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BARCELONA
- EATING |
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| Vacation
Rentals in Barcelona |
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There are two ways to eat
in Barcelona: you can go
to a restaurant ( restaurante
in Castilian) or cafetería
and have a full meal, or
you can have a succession
of tapas (small
snacks; sometimes tapes
in Catalan) or raciones
(larger ones; racions
in Catalan) at one or more
bars. This last option can
be a lot more interesting,
allowing you to do the
rounds and sample local
specialities. Otherwise,
at the budget end
of the scale, you'll be
able to get a basic,
filling, three-course
meal with a drink - a menú
del dia - for ?5.50-9,
though the cheapest tend
to be served in drab
dining rooms and are
usually available only at
lunchtime. There are some
excellent exceptions,
though, and plenty of
proper restaurants also
provide a good-value menúdel
dia for between ?9 and
?12.
Travellers on an
extremely limited budget
can do well for themselves
by using the excellent markets,
bakeries and delis and
filling up on sandwiches
and snacks.
Good restaurants and
cafés are easily
found all over the city,
though you'll probably do
most of your eating where
you do most of your
sightseeing, in the old
town, particularly around
the Ramblas and in the
Barri Gòtic. Don't be
afraid to venture into the
Barrio Chino which hides
some excellent
restaurants, some
surprisingly expensive,
others little more than
hole-in-the-wall cafés.
In the Eixample
prices tend to be higher,
though you'll find plenty
of lunchtime bargains
around. Gràcia ,
further out, is a nice
place to spend the
evening, with plenty of
good mid-range
restaurants. For the food
which Barcelona is really
proud of - elaborate sarsuelas
(fish stews) and all kinds
of fish and seafood
- you're best off in the
Barceloneta district
(Metro Barceloneta, or bus
#64 or #17, final stop),
down by the harbour, or in
the Port Olímpic (Metro
Ciutadella, or bus #41 or
#59). Nor should you
necessarily eschew local chain
or franchise outfits,
which can be surprisingly
good and sometimes score
quite well on ambience and
decor.
Note that the Barri
Gòtic can be a
dangerous place late at
night. The tapas bars
themselves are all right
(watch your possessions;
bag-snatchers operate in
crowded bars), but take
care if you're on a bar
crawl - stick to the main
streets, don't let anyone
lure you up a side street,
and only take out the
money you're going to
spend that night.
Some handy chains: cafés
and bars
You'll find these
establishments scattered
around Barcelona and
beyond.
Il Caffe di Roma
A string of
well-decorated cafés
serving good coffee and
other hot drinks,
pastries and ice creams.
Open Mon-Thurs
7am-midnight, Fri &
Sat 7am-2am, Sun
9am-midnight. Locations
include: Avda Diagonal
466, Metro Diagonal; c/Gran
de Gràcia 105, Metro
Fontana; Pg de Gràcia
58, Metro Passeig de Gràcia;
Ramblas 76, Metro Liceu;
Ronda de Sant Pere 11,
Metro Urquinaona; Via
Laietana 23, Metro Jaume
I; and Via Laietana 44,
Metro Jaume I.
Pans & Company
The Catalan equivalent
of a burger chain,
serving a variety of
baguette-based
sandwiches, with a
discounted sandwich of
the month. Better for
you than a hamburger.
Open Mon-Thurs & Sun
9am-midnight, Fri &
Sat 9am-3am. Branches
at: c/Ferran 14, Metro
Liceu; Pl Urquinaona
12-13, Metro Urquinaona;
Las Ramblas 123, Metro
Catalunya; Rambla de
Catalunya 13, Metro
Catalunya; Ronda
Universitat 7, Metro
Catalunya; and Avda
Portal de l'Àngel 2,
Metro Catalunya.
Breakfast, snacks and
sandwiches
For breakfast, you can
get coffee and bread or
croissants almost
anywhere (including your
hotel), but a few café-bars
and specialist places - granjas
and orxaterias
especially - are worth
looking out for. Most
tempting are the
traditional pan con
tomate ( pa amb
tomàquet in Catalan
- bread rubbed with
tomato, olive oil and
garlic), ensaimadas
(pastry spirals), tostadas
( torrades in
Catalan; toast with oil
or butter and jam), chocolate
con churros ( xocolata
amb xurros - long,
fried tubular doughnuts
with thick drinking
chocolate) and cakes at
any bakery or patisserie
- which, incidentally,
are among the few shops
to open on Sundays. Most
places also serve
substantial egg dishes (
huevos fritos are
fried eggs, ous
fregits in Catalan),
and cold tortilla
(Catalan truita )
makes an excellent
breakfast.
Takeaway pizza slices
and burgers are
ubiquitous, with chains
well represented on the
Ramblas and on the main
streets in the Eixample.
There's a fast-growing
number of falafel/kebab
outlets, too, especially
in the old town and Gràcia:
the best are on Plaça
Reial, on the Ramblas
near c/de Ferran, or in
c/Torrent d'Olla and Plaça
del Sol in Gràcia.
Tapas bars
For a more substantial
snack, you can't beat
Barcelona's tapas bars.
Tapas are small
portions, three or four
chunks of fish, meat or
vegetables, or a dollop
of salad, which
traditionally used to be
served up free with a
drink. These days
they'll set you back
?1-3, with raciones
(bigger plates of the
same, served with bread)
costing around ?3-5, and
can be enough in
themselves for a light
meal (make it clear when
ordering whether you
want a ración or
just a tapa). Most tapas
bars have their own
specialities (including
Basque tapas or pintxos
which tend to be more
elaborate), so look at
what the locals are
eating before diving in.
Jumping from bar to bar,
with a bite to eat in
each, is as good a way
as any to fill up on
some of the best food
that the city has to
offer. Done this way,
your evening needn't
cost more than a meal in
a medium-priced
restaurant - say ?12-15
a head for enormous
amounts of food and
drink. Remember, though,
that sitting at a table
rather than standing at
the bar to eat can make
things more expensive.
Most of the places
we've listed are open at
lunchtime and in the
evening. As with
restaurants, some are
closed on Sundays, on
public holidays and
throughout August.
Restaurants
The most common
restaurants in Barcelona
are those serving local
Catalan food, though more
mainstream Spanish dishes
are generally available,
too. There are some
specialist places, most
notably marisqueríes (
marisquerias in...
read
more >>
Markets, supermarkets
and delis
If you want to buy fresh
food, or make up your
own snacks and meals,
use the city's markets
. There's less choice in
the supermarkets
, though they're worth
trying for tinned
products, as are the delicatessens
and small central shops
which specialize in
tinned fish, meat and
cheeses. The cheapest
food and provisions
shops are those in the
Barrio Chino/Raval area,
particularly down c/de
Sant Pau - which is one
of the few places you'll
find food shops open on
Sundays, too.
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