Restaurants

Gastronomy and culture go hand in hand so much so that Barcelona combines culture with fine dining. You can eat in a Museum or in a unique builing here... the choice is yours!

Do you want to feel like a true Barcelonian? Well, if you do, you can't miss out on going for a vermut. For years this aromatic, herby wine has been the favourite Sunday pre-lunch tipple with local families.

Passeig de Sant Joan doesn't just link two of the city's coolest neighbourhoods, it has recently become the go-to place for Barcelona locals. The stretch between Carrer València and Carrer Casp and the surrounding area has been newly laid out making it ideal for cyclists and pedestrians. It has become a hotspot with interesting bars and restaurants, delightful shops and places that will simply amaze you.

City squares, particularly in Barcelona, are a meeting point, the focus of city life that gauge the mood of its residents. Spending a Sunday exploring the city's squares can be a great way to discover the city.

There are many Barcelonas, and the district of Sant Andreu is one of the clearest examples of this. Although outside the city centre, it is steeped in the essence of Catalonia: picturesque spots, history, centuries-old shops and futuristic amenities blend harmoniously. Come and visit and you'll feel like a genuine Barcelonian.

If you ask any Barcelona local to name the best Catalan invention of all time, nine out of ten will probably reply "el pa amb tomàquet!" (bread rubbed with tomato). More than a simple recipe, culinary technique or custom, the gesture of rubbing tomato on a piece of bread is a sign of Catalan identity.

Barcelona offers a wide range of gastronomic delights to suit all tastes and pockets. Places where you can travel back in time and discover some of the kitchens where people first began to cook what we know today as Catalan cuisine.

As we have already mentioned in Historic restaurants and In the hidden jewels of the Raval, Barcelona is full of bars and restaurants that seem frozen in time. Here are some suggestions in case you feel like getting away from the present and landing in the past, even if it’s just for a short time.

It's no coincidence that Poble-sec has been given different names and nicknames in recent years. It could be said that it is one of Barcelona's most laid-back neighbourhoods so it's no surprise that the city's hipster set are making a beeline to live here. This authentic Barcelona neighbourhood was known as "little Paris" in the 1940s when it was a hotbed of fun and its cabarets, theatres, concert halls and bars were at the height of their popularity.

Making cocktails can be compared to symphony music because you have to be very precise if you want the mixture to attain the perfect harmony. You can't just mix for the sake of mixing; you have to mix with mathematical rigour and in-depth knowledge. If you want to visit some of the city's shrines to cocktails, keep on reading, sit at the bar and watch how the cocktail waiters in their uniforms perform magic in their laboratories.

If you're someone who enjoys savouring every trip to the full, this is unquestionably your time of year to visit Barcelona. Every year, with the first autumn rains, Catalonia undergoes a cultural and culinary transformation focusing on a food that is an intrinsic part of its identity: mushrooms.

In five short years, this curious invention, known as gin and tonic has conquered Barcelona's bars; so much so that bottles of gin fill their display cabinets and shelves. Their origins and blends are as varied as the combinations you'll find at the thousands of bars that specialise in serving them.