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193
Ramblas
For locations, see map, p.46.
Amaya
Ramblas 20–24
T
933 026 138 (bar), 933
021 037 (restaurant),
W
www.restauranteamaya
.com;
M
Drassanes.
A Ramblas fixture since
1941 – restaurant on one side, tapas bar on
the other, both serving Basque seafood
specialities including octopus, baby squid,
clams, mussels, anchovies and prawns. The
bar offers the cheapest and most enjoyable
introduction to the cuisine, otherwise main
dishes in the restaurant cost €14–20. Bar
daily 10am–12.30am; restaurant daily
1.30–4pm & 8.30pm–midnight.
Bar Central La Boqueria
Mercat de la Boqueria,
Ramblas 91, no phone;
M
Liceu.
This
gleaming, chrome stand-up bar in the
market’s central aisle is the venue for ultra-
fresh market produce, served by black-
T-shirted staff who work at a fair lick.
Breakfast, snack or lunch, it’s all the same
to them – salmon cutlets, sardines,
calamari, razor clams, hake fillets, sausages,
pork steaks, asparagus spears and the rest,
plunked on the griddle and sprinkled with
salt. Breakfast costs just a few euros or it’s
€5–15 for some tapas or a main dish and a
drink. Mon–Sat 6.30am–4pm.
Bar Pinotxo
Mercat de la Boqueria,
Ramblas 91
T
933 171 731;
M
Liceu.
The market’s most renowned refuelling
stop – just inside the main entrance on the
right – attracts traders, chefs, tourists and
celebs, who stand three deep at busy
times. A coffee, a grilled sandwich and a
glass of
cava
(no, really) is the local
breakfast of choice, or let the cheery staff
steer you towards the tapas and daily
specials, anything from a slice of tortilla to
fried baby squid. Mon–Sat 6am–5pm;
closed Aug.
Barri Gòtic
For locations, see map, pp.54–55.
Bar Celta Pulpería
c/de la Mercè 16
T
933 150
006;
M
Drassanes.
This no-nonsense, brightly
lit Galician tapas bar specializes in typical
gallego
dishes like octopus and fried green
pimientos
(peppers), washed down with
heady regional wine. You eat at the
U-shaped bar or at tables in the back room,
and while it’s not one for a long, lazy meal,
it’s just right to kick off a bout of bar-
hopping. Tues–Sat noon–midnight.
Bodega La Plata
c/de la Mercè 28
T
933
151 009;
M
Drassanes.
An old-town
classic with a marble counter open to the
street and cheap wine straight from the
barrel. Anchovies are the speciality
(marinaded or deep-fried like whitebait),
attracting an enthusiastic local crowd, from
businessmen to pre-clubbers. Daily
10am–4pm & 8–11pm.
Ginger
c/Palma Sant Just 1
T
933 105 309;
M
Jaume I.
Cocktails and creative tapas in
a slickly updated 1970s-style setting. It’s a
world away from
patatas bravas
and
battered squid – think roast duck vinai-
grette, tuna tartare and vegetarian satay.
Tues–Sat 7pm–3am; closed two weeks
in Aug.
La Pineda
c/del Pi 16
T
933 024 393;
M
Liceu.
On a street of boutiques and gift shops
survives this old-fashioned grocery store,
with a tiny bar and a few tables at the back
where the old guys and curious tourists
hang out. Selections from the regional cured
hams and sausages suspended over the
counter are the things to eat. Mon–Sat
9am–3pm & 6–10pm.
Taller de Tapas
Pl. Sant Josep Oriol 9
T
933 018
020,
W
www.tallerdetapas.com;
M
Liceu.
More
restaurant than bar, the “tapas workshop”
No such thing as a free lunch …
...except, once upon a time, in southern Spain.
Tapas
(from
tapar
, to cover) origi-
nated as free snacks given away as covers for drinks’ glasses, perhaps to keep the
flies off in the baking sun. It’s still a much more southern, Andalusian thing, though
the Basques,
gallegos
and other northerners, all with their own tapas tradition, might
disagree. In some parts of Spain, tapas still comes for free with drinks – a dish of
olives, a bite of omelette, some fried peppers. But in Barcelona you can expect to
pay for every mouthful … unless you count the restaurants which kick off proceed-
ings with an
amuse-gueule
shot glass of soup or designer canapé – free to anyone
just about to pay €80 for dinner.
CAFÉS, TAPAS BARS AND RESTAURANTS
|
Tapas bars