Barcelona Favorite Tips by mindcrime

what to eat/drink Food / Drink Review

Favorite thing: Food in Spain is great but depending the place you choose you can have a nice normal meal or an expensive plate that will go directly to garbage. Skip all the places on Las Ramblas, they are focus on tourists, they are ridiculous expensive and yes, their paella is from the fridge, do you really think that can paella be cooked in 7 minutes? :) You will probably stroll around there in the night too (we did) so if you didn’t have a proper dinner earlier there are some cheap choices like all the famous fast food chains (I never visit but it’s up to you), some kebap places (about 5 euro per kebap, so expensive!), bocadillos (sandwiches) in every tapa bar etc The super market at Las Ramblas 113 is open till late so you can buy some things there too (sandwiches, salads for 2.75euroetc)

The local plate are based on olive oil, garlic and tomato. The seafood is usually the main dish (Bcn is near the sea, come on!) and when I had fresh ingredients I was so happy :) Some weird mixes of nuts and vegetables or even fruits and meat made me laugh but I enjoyed almost everything I ate. Some places have some huge portions of tapas that filled 2 of us. The starters are usually salads or soups, slices of jamon, cheese and olives. I didn’t try many desserts but I liked the ice creams in most of the places. Crema Catalana is the most popular local dessert.

The tap water has a terrible taste so its better pay for a bottled water, less than a euro in a super market but usually 1,5euro in a tavern. The coffee tastes bitter to me so usually we asked for a café con leche or a capuchino. I saw many locals order café cortado which is an espresso with a little milk. I never met anyone in Spain drinking tea so I cant tell you about it. I liked all the fresh orange juices I choosed. I drunk many beers (ask for a canya), the most popular bard is ESTRELLA but I saw many SAN MIGUEL like in other places in Spain. Spanish people love to drink wine with meal, I tasted some nice white ones but also some rubbish red ones. I didn’t try any Sangria in Barcelona.

Tip 1: you will be surprised how the prices go down when you visit some side streets of Ramblas. Avoid Ramblas in any case.
Tip 2: ask a local about a descent nice place to eat, you will be surprised again about the price and the quality
Tip 3: from Monday to Friday most of the places offer “plato del dia” between 13.00-16.00. For a super price (depending the place from 7 to 25 euros) you will have a great main dish and usually, a starter, a dessert and a glass of wine. If you choose the same menu later for dinner the price will go up 3-4 times! Try it even at tapa bars or cafes, I remember a great dish for 8 euros in a café!