some suggestions and share some of my favorite places with you.

Many of the places I love have already been written about in this forum so I’ll stick to ones I haven’t seen here.

Tactica Berri: Eixample. Valencia 169. 93 453 47 59.

Hands down the best pintxos in the city. Get there right before they open at 8:30pm and wait on a small line with a few others vying for the best spot near the kitchen. That way you can pluck off the hot pintxos first.

El Vaso de Oro: Barceloneta. Balboa, 6. 93 319 30 98.

Old-school tapas and beer place. Drink a cana and eat an awesome but pricey chunk of good meat or foie in this narrow old place.

Can Mao. Barceloneta. C/Baluard 12. 93 319 30 82.

Not to be confused with the pricier Can Majo. This has to be one of the cheapest good meals anywhere. Drink vino turbio, slightly effervescent Gallician table wine, down huge plates of fried seafood, and finish off with an orujo.

Love all the places in the Boqueria. Kiosko Universal has a great menu del dia for about 8-10 euros. Get the vegetables to start and then a piece of grilled fish.

One great thing for jet-lagged travelers is to go to Bar Pintoxo in the Boqueria very early in the morning and drink a cava or beer and eat a plate of hearty non-breakfast food along with others doing the same. Finish off the meal with one of the best cortados in the city.

La Vinya Del Senyor in Born, opposite Santa Maria del Mar, has to be one of the best wine bars in the world. Great selection and appropriate small plates to go with the wine.

I like a morning suizo at Granja M Viadjer in Raval. C/Xucla 4-6. 93 318 34 86.

Now, what I’m looking for. The top end of Barcelona has been well covered on this board and I think I have a great deal of information about that kind of place. What I’m looking for are the kinds of places like Foxos that Asola posted about a while ago. By the way I tried Foxos on my last trip and liked it a lot, especially the crowd and the feel of the place. I’m interested in finding places that specialize in regional cuisines of Spain, including Catalan cuisine, for ordinary people who are discriminating eaters and don’t want to spend a fortune. Any of your further suggestions in this vein would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Edited January 15, 2005 by tjdnewyork (log)

[docsconz]

I'm not sure that I can add much (or anything) that either I or others or yourself haven' already written about. I am jealous, though. Welcome to eGullet!

[Bux]

I was about to mention a place, but while it's hardly a fortune, I see that it's more expensive than Can Majo. Sorry, but thanks for your list which I believe adds a few new names to the forum, and welcome to the site and the forum.

[tjdnewyork]

Bux,

I'm planning to hit a range of places. I'd love to hear suggestions in any price range. I just didn't want to bother people with a question they'd answered many times. If you or anyone else has places to share in whatever price range please tell me about them

Thanks.

[Bux]

L'Olivé. I've mentioned it already once or twice in the forum and although we stumbled upon it on night after a general strike because it was one of few places open in the neighborhood, it was listed in the Michelin Guide and we've since learned that Campsa lists it as recommended. It seemed to have a strong Catalan menu, with contemporary dishes. The 2004 Campsa suggests a meal there would run about 36€.

[Saborosa]

Anyone else ever tried Meson David (C/Carretas 63, in the Raval)? It's one of my favourite places but it's certainly not top cuisine and I do wonder what others make of it.

The tables are pushed together and it's all very noisy and convivial with dodgy art on the walls and the TV on in the corner - that sort of place. But it's good for simple hearty meals and some traditional Galician dishes such as cocido gallego containing pig ear and trotter on potatoes.

There are more easily palatable dishes such as pulpo gallego (slices of octopus tentacle sprinkled with paprika), lechazo - slow-roasted suckling pig knuckle, and some wonderful char-grilled chipirones (baby squid).

The red wine is drinkable very cold and the sangria goes down rather too well and is lethal, as are the luminous green chupitos offered at the end of the meal. Best stick to beer. But it's all at ridiculously low (though scarily steadily increasing) prices. Most dishes are under 10 euros and many are under 5. However they do have a bad habit of deciding you actually want two salads instead of one etc so watch for that and check the bill if you're really on a budget.

Somewhere more expensive (about 40 euros for 3 courses) but, I think, good value is Volpaia on C/Balmes 24. It's an Italian-fusion place with young but experienced and creative chef. But it really stands out for excellent service and great wine prices - they were very helpful with choosing wines and suggested cheapies rather than steering us towards pricey bottles.

