Best Of
Written By Maria
What, and where should you be eating in Barcelona in 2024? Well, I have lots of ideas for you! I’ve put together some themes and I hope this will inspire you for a year of lots of delicious eating.
Open all day
I love a place where you can go any time of day, have something nice to eat or drink, a glass of wine, a good coffee… A spot that covers any need you might have any time of the day: meeting up with a friend for a chat, or a date later on. A few examples of these are Funky Eatery (read my review here) where you have different, fun choices throughout the day ranging from breakfast to lunch to a dinner with friends and natural wines, and Taulat 44 in Poblenou that serves as a great hangout for any time of the day until evening falls. Salut Bistró (read my review here) that excels in breakfast and brunch and turns the whole thing around for dinner where you can expect beautiful creative dishes and alluring wines, and lush Les Filles that is busy no matter the hour.
Wine Bars
Barcelona can’t get enough of wine bars, and in particular the ones serving natural wines. Bar Salvatge in Gràcia fills up night after night, Denassus opens for both lunch and dinner most days and boasts large list of wines, Garage Bar is somewhat of an expert when it comes to natural wines, Pepa Bar a Vins (read my review here) charms your pants off and they find the most interesting wines out there, Bocanariz serves orange hour every day (read my review here), and Masa Vins (review here) draws in the young crowd.
You can read my list of natural wine bars here, and my list of best wine bars in Barcelona here.
Casual, Cool…and Mind-blowing
There is a specific genre of places that can easiest be defined using the terms casual and cool, where good food and wine is in focus. The chefs are young and dynamic, and excel in their craft (and aren’t afraid to show it with open kitchens). In this genre I would include charming Berbena (read more here) that feels like you’re in the set of The Bear but without the angst, the semi-secret Suru Bar (read my review here) where you dive into one mind-blowing dish after the other, new Âme (read more here) where French meets the Mediterranean meets the Middle East, and of course Bandini’s (more info here) that’s just so much fun.
Read my list of the coolest restaurants in Barcelona here.
Cafes… but Different
We have a plethora of cafes serving specialty coffee, but there are places offering a little something more than that. One of the biggest surprises for me in this niche last year was Maison Coffee (read more here) serving not only excellent specialty coffee, but numerous fascinating drinks inspired from Asia (not talking about bubble tea here!). Think drinks like Oolong Mousse Tea, with semi-fermented oolong tea, osmanthus flower that is said to be one of the most captivating floral fragrances in the world, and cream. We have recently opened Niwa Cafeteria in Putxet (read my review here) that boasts high-end ceremonial grade matcha, gessami (Jasmin), osmanthus, and more, where the menu is in Catalan and Japanese.
Read my list of my favorite cafes here.
Expect the Unexpected
There’s something intriguing about the unexpected. Restaurants that you would pass by and not pay attention to, unless you’ve heard the secret from someone. Hermos de Peix inside the Llibertat market in Gràcia is so unexpected, Grado Sushi (read my review here) where you get top-notch sushi inside a bar you might not visit unless you knew what awaits inside, or Sra. Dolores (read more here) where nothing is what it seems.
Or chefs that do their own thing like chef Michael at Puhrez El Forat who does what he likes best in his little bar in the Barceloneta: sometimes he serves 8 dishes for his tasting menu and sometimes 15 and the wines are on an Excel sheet. Truly gold.
Brunch With Some Effort
Brunch is tricky. But it isn’t going anywhere! With more than 80 brunch spots in Barcelona, many of them tend to do the same thing, not much can surprise us anymore. I think we can agree that you can’t just put some Eggs Benedict, pancakes and mimosas on the menu and get away with it anymore. The brunch crowd in Barcelona needs something more: everything made from scratch, unique dishes, and god forbid, weekend specials..! (when will we get weekend specials?!)
Little Fern Cafe (read more here) is an exception: it surprises us with weekday specials: a really nice touch for the regulars. The Egg Lab (my review here) does everything from scratch, including their own pastrami, and Ugot Bruncherie (read more here) creates special cheesecake creations on Saturdays and Sundays that are different every single week of the year (and they have 5 different French Toast options). Now that’s making a nice effort!
You can read my list of my favorite brunch spots in Barcelona here.
The Hoods
Now it’s time to venture outside the city center for some good food. We’ve already made somewhat of an effort with Granja Elena and Bodega Pasaje 1989 (read my review here) and the likes, but to name an example, Badalona is secretly opening up one cool spot after the other, and it’s just a 20-minute metro ride away (read my Badalona guide here). In L’Hospitalet we have fascinating restaurants such as Debut Bar, In El Prat you’ll find 2 de Vins, L’Apat, and of course the original Can Pizza, and Sant Boi with small gems like Bart Gastro Burger. Just to name a few.
Hungry for more? Check out these lists!
Coolest Places to Eat in Barcelona
Best co*cktail Bars in Barcelona
Best Cafes in Barcelona
Best Tapas Bars in Barcelona
Michelin Star and Bib Gourmand Restaurants in Barcelona
Best Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Barcelona
Best Bakeries in Barcelona
Best Wine Bars in Barcelona
Best Churros and Hot Chocolate in Barcelona
Maria
