Things to do in Barcelona Part 2: A Food Tour of Barcelona

Food is integral to Spanish culture, and will form a staple part of any trip to Spain. Barcelona is a beautiful city with stunning architecture and a fascinating history. In the first post of Things to do in Barcelona, we uncovered its history. Today, we explore its exciting food options.

Paella

Paella is one of the most famous culinary attractions in Spain, and Barcelona is one of the best places to eat this legendary dish. If you head down to the seafront then you will find a whole host of restaurants specialising in seafood and with mouth-watering paellas on the menu. If you want the full theatrical experience of ordering paella then you should order it as a pair or a group and it will be served to you in a huge traditional paella pan with whole prawns and mussels on top. Everyone in Barcelona will have their personal favorite paella restaurant, but here is a list of restaurants that is generally accepted to be a fantastic place both for paella virgins and veterans:

7 Portes
Pg. Isabel II, 14, Barceloneta
Cheriff
Carrer de Genebra, 15, Barceloneta
Arrosseria Xativa
Carrer del Torrent d’En Vidalet, 26, Gracia

Tapas

When in Barcelona, you won’t be able to walk down a street without finding a tapas bar or two. Some are better than others, but all will serve a variety of different small hot and cold dishes. The best way to eat tapas is to order many different dishes and to share with each other, so that you get to sample the widest range of food possible. There are tapas bars and restaurants to suit all budgets, but you often get what you pay for, so if you want good quality tapas then you should be prepared to pay a bit more. Here are some of the top tapas places in Barcelona:

Quimet & Quimet
Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes 25, 08004 Barcelona
Cal Pep
Plaça de les Olles 8, 08003 Barcelona
Bar La Plata
Carrer de la Mercé 28, 08002 Barcelona

Jamon Tasting

Jamon Experience at La Rambla, Barcelona. Image credit: Flickr image of OK Apartment

A visit to Jamon Experience at La Rambla is the perfect way to learn and taste the different types of Jamon (Spanish ham). You can purchase its 1 hour experience ticket for just €19 and it will allow you access to the exhibition spaces that explain how ham is produced and a tasting of 6 different types of Jamon paired with cava, wine or beer.

Crema Catalana

Almost anywhere you eat will offer you Crema Catalana as an option for dessert. This is a type of set Spanish custard with a caramelised sugar topping and it is absolutely delicious. Once you’ve had one, you’ll probably see it as the only fitting way to end every meal in Barcelona.

La Boqueria Market

El Mercat de la Boqueria is a large food market located just off Las Ramblas. If after your food tour of Barcelona you want to take a few samples of Spanish cuisine home with you, La Boqueria is the perfect place to find fresh and dried ingredients for you to take home for friends and family. It’s also a photographers’ dream but the large number of butchers means that it certainly isn’t for the faint-hearted or the squeamish.

So there you have it, the dishes and the places which are absolute musts for the traveling foodie whilst in the city of Barcelona.