The food was mostly wonderful (egs scallops with foie and bottarga, orange-marinated prawns over a chickpea and truffle puree; cep risotto with chestnuts and parmesan crisp, and a fantastic bread selection) with a couple of bum notes - not terrible, just unsuccessful experimentation mostly, such as a 'light' deconstructed tiramisu when we were hoping for the calorific real thing.

But despite these I'd definitely go again. And they do half rations so you can try a selection of things. It's so hard to find such good service in Barcelona I become quite militant in my support of any restaurant with it!

[Silly Disciple]

Anyone else ever tried Meson David (C/Carretas 63, in the Raval)? It's one of my favourite places but it's certainly not top cuisine and I do wonder what others make of it.

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Meson David offers quite possibly one of the best value meals in the city, being really good, simple food at very decent prices. And the lechazo is just amazing. I eat there once or twice a month, great place to go with friends.

Silly

[asola]

Ah, Meson David, it's been 10 years at least since I last went there, good memories! But I have a competitor to offer, a similar restaurant that, for me, is a little better: Rincón de Galicia, c. Portal Nou, 61 (just behind c. Comerç). Tortilla de patatas, pulpo a la gallega, chocos, empanadas and bombas are recommended. The house salad is huge, and an incredible value. Turbio wine is fine with this food.

Still, these kind of places are not much to my liking now, they're a bit too greasy. I have another recommendation to make, in the spirit of finding truly local, working-class, places. I don't even know its name, for we call it "Les nenes", "The Girls", on account of it being run by three women the younger of which is 50 years old. The address is c. Rogent, 6 (or 8 or 10). I can't be more precise since they don't have cards. In fact they don't even have menus. There's a menu pinned on the outside window but it's never changed and has nothing to do with the current food offered.

This is authentic grandmother cooking and the most familiar service I've ever seen. The youngest lady serves the tables with an inefficiency difficult to match, while the middle-aged one cooks, and very well, and the old lady, who is 85, does little things all around the place, and orders the others around. For instance, she'll grab an assortment of different types of nuts and break them on the spot to make you a "musico". Or she'll cut an orange into pieces, sprinkle it with sugar and serve it to you. All this is done right in front of you, not in the kitchen, and not in a modern, showy, way, it's just the way it is. Patrons get up from their seats and grab things they need when service is slow -if you can call your mother bringing dinner "service"-, or they hop into the kitchen to explain that they don't want sardines today in their fritada and could they just give him something else instead. A group of patrons play "domino" and discuss the world after lunch, without leaving their seats. These patrons even have their own bottle of "orujo", which one of them brings from his old village, stored here.

The food offered is real market cuisine. I don't know any restaurant where the food resembles more my parents'. A fish soup, a fideuà, macarrones, simple salads, an assortment of fried small fish, a roasted chicken, a butifarra with beans. The best damn chips in any cheap restaurant in Barcelona. A house staple is the paella, on Thursdays, but it's very crowded and strangers will be frowned upon. When it's crowded, the non-existent service can really get to your nerves. I'd say try it any other day first.

Language WILL be a problem unless you're ready to say "Traiga cualquier cosa" (bring anything) or point to other dinners' plates. But if you go there with an open mind, patience and a big smile, it can be a great experience. Make it clear you're enjoying it all and don't try to ask for prices or demand better service. Just go there with your eyes and ears open and have fun! It's so absurdly cheap that you can try as many things as you want. The menu, for instance a paella, the fish fritada and the "musico", plus drinkable house wine, costs 7.5€. You can add a salad to share and a coffee for an euro each.

If you liked Foxos I'm sure you'll like it, tjdnewyork, I hope you'll be able to go. As to your other recommendations, my only objection would be that La Vinya del Senyor is too expensive. Also, a good restaurant more in line with the ones you mention would be La Clara, Gran Via, 442. And I still heartily recommend Goliard in Gracia (c. Progrés, 6).

[paulbrussel]

As mentioned also elsewhere, I think Cata 1.81 is probably the cheapest more modern Catalan cuisine in BCN where you can have a Menú Degustació for 20 €.

[vserna]

Turbio wine is fine with this food.

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I'm not sure what you mean by "turbio wine", but if it's so-called 'traditional' Ribeiro wine, made murky by its lack of stability due to poor 'traditional' winemaking in one of the big co-ops, IMHO this dreadful swill does not go well with any food... There's much better stuff for much the same price available in Spain today! Good food does not deserve to be accompanied by bad wine on account of defending 'local color'!

[asola]

Turbio wine is fine with this food.

