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Alkimia
Alkimia’s chef, Jordi Vilà, is a follower of Ferran Adrià. Minimalist décor in the restaurant allows guests to focus on Vilà’s deconstructed dishes, including pa amb tomàquet, a typical Catalan dish of white bread rubbed with tomato pulp and olive...
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Arola
Located on the second level of the Hotel Arts, Arola offers diners an opportunity to try chef Sergi Arola’s cuisine in a casual setting. Catalan by birth, Arola travels to Barcelona each week to oversee the kitchen. The patio sits...
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Bar Cañete
Around the corner from the Liceu Opera House, Bar Cañete offers an extensive selection of creative tapas. The ingredients are fresh, with seafood coming in daily from nearby Catalan fish markets, and the long communal bar offers prime views of...
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Bobby Gin
The award-winning mixologist, Alberto Pizarro, is behind this gin-only cocktail bar in the Gràcia district. The top-grade gin can be enjoyed in a classic G&T or infused with unexpected flavors such as anise or saffron. The extensive tapas menu features tasty...
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Ca L’Isidre
Family-owned and operated since 1970, this restaurant serves refined Catalan cuisine in the Raval neighborhood. Close to MACBA and featuring museum-worthy décor itself (including original engravings by Salvatore Dali), the restaurant is a perennial favorite with Barcelona’s art crowd. The...
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Cal Pep
Ask any of Barcelona’s best chefs for their favorite tapas restaurant and most will send you to Cal Pep, a gourmet institution. It’s always packed with locals and travelers, but a table here is worth the wait and the elbows...
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Can Cisa / Bar Brutal
This lively and authentic restaurant and bar on a winding street in El Born draws a mix of locals and visiting foodies. The dishes are simple but delicious, and the wines are all natural, as the owner is a supporter of...
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Can Pineda
Can Pineda is a Barcelona institution specializing in traditional Catalan cuisine. This century-old restaurant boasts a 3,000-bottle wine cellar, and serves home-cooked specialties with an emphasis on truffles, foie gras, oxtail, lobster, crayfish and the freshest ingredients from the market....
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Cinc Sentits
In Catalan, Cinc Sentits means “five senses,” and indeed this restaurant appeals to all of them. “Food is the star, but we also spent a lot of time conceiving the design, music, light and atmosphere,” says Canada-born Catalan chef Jordi...
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Con Gràcia
A terrific international wine selection and intimate dining room make this a date-night favorite among Gràcia’s foodies. The inventive, seasonal tasting menu combines Mediterranean and Asian flavors.
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Coure
Offering haute cuisine in a basement-level dining room at below-market prices, this unassuming restaurant features a reasonably priced seasonal menu. Windows looking onto outside greenery and decorative copper-chain curtains (“coure” means “copper” in Catalan) gives the room a light atmosphere,...
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Cuines Santa Caterina
This restaurant inside the bustling Mercado de Santa Caterina is a fun spot to enjoy a casual and delicious lunch. The large restaurant (whose name means “kitchens” in Catalan) is almost always crowded and boisterous. Try to arrive before noon...
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Disfrutar Barcelona
Disfrutar Barcelona, launched by three former head chefs of the famed El Bulli restaurant, offers gastronomic dishes amid cozy décor. The interior’s main features – clay and plaster – create unique dining spaces that are inspired by the Mediterranean. Order...
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Dos Palillos
This restaurant’s name, which literally translates to “two sticks,” references the toothpicks traditionally used to eat Spanish pintxos (bar snacks) and is also a nod to Albert Raurich’s (head chef at El Bulli from 1999-2007) Asian-inspired cuisine. The hip cocktail...
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El Quim de la Boqueria
Ideal for lunch, El Quim de la Boqueria counter in the crowded and chaotic Mercat de la Boqueria involves some jostling and angling for a seat, but the food at this eatery is always worth the wait. Specials change according to...
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Gelonch
Chef Robert Gelonch, who honed his molecular gastronomic skills working at El Bulli, is behind this bi-level restaurant in the removed Eixample Dreta neighborhood. The menu features inventive creations such as carrots with “nitro popcorn,” which arrives at the table...
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Moments
The Mandarin Oriental’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant highlights neo-traditional Catalan cuisine. Whether you opt for the “micro-menu” (a five dish tasting menu, plus dessert) or order à la carte, the culinary team’s creations are as exquisite as the dining room’s gold leaf...
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Quimet y Quimet
Quimet y Quimet is located in a small liquor store in the Poble Sec barrio to the west of La Rambla. The tiny shop has no tables, and patrons order from the counter then jockey for spots at a few...
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Restaurant Gaig
This classic, Michelin-starred restaurant has been around since 1869. It relocated into the Hotel Cram but continues to attract a loyal following for its marvelous salt-cod cakes, suckling pig served with seared strawberries and potato Parmentier topped with a poached...
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Restaurante Lasarte
Martin Berasategui’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant in the Hotel Condes de Barcelona is named after the Basque town of Lasarte, where the chef opened his first restaurant. The intimate dining room, which seats just 30 people, means that service is impeccable during...
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Sauc
The elegant and modern dining room tucked away in the Ohla Hotel’s upper lobby provides the perfect setting for Michelin-starred chef Xavier Franco’s haute Catalan cuisine. The menu changes according to the season, but you can expect to find adventurous,...
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Tapas 24
Tapas 24 is the most casual restaurant from El Bulli alum Carles Abellan. It serves old standbys with a gourmet twist in a bustling yet relaxed space. The no-reservation policy means there's usually a line of hungry patrons snaking onto the...
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Vila Viniteca
The nearly century-old deli accross the street from the famed Vila Viniteca wine store sells various cheeses, jamon and packaged food items like jams. Downstairs are a few small tables and one long table in the former cellar, where patrons...
Barcelona

Courtesy Dos Palillos
Barcelona’s food scene ranks amongst the world’s best, with dining options ranging from cutting-edge gastro-experimental eateries to traditional Catalan bistros and bustling tapas bars. To get the most out of a trip to Spain’s culinary capital, plan meals carefully, as reservations at the top restaurants are required, and not easily secured. Also keep in mind that the Spanish dine late – 2 pm for lunch, 10 pm or later for dinner. Tapas bars and some of the top hotel restaurants open earlier, however, so it’s possible to acclimate to the schedule without resorting to tourist fare. For an abbreviated list of restaurants, read Top Tables Barcelona.