Travel

Meet, Eat, Drink in Barcelona

May 18, 2016

When a waiter in the coffee place can predict, what I’m going to order, I start feeling like at home, even in a new place. And I know that in a certain time of the day, I will surely meet that older man, coming to have a coffee and read the newspapers, every day at the same table. His face slowly changes when he notices me. Before he was watching me a little suspicious, but a little later, he starts friendly wink whenever he sees me. (*true story)

Busy cafés are such a great opportunity to get to know the culture and habits of the local people. Since I love to spend significant amounts of time in cafés and restaurants, I found several charming places during my one month stay in Barcelona. I use to visit each of them for a different purpose.

Brunch & Cake

The word brunch contains everything I love. Late mornings with no guilty feelings, breakfast & lunch in one and time with my loved ones.

I discovered one of my favorite streets in Barcelona, thanks to designer’s boutique Ailanto I visited there. The street’s name is Enric Granados and it’s famous among the Barcelona’s insiders, especially those close to art and design. This beautiful street has a strongly artistic accent, with the posh hint. According to the number of stylish people on bikes I’ve seen there, you could also call it hipster’s paradise.

Beautiful architecture, small galleries and hidden fashion boutiques, cool bistros and cafés make this street hard to resist.

Brunch & Cake is one of the places, that are on the top of my list in Barcelona, not only because of the original and fresh furniture, but especially for the absolutely amazing food. Another, but not the only one great place on this street is half gallery/half café Cosmo.

Meeting at Escribà

I used to have a croissant and a coffee with the fresh juice at this patisserie situated on Gran Via. But if I wanted to have a cake, this would be the right place as well. I met my friend from Barcelona in Escribà for late breakfast as this is the most famous patisserie in the city. I was lucky to be introduced to the founder, as my friend knows her quite well. She is a very nice charming lady, who came to Barcelona from France, many years ago. And she looks just like someone who you assumed to know all the great recipes and secrets of the small sweet miracles. Now, she passed them all to her children and they run the place.

Diner at Fàbrica Moritz

I would never expect I will recommend a brewery/restaurant as one of my favorite places to eat in Barcelona. I don’t drink beer at all. I decided to visit this place as I noticed it from outside, because of the exceptional space and design. It looked very busy nearly anytime. Fàbrica Moritz is located on the Ronda de Sant Antoni, in my another favorite area of Barcelona, nearby the MACBA. The area represents the more alternative and underground art scene of Barcelona and it’s also the area of university students and skateboarders. It has, unlikely to the fancy Enric Granados street, more rough artistic feeling.

Even though I don’t drink beer, I realized I can enjoy it in food. Mussels cooked in beer tasted delicious! When you visit this place, be sure to visit the bathroom. The way to bathroom is like an adventurous excursion. Fàbrica Moritz was really an exceptional experience!

Work in Sandwichez

I love working in cafés, but it must be the right café. In the moment when I saw Sandwichez, also at the Ronda de Sant Antoni, I knew I found my work café. I could sit and work there for hours with one sandwich, juice and coffee and nobody getting nervous. Big and stylish space with a good wifi connections makes a great environment that attracts people looking like graphic designers, creative freelancers or students. (I would be a bit disappointed, if they are not :)) Moreover, they always play a nice music there.

Late night tapas at Ciudad Condal

At the end, the closest to my heart and stomach, was this restaurant at Rambla de Catalunya. It isn’t for everyone. Those who like to sit alone at the table with the romantic music on, would hate it. But it’s one of the most authentic place to eat in Barcelona. No reservations are accepted, so one has to wait for the place to sit, but for me it was quite fun to wait, standing with a glass of wine. Restaurant is busy, noisy and has the most delicious food I had in Barcelona. Very similar type of the restaurant, though slightly calmer is Bar Cañete at Carrer de la Unió right next to La Rmbla. Since my first visit, I consider eating tapas at the bar with the people all around, as one of my favorite activities. Just another proof, that I’m partly Catalan by heart.