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I'm not sure what you mean by "turbio wine", but if it's so-called 'traditional' Ribeiro wine, made murky by its lack of stability due to poor 'traditional' winemaking in one of the big co-ops, IMHO this dreadful swill does not go well with any food... There's much better stuff for much the same price available in Spain today! Good food does not deserve to be accompanied by bad wine on account of defending 'local color'!

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I'm not sure I agree with you, Victor. I don't like vino turbio now but I remember I used to like it ten years ago. Would you recommend Coca Cola to a person who had never tried it? Probably not, but still, if such a person existed, maybe it would be an interesting experience for him to try it. So, if you're a dedicated wine drinker, yes, you'll probably find it awful. But if you're just a visitor to Spain who is interested in 'local color', vino turbio in a Galician humble restaurant is not the worst thing you could have.

[Bux]

. . . if you're just a visitor to Spain who is interested in 'local color', vino turbio in a Galician humble restaurant is not the worst thing you could have.

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You say that with the conviction of a man who's just said that getting hit by a car while crossing the street is not the worst thing that could happen, while he's thinking it would be worse to get hit by a truck. I'm on your side though. I have fond memories of drinking grape flavored alcohilic ink, from a goatskin bota that imparted the additional taste of leather uphostery, in my youth before or after running the bulls in Pamplona almost half a century ago. That fond memory is not filed in the gastronomic section of my brain and there is no cross hyperlink either. That memory fades when I think "wine."

[tjdnewyork]

I think as you guys say, it's all about context. Of course, to take a bottle of this stuff home and drink it next to a good wine in order to savor the taste of the wine would be ridiculous. But with a big group of ten struggling Barcelona artists around a big table at a Gallician restaurant, with everybody talking and yelling, and having fun, wanting to enjoy each other's company, eat well, and not spend much money, this kind of wine is just about perfect.

I personally think that it is futile to contemplate food and drink outside of the context you're going to be enjoying it in. I'm not a food scientist and I don't eat in a laboratory. I don't care so much about the objective reality of the stuff; I want to eat well in nice places with friends and have the food and drink complement the experience. That doesn't mean there is no bad food. Often places or foods or wines can be so bad that they compromise my experience. But I don't think that's the case with vino turbio.

. . . if you're just a visitor to Spain who is interested in 'local color', vino turbio in a Galician humble restaurant is not the worst thing you could have.

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You say that with the conviction of a man who's just said that getting hit by a car while crossing the street is not the worst thing that could happen, while he's thinking it would be worse to get hit by a truck. I'm on your side though. I have fond memories of drinking grape flavored alcohilic ink, from a goatskin bota that imparted the additional taste of leather uphostery, in my youth before or after running the bulls in Pamplona almost half a century ago. That fond memory is not filed in the gastronomic section of my brain and there is no cross hyperlink either. That memory fades when I think "wine."

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[vserna]

Have some decent Galician wine instead. It won't cost you an arm and a leg. It always surprises me that some food lovers are willing to compromise on wine what they'd never compromise on the solid part of the pittance...

Murky wine is unstable wine, having often re-fermented in bottle, and otherwise full of off-aromas and off-flavors. To me, it's similar to eating octopus with the Goodyear texture. No!

[Bux]

Many of our English-only speaking members may not peruse Rogelio's excellent digest of the Spanish food news. Therefore, I'd like to repost this here.

The Week of January the 24th, 2005

Richard  Lander , Nick’s brother, has spent quite a bit of time in Barcelona recently, and is every bit as greedy as every other member of his extended family, so he publishes his favorite places on Jancisrobinson.com. Featuring Cinc Sentits very highly recomended..(And this is in English).

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Nice to see our own Jordi Artal get top billing, but it appears to be a good list even if you already know Cinc Sentits. Of note are several bars in El Born.

[tjdnewyork]

I´m here in Barcelona now. Thanks to all of your for the many suggestions which I am just starting to explore. We are off to a meal at Cinc Sentits tonight and I had a great lunch today at Quimet e Quimet and breakfast at Bar Pinotxo. I´ll be sure to keep you updated as the eating progresses. I tried one of the places mentioned above-Valpoia. Thought the food was great and the staff very very kind, especially the chilean waiter. Only thing that was strange was that the place was totally empty for the entire meal. I think we may have been the only customer the whole night because we went there at 9:30 and left at about 11:30. I think we would have seen any earlier groups and they were closing when we left. It´s a pity because the food is good and the value for wine is remarkable.

[Saborosa]

Only thing that was strange was that the place was totally empty for the entire meal.  I think we may have been the only customer the whole night because we went there at 9:30 and left at about 11:30.  I think we would have seen any earlier groups and they were closing when we left.  It´s a pity because the food is good and the value for wine is remarkable.

