Barcelona 2017: Food, Gaudí, and Gin

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Barcelona gave us plenty of reasons to keep eating: Iberian ham, foie gras, croquettes, tomato bread, and gin and tonics. The Devour Barcelona food tour and our two meals at La Pubilla were my food highlights. We spent the rest of the trip trying to fit Gaudí’s buildings, museums, and still more meals between them.

Where we ate and drank

Barcelona

Place My rating What I thought
Praktik Bakery ★★★★★ The bakery downstairs made breakfasts easy. Its bread and pastries were excellent.
Cervecería Catalana ★★★☆☆ Good tapas, especially the filet with foie, though the meal as a whole was good rather than great.
La Pepita ★★★★★ So good we went twice. Ksenia still talks about the foie gras with white chocolate and hazelnut.
Bormuth — Steak with foie and eggplant spread on tomato bread.
La Pubilla ★★★★★ My favorite restaurant of the trip. We came back for a second dinner, were welcomed like old friends, and still found more dishes to love. Best croquettes we had.
Alta Taberna Paco Meralgo — Another tapas stop during the trip.
El Nou Pi Antic — Ham toast, lamb ribs, Estrella, and crema catalana after a long walk through the Gothic Quarter.
Bar Mut — Cava, steak with foie, mussels, and potatoes with egg yolk and shrimp.
Tapeo del Born ★★★★☆ A little touristy, but still good. Ksenia liked it more than I did.
Elephanta — A gin-and-tonic flight in Gràcia.
Bobby Gin — A serious last-night gin-and-tonic stop with a huge selection.
La Boqueria — Sandwiches, charcuterie cones, and fresh juice in the market.

The Devour Barcelona food tour was ★★★★★. We stopped for sausage on tomato bread and cava at Can Tosca; olives at Conserves Glòria; ham at Fàbregas; cheese and jams at La Trobada del Gourmet; olive oil at Oli Sal; tomato bread and croquettes at L’Anxoveta; pastries at Pastisseria Príncep; vermouth, pickled anchovies, and sausage at Bodega Cal Pep; prepared food at La Botigueta del Bon Menjar; and cremat at Pastisseria Ideal. The small group made the tour even better.

We also had an enormous dinner at a place I didn’t name. The waiter kept thinking we were done ordering; we weren’t. One lunch near the Sagrada Família was a miss: slow service and microwaved food that was still cold.

Where we stayed

Hotel Praktik Bakery put us above a bakery with some of the best bread and pastries we found in the city. The location and rain showers were great too.

What we saw

The Sagrada Família was my favorite part of Barcelona that I couldn’t eat or drink. The stained-glass light changed every time I looked. Casa Batlló felt like an underwater fairy tale, and Park Güell was gorgeous even with the crowds. We also visited Palau Güell, the Picasso Museum, and Sant Pau. MACBA wasn’t for us.

I wrote a separate Barcelona guide after the trip, with more of my restaurant and sightseeing recommendations.

Day by day

The March 9 date follows the dated entries on either side; its date heading isn’t visible during the notebook page turn in the video.

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