Restaurant: La Tomaquera

La Tomaquera
c/ Margarit 58 with c/Magallanes (Poble Sec)
tel: -

La Tomaquera offers good food in taverna atmosphere - serving and hazzle is like a side show.
Snails are they speciality. Go early or be prepared to wait for a good while before you get a table.

Bar: Cooler

Cooler
c/ Mallorca 196, at c/ Aribau crossing
tel: 934 519 093
www.cocteleriacooler.com

Cooler is recently opened cocktail bar specialized in coolers. It is also more "modern" than other cocktail bars around this area. My whisky cooler was nice, but E's rum something left space for improvement.

Cooler

Restaurant: PimPam Burger

PimPam Burger ("fast- BUT GOOD -food"
c/Sabateret 4 (Born, just off the c/Rec)
www.pimpamplats.com

PimPam Burger offers quality hamburgers made of good and fresh ingredients - simple and VERY tasty! You find it just off the calle Rec (where PimPam plats is).

S&S enjoying their burgers...

Restaurant: Cervecería Catalana

Cervecería Catalana (tapas)
c/Mallorca 236 (close to Rambla Catalunya)
tel: 932 160 368

Cervecería Catalana offers a great variety of good quality tapas - in a busy and nice atmosphere. Be prepared to wait for a while to get a table, but with some cava the waiting is not that bad at all, check the pic below. Place is always full during lunch and dinner time; plenty of locals, but also visitors as the place is appearing in variety of guides.

Waiting for the table with some cava can be quite fun

Our jolly Jan 1st -lunch

E checking out what to try next

Bar: Dry Martini

Dry Martini (cocktail bar)
c/Aribau 162
http://www.drymartinibcn.com/
mon-fri 13:00-02:30
sat-sun 18:30-03:00

Name tells a lot, but not all - apart from great martinis, traditional and flavoured ones, they serve good selection of frappes and gin tonics as well. It is not the cheapest place, but the atmosphere is really nice and the service good: definately worth it!

E enjoying her raspberry-martini, on the right my wasabi-martini

Bar: XiX

XiX (gin bar)
c/Rocafort 19 (close to Parallel, opposite of Inopia tapas bar)
http://www.xixbar.com/
open: 18:30-2:30/3:00

If you like gin tonic, this is THE bar for you (and even if you don't, like A, this is a great spot).
XiX is a small gin bar, offering a variety of gin tonics that come in fish bowl like glasses.

There are like 15-20 gins at the bar

T2 and the fish bowls..

E and S with grape and ginger GTs

A´s parents also liked the place

Wine: Xampany

Xampany (cava store)
c/Valencia 200 (close to Universidad... and us ;)
tel: 934 539 338
open: late afternoons

What is a greater way to wish everyone Happy New Year than a post about a GREAT cava store?!?

Xampany really isn´t a supermarket style winestore, you go in, Mr.Cava then starts the show - for what purpose, for whom, what do you like, is food involved, etc... Then starts the trade show, several bottles are being introduced - and at the end 2 or 3 left to make the choice.
Price range: 7-50e/bottle, all quality!

A and the cavaman himself

T2 (No, not the terminator)

Ice cream: il peccato freddo

il peccato freddo (VERY good ice cream)
c/ Ganduxer 20+ (well, next to DIR over there)
no tel, no reservations - it´s an ice cream parlour!

A realized that he really likes good ice cream and il peccato freddo is definitely a place to get some! Good variety of ice creams, do try the dark chocolate one - VERY nice! ;)

Dark chocolate ice cream - VERY nice!

Restaurant: Tuset (27)

Tuset
c/ Tuset 27 (close to Balmes/Diagonal)
tel: 932 009 129

Tuset is part of the Corest Slow Foods (L'Olivé, Paco Meralgo, etc...) and offers a really nice atmosphere for a dinner - warm evening at the terrace! However, with 100e for a dinner for 2 you could expect more. Or then it's just the "above Diagonal" prices - anyway, setting is nice and food is good... perhaps not just worth the full price.

Our table at terrace

Coffees in the rain...
[photo by Alessandro]

Place: Forum "beach"

Forum "beach"
(very nice for picnic... or as VERY city "beach")
@ Forum (take a metro to Forum and then head to the beach, the big solar panel is a good landmark)

The Forum "beach" offers a nice option for those who doesn't like the sand... or do like that showers and bathrooms are just few meters away. You can have a nice picnic at white marble platform or freshing swim at the sea!

Very nice place for picnic

J chilling...

Our friend Anna enjoying the sun...

Restaurant: La Crema Canela

La Crema Canela
Passatge Madoz 6 (at Plaza Reial)
tel: 933 182 744

Lunch at the terrace

La Crema Canela is good spot for lunch - but also nice and cosy option for a dinner. Food is "international" with a twist - rucola salad with cherry tomatoes, strawberries and foie - and very affordable. You find this place between calle Ferran and Plaza Reial (barrio gotico).