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It was the same when I was there. There were a couple of guys at another table but they were the only other diners the whole evening. Though I overheard one tell the chef he worked for the New York Times, if I remember correctly, and he was going to tell their food/travel desks about it, which hopefully will help spread the word a little.

At least it means one can get a table!

Glad you enjoyed it! (phew!)

[tjdnewyork]

One place worth knowing about for a great value menu del dia is Can Lluis in El Raval. It's on Calle Cera, behind Ramblas del Raval towards Poble Sec. The menu is 6.90 and very good. I had fideua to start and then a pork filet and a delicious crema to finish. Also had a decent recommended Rioja for about 11 euros. I really like the atmosphere of this place. It fills up completely at lunch with local people. The staff are jovial and gladly translate the Catalan only menu into Spanish, and helped by naming each dish as we saw it pass. Old fashioned Catalan standards in extremely comfortable surroundings. The fried calcots looked great too. I'll try them when I go for dinner.

Another place that is sensational, but only for one dish, is El Tomas in Serria, which serves the best patatas bravas I've tried. Apparently there is another, more posh competitor in the same area which also has great bravas with a more refined atmosphere. It wouldn't be hard to get more refined than El Tomas which comes complete with dirty floors, brusque/surly waiters, and 0 ambience. But the bravas are worth all that.

I also was dying for a good pizza and went to Bella Napoli on Margerit in Poble Sec. Very good brick oven pizza, as good as many places in New York. Worth a trip if you have a serious pizza craving.

[koen philips]

well its not cheap but I recomend commerce 24. the chef used to be sous-chef @ el bulli. amazing food. also there is is this great desserts only restaurant calle Espagne e sucre. I believe its right acros the street from commerce 24

[vserna]

The exact names are Comerç 24 and Espai Sucre, Koen. You'll find a zillion references to both on this site, I think.

[asola]

Another place that is sensational, but only for one dish, is El Tomas in Serria, which serves the best patatas bravas I've tried.  Apparently there is another, more posh competitor in the same area which also has great bravas with a more refined atmosphere.  It wouldn't be hard to get more refined than El Tomas which comes complete with dirty floors, brusque/surly waiters, and 0 ambience.  But the bravas are worth all that.

I also was dying for a good pizza and went to Bella Napoli on Margerit in Poble Sec.  Very good brick oven pizza, as good as many places in New York.  Worth a trip if you have a serious pizza craving.

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You must have good sources of information, tdj.! I agree on your take on El Tomas and Bella Napoli, which has great pasta as well. Now I'll have to try this Can Lluis.

By the way, my latest finding is a great place to eat fish at a very good price, La Paradeta, c.Comercial, 7 (behind El Born).

[tjdnewyork]

Asola,

Someone else just recommended La Paradeta. I'll have to try it this week.

A few more suggestions for Barcelona eaters:

La Cova Fumada, in Barceloneta adjacent to the temporary Mercat. Great bomba, awesome artichokes, very old school atmosphere, and ridiculously cheap prices. Three ate lunch for 13 euros.

Ondoa Berri, Passatge Marimon, near Diagonal. A very good pintxos bar, clearly influenced by Taktika Berri.

Bar Mandri, on Calle Mandri in Sarria neighborhood. Great bravas, a close second to El Tomas also in Sarria.

Check them out.

[baw]

I just returned from a few days in Barcelona .. thanks a lot to tjdnewyork for the Tactica Berri rec! We ate there on our last night and loved it. We got there right at 8:30 and scored a great spot at the bar and indulged in (too many) pinchos: some cold pinchos of boquerones and different smoked fishes, followed by several croquettes, the best tortilla we had in Spain, lomo and pepper, bacalao, sausage, cocktail weenies in bacon, blood sausage, chicken skewer, another type of fish ... All of that and 4 glasses of Cava and a glass of wine and some bubbly water for 29Eur. It was easily one of the most fun culinary stops on our trip!

Edited March 19, 2005 by baw (log)

[scordelia]

Los Caracoles--The snails

Old Barcelona place, near the old cathedral. You'll know it from the rotisserie spits in the window.

Any of the spit roasted meats are good and garlicky. Try the snails--they come in in rich mole gravy.

Sophie

[scordelia]

Oooh! I forgot--the Hotel Espana--that's right off the Ramblas. First, it's a fabulous art nouveau dining room with incredible tile work, and they have great food! I like the whole sole in Valencia Orange Sauce.

Sophie