Recommend restaurants in Barcelona

Can anyone recommend any good restaurants where we can eat. I have been to Barcelona before and struggled with finding good food at cheapish rates.

Thanks

Any ideas?

There are hundreds of possibilities. It depends on where you are staying and what type of food you want.

My advice is to eat like we do in Spain - avoid tapas and restaurants on the Ramblas and other major tourist areas.

Look for small local restaurants in side streets where you see a sign that says 'Menú del Día'. This is a budget fixed price meal - often including a glass of wine. You are more likely to find it at lunchtime (don't forget lunchtime is much later in Spain so it could almost be an early evening meal for you).

Eating like this will not only be much much cheaper but you will also sample more traditional Spanish food.

One tapas restaurant is located on the corner of a large market about 100 yards east of the Cathedral Square, across the street from the Gothic area. The name of the restaurant was Cuines Santa Caterina.

We had dinner at ATN, which was located close to a Roman excavation of tombs just off Las Ramblas on Canuda Street. The restaurant was open, even though it was about early by Spanish dinner standards. We had a wonderful meal with great service. Separate checks were not a problem with a party of six and credit cards were accepted. The next day, we had dinner at small tapas restaurant near the Plaza Sant Just on Palma De Sant Just. That restaurant, Bodega LaPalma, was not modern like ATN, but small and rustic. The tapas were excellent, with large servings for very reasonable prices. I highly recommend both restaurants.

As I said, avoid tapas if you want to eat on a budget.

To most Spaniards tapas are something served free with a drink in a bar. Tapas restaurants are designed to rip off tourists.

As I said, avoid tapas if you want to eat on a budget.

 

To most Spaniards tapas are something served free with a drink in a bar. Tapas restaurants are designed to rip off tourists.

 

I disagree. I have had tapas all over Spain and find them tasty and affordable. The two tapas restaurants that I mentioned in my earlier post were not expensive and the food was very good. In fact, at Bodega LaPalma, we were probably the only non-Spanish people in the restaurant. It was excellent.

I disagree. I have had tapas all over Spain and find them tasty and affordable. The two tapas restaurants that I mentioned in my earlier post were not expensive and the food was very good. In fact, at Bodega LaPalma, we were probably the only non-Spanish people in the restaurant. It was excellent.

On a Menú del Día you can probably have a 3 course meal with salad, bread and wine for the price of a couple of small tapas dishes.

I am speaking from experience as someone who has lived in Spain for over 11 years.

If you do not want to take my advice that is up to you. The OP asked for economical alternatives

Carol,

I don't know the restaurant you mentioned, so I cannot comment on that restaurant.

I am aware that tapas are generally a lunch or 5pm snack, since Spanish typically eat around 11pm in the evening.

I remember finding a couple of highly rated restaurants in Barcelona, but they didn't open until 9:30pm or 10pm. Since we like to eat earlier, the restaurants that I mentioned opened earlier and were excellent.

ATN was not a tapas reataurant, but more of what your were recommending. It was more expensive than the tapas restaurants that I mentioned.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d1081768-Reviews-ATN_Restaurant-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

Bodega La Palma is a small quaint restaurant that served us a full meal (stated as tapas) for a medest price. It has been over three years since we ate there, but I think the price was less than 15 euros a person.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d1118817-Reviews-Bodega_La_Palma-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

The other restaurant that I mentioned was more touristy, but still good.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d786958-Reviews-Cuines_Santa_Caterina-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

I haven't lived in Spain, but I can recommend these restaurants.

I wasn't talking about a specific restaurant but rather a way of eating in Spain for a lower price than most tourists pay.

Spaniards actually tend to eat their main meal at lunchtime and it is then that you see Menú del Día.

What I was saying was that eating tapas type food is a tourists way of eating. The average Spaniard would not eat a meal that way.

I personally love Buenas Migas - there are a few locations around the city. Everything there is good!!

http://www.buenasmigas.com/

Head over to the little neighborhood, Gracias, and check out any of the little restaurants. They are all excellent and Gracias is a lovely neighborhood in Barcelona.

We will be in Barcelona post cruise in Oct. Thanks to all for the suggestions!

Becki

I wasn't talking about a specific restaurant but rather a way of eating in Spain for a lower price than most tourists pay.

 

Spaniards actually tend to eat their main meal at lunchtime and it is then that you see Menú del Día.

 

What I was saying was that eating tapas type food is a tourists way of eating. The average Spaniard would not eat a meal that way.

 

I am curious..what is a typical Spanish meal....from start to finish. What time of day is typically lunch time. I don't want to dine at 10:00 or 11:00 P.M.

I am curious..what is a typical Spanish meal....from start to finish. What time of day is typically lunch time. I don't want to dine at 10:00 or 11:00 P.M.

As a very international European city a meal can be found at almost any time of day. That said, the traditional 'Spanish' lunch time for the daily specials would normally be from 1:30 PM until around 4 PM. These are certainly a wonderful way to experience a nice meal for a high value.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187497-c169370/Barcelona:Spain:Menus.Del.Dia.Lunch.Specials.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d1059712-Reviews-Ciudad_Condal-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

Tapas at someplace like my favorite, Ciudad Condal, on the Rambla Catalunya just off the top of the Plaza Catalunya, is certainly an excellent 'meal' if done correctly. The wait staff tend to speak perfect English as they to a great extent come from the large Barcelona 'Filipino' community and provide excellent assistance to choose among the many excellent 'shared small plates' and they will bring a great 'Cava Sangria' for a nice beverage choice often preferred currently by locals.

http://www.philstar.com/business/2013/09/26/1238129/filipinos-thrive-barcelona

Many of us who sail often know the excellent service we often get from the Filipino crew onboard as well.

What I wanted to know is what type of food...what do they eat?

Spanish food is very varied and it depends which region you are in. They eat a great variety of foodstuffs in Spain. Their pork and pork products like cured hams are considered some of the best in the world.

They eat lots of fish and you find excellent seafood in most places, even inland.the Spanish are not very keen on spicy food, but enjoy pasta and pizzas.

They also eat a lot of pulses, particularly chickpeas, lentils and beans.

In Barcelona you will be able to find a good variety of restaurants offering food both from the area and from all over Spain.

This can all be washed down by some fantastic wines or local Cava.

A good way to get an idea of the many diverse menu items offered is to go to the Tripadvisor or Yelp listing for any venue and then read the reviews or just look at the many photos posted by guests.

The Guardian did a recent review of some of the lunch special restaurants that includes some menu items for each.

As Spain is one of the top culinary destinations the offerings are very diverse and range from the most basic and simple to the highly innovative and creative.

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/jun/15/top-10-budget-restaurants-barcelona-for-lunch