Bar: Milano

Milano (cocktail bar)
Ronda Universitat 35 (close to Plaza Catalunya)

Long and impressive bar desk - that´s where the goodies come from

One of BCNjoy´s favourites; Milano is "old-school" cocktail bar, you get a variety of well-made and served cocktails at Ok price (7-9e/drink).
A recommends: Negroni on the rocks
E recommends: Andaluza Fizz

Restaurant: Krampus

Krampus (crêperie)
c/Saragossa 89 (Sant Gervasi)
tel: 932 008 597 (reservation recommended)


Krampus offers nice selection of salty and sweet crepes for a complete dinner at a good price (dinner for 2: 40e). Do try the dessert crepes, hot chocolate + coconut ice cream was just perfect!

E and L ready for the crepes and some cider

La Cerveteca

It´s been a while... let´s start getting up-to-date on what we have been experiencing during the past weeks!

La Cerveteca (beer store & taste room)
c/Gignas 25, (Ciutat vella - Borne; besides the main post office)
http://www.lacerveteca.com/ (under construction)

E was very excited about the place ;)

La Cerveteca offers beers around the world (very limited selection though), it serves as a taste room as well as a store.

A enjoying a rauchbier ("smokebeer")

Churros

Churro (xurro)

A churreria close to Passeig de Gracia and Diagonal

Typical winter time breakfast / snack: churros and hot chocolate. Churros, deep-fried dough, are normally served sugared or covered in dark chocolate. You can get them from cafés, churrerias or outdoor-stands.

Restaurant: El Laurel

El Laurel
C/ Floridablanca 140 (Sant Antoni - Universitat)
tel: 93 325 62 92


It is almost impossible to find food in Spain any time between 16.30 and 20.00. However, El Laurel is an exception to this rule. This Argentinian restaurant/gallery serves food at all hours. The stars of the show: empanadillas (Argentinian pies) that come in all imaginable colours and varieties.

P.S. Check out the table mats!

Festa Major de Gràcia

In BCN pretty much every district (barrio) has its own little festival during the summer months. The "fiesta" held in Gracia is one of the most renowned ones, because its residents put a lot of effort into making the streets turn into a fantasy land. Each street has a different theme as can be seen from the pictures below.

Restaurant: Petra

Petra
c/Sombrerers 13 (Borne, next to St. Maria del Mar -church)
tel: 933 199 999 (reservation recommended)

Just finished our dinner...

Petra offers good selection of salads and carpaccios to start with (also soups and pasta). Select your second dish according to your hunger from the main courses or take a second "first course". The prices are VERY affordable, dinner for 2: 40e.

BCNjoy recommends: anything with txangurro (crab sauce).

An option for taking the dessert at Petra (especially the chocolate cake can be recommended though!) is going to the nearby dessert bar bubó.

Restaurant: Flamant

Flamant
c/Enric Granados 23 (close to Universidad)
tel: 933 231 635 (reservation recommended)

E and risotto with foie

Flamant is part of the "la Rita"-group and offers, like rest of the group's restaurants, good food (extensive list) at good prices, with modest service. The interior is "warm" with a hint of old prestige.

Bar: ànima3

ànima3 (wine bar)
c/Escudelleres Blancs 3 (one block "behind" Plaza Real, Gótic)
www.anima3.es

Wine bar with good service

Last weekend BCNjoy found out a brand new wine bar, ánima3 - located in the small streets just behind Plaza Real. Service was good, prices Ok and variety nice = well worth visiting!

Restaurant: bubó

bubó (dessert bar)
c/ Caputxes 10, Born (next to Santa María del Mar -church)
www.bubo.ws

Wide variety of desserts at reasonable price

bubó is the dessert bar of well-known "chocolate chef" Carles Mampel in Born. It offers a good variety of cakes and other desserts at Ok price - also to take away.

Restaurant: Ca´n Pedro

Ca´n Pedro (II)
MALLORCA: Rector Vives 14 (Ca´n Pedro I can be found in Rector Vives 4) in Genova
tel: 971 702 162 (if you are a big group, reservation recommended)
www.mesoncanpedro.com

Arroz brut

Two weeks ago E&A visited Mallorca for a weekend and we had a chance to visit one of the most legendary restaurants of the island, Ca´n Pedro. It´s been famous for its pa amb oli (Mallorcan bread, garlic, tomato, olive oil) + caracoles (THE best snails) and grilled meats for decades - Ca´n Pedro "I" was opened 1976, in addition to these, we also tasted other specialities like arroz brut (Mallorcan style "soup"), codornices (roasted quail) and cordero lechal (extremely tender mutton).

If you do not have a car at use, this is definately worth a taxi trip!

