The Rough Guide to Barcelona 8 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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the sticks so that the bill can be tallied at
the end). There’s a pricier restaurant out
back with more good Basque specialities.
Mon 6.30pm–midnight, Tues–Sat noon–
4pm & 6.30pm–midnight; restaurant opens
1.30pm & 8.30pm.
El Xampanayet c/de Montcada 22 T933 197
003; M Jaume I/Barceloneta. Traditional blue-
tiled bar doing a roaring trade in sweet
sparkling cava and sidra. Salted anchovies
are the house speciality, but there’s also
marinaded tuna, spicy mussels, sun-dried
tomatoes, sliced meats and cheese. As is
often the way, the drinks are cheap and the
tapas turn out to be rather pricey, but
there’s usually a good buzz about the place.
Tues–Sat noon–4pm & 6.30–11pm, Sun
noon–4pm; closed Aug.
Barceloneta
For locations, see map, p.91.
Cova Fumada c/Baluard 56 T932 214
061; M Barceloneta. A good place for a
gregarious lunch – the busy, old-style bar is
behind the brown wooden doors on Barce-
loneta’s market square (there’s no sign).
The seafood is straight from the market’s
fish stalls, though the house speciality is
the bomba (spicy potato-meatball), a dish
you can get all over Barcelona these days
but which the Cova Fumada claims as its
own. Mon–Fri 9am–3pm & 6–8pm, Sat
9am–3pm; closed Aug.
Jai-Ca c/Ginebra 13 T 932 683 265;
MBarceloneta. Always a great choice,
at any time of the day, with seafood
platters piled on the bar, from bundles
of razor clams to plump anchovies.
Meanwhile, the fryers in the kitchen work
overtime, turning out crisp baby squid,
fried shrimp and little green peppers
scattered with rock-salt. Take your haul to
a tile-topped cane table, or outside onto
the tiny street-corner patio. Daily
10am–11pm.
Vaso de Oro c/Balboa 6 T933 193 098;
M Barceloneta. If you can get in this corridor
of a bar you’re doing well (Sun lunch is
particularly busy), and there’s no menu, so
order the patatas bravas, some thick slices
of fried sausage and a dollop of tuna salad
and you’ve touched all the bases. Unusually,
they also brew their own beer, which comes
in tall schooners, either light or dark. Daily
9am–midnight.
Poble Sec
For locations, see map, p.104.
Inopia c/Tamarit 104 T934 245 231,
W M Poble Sec.
You’ll have to make a special trip to this
sleek, in-the-know tapas bar, stuck in sight-
seer’s no-man’s-land, but it’s unquestionably
worth it. It’s the brainchild of Albert Adrià,
brother of Ferran Adrià (of best-restaurant-
in-the-world fame, El Bulli), and it’s always
standing room only for the best “classic
tapas” in town. Regional wines are very
reasonably priced, and don’t miss the
signature-dish patatas bravas, the griddled
tuna, lamb brochettes or the fritura de
verdura (vegetable tempura). You can eat
and drink for around €25. Tues–Fri 7–11pm,
Sat 1.30–3.30pm & 7–11pm.
Quimet i Quimet c/Poeta Cabanyes 25
T934 423 142; M Paral.lel. At busy
times here everyone has to breathe in to
squeeze another punter through the door.
The bottles are stacked five shelves high –
there’s a chalkboard menu of wines by the
glass – while little plates of classy finger
food are dished out from the minuscule
counter, things like roast onions, marinaded
mushrooms, stuffed cherry tomatoes, grilled
aubergine or anchovy-wrapped olives.
Tues–Sat noon–4pm & 7–11pm, Sun
noon–4pm; closed Aug.
Dreta de l’Eixample
For locations, see map, p.115.
Casa Alfonso c/Roger de Llúria 6 T 933 019
783, W ; M Urquinaona.
It’s about half-past 1930 in Alfonso’s – bar
and xarcuteria up front, country-style wood-
panelled dining room at the rear. Alongside
the tapas are two-person platters (like mixed
cheeses or smoked fish) or selections from
the grill, served with garlic or romesco
sauces. Mon–Fri 9am–1am, Sat noon–1am.
TapaÇ24 c/Diputació 269 T934 880 977,
W ; M Passeig de
Gràcia. Carles Abellan, king of pared-down
designer cuisine at his famed restaurant
Comerç 24, offers a simpler tapas menu at
this retro basement bar-diner. There’s a
reassuringly traditional feel that’s echoed in
the menu – patatas bravas, Andalucian-style
fried fish, bombas (meatballs), chorizo
sausage and fried eggs. But the kitchen
updates the classics too, so there’s also
CAFÉS, TAPAS BARS AND RESTAURANTS
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Tapas bars