Restaurant: Mar de la Ribera

Mar de la Ribera
C/ Sombrerers 7 (just behind the church of Santa María del Mar, Born)
tel. 933 151 336



Mar de la Ribera is just about the only affordable "seafood restaurant" (a whole lot more on the menu than just seafood) in the whole of BCN - or at least in the Born district. A dinner for two, cava included, cost us about 40 euros. What makes this restaurant special is the good service which seems to be a rare commodity here these days...

Restaurant: Sagardi

Sagardi (tapas)
Muntaner, 70-72 (in the corner of Aragón)
tel. 93 706 07 06
www.sagardi.com

Not your regular sunday breakfast...

Sagardi is classy for a tapas but the prices are very reasonable (1,60 e per tapas). Extra points for the location, service and selection. The idea with this kind of tapas that are assembled on a piece of bread (with a toothpick stuck through the tapas) is that you choose what you like from the counter and in the end you are charged according to the amount of toothpicks.

Place: Aqua Urban Spa

Gran de Gracia, 7 (at the far end of Paseo de Gracia)
Tel. 93 238 41 60 (necessary to book in advance)
www.aqua-urbanspa.com

Almost as relaxing (this photo from Sitges!)...

A week ago A took E for a surprise pampering trip to this urban spa just two steps away from the city center. BCNjoy recommends "ruta del bienestar" (51 e) with different saunas, hydro massages etc. You can't help but relax in the middle of candlelight, incense and light music. Chech out the pictures.

Restaurant: Comerc24

Comerc24 ("tapas", fine dining)
c/ Comerc 24 (Borne)
tel: 933 192 102 (do book in advance!)
www.carlesabellan.com

E enjoying the views from our table

Comerc24, restaurant of famous chef Carles Abellan, offers innovative top-class tapas, great service and fun atmosphere. "Super Festival"-menu was our stairway to heaven... Also our table offered good views to the busy kitchen and to the dining area.
Not the cheapest (dinner for 2: 220e, although you might get through a night for 150e), but when every single dish is taken to perfection - a MUST for all food-lovers visiting BCN.

Bar: ambar

ambar
c/ Sant Pau 77 (at the end of Rambla de Raval)

Nice bar at Rambla de Raval

ambar is a nice place with good music for a drink or two at Rambla de Raval, they also have a terrace.

Place: Golf Montjuic

Golf Montjuic
inside Club de Natacion, Montjuic
www.golfmontjuic.es
(how to get there)

Range with very affordable prices

Golf Montjuic offers a range, with very good prices - range fee 6e, balls (35) 2e and rent of a ½-set of clubs for 2e. Took a while to reach there and if you are not a fan of walking or do not have much time, a taxi is a good way to get there. It is situated in Montjuic, inside the Club de Natacion Montjuic.

Bar: "cats"

"cats" terrace
c/Xucla (between Carmen and Pintor Fortuny, one block from Ramblas)

BCNjoy´s favorite terrace

Yesterday afternoon: +25C and sun from the clear sky... Time to introduce our favorite terrace. We have used it quite a lot - oh hmm - but not yet found any name for it, so thought "cats" would be Ok, due to pictures on the walls. It is just one block from Ramblas, but you´ll be amazed how much the atmosphere can change. This terrace offers easy-going atmosphere, nothing fancy but a place where you can escape for a moment from Ramblas!

Restaurant: Nut

Nut (egyptian)
c/ Verdi 2 (Gracia)
tel: 932 108 640 (reservation recommended on weekends)

Nut: easy going atmosphere

Nut is one of the many ethnic restaurants on Verdi (street in Gracia) and is specialized in Egyptian food - and on weekends also offers belly dancing. The service was very nice and so was the food; although have never tried Egyptian food before, so hard to compare. "Sisha" was also available for 11e. Dinner for 2: 60e.

Place: La Boquería - market

La Boquería - market
Las Ramblas (app. in the middle, on the Raval side)
open Mon-Sat

Our favorite fruit&vegetable stall

La Boquería is the most famous market place in BCN. As it is located right by the Ramblas, it´s very popular among tourists - BUT plenty of local people (and people like us, foreigners living here) also buy their fruits, vegetables, fishes and meats there due to great quality and freshness combined with much lower prices than in supermarkets [if you don´t buy from the first stalls right at the entrance from Ramblas - best price-quality ratio is found further at the back of the premises].

Very busy on Saturdays, so hold on to your wallets, cameras and other belongings!

Cafe: A Casa Portuguesa

A Casa Portuguesa
c/Verdi 58 (Gracia)
www.acasaportuguesa.com

Cafe-bakery-wine store

A Casa Portuguesa is a nice little cafe, with a Portuguese twist, offering good selection of pastries (also to take away), they are also selling Portuguese products like cheese, wine (also port), etc.

Mon closed, Tue-Thu it´s only open in the evenings, Fri-Sun closed during siesta