My Perfect Day in Barcelona
Where to eat and drink when you love traditional Catalan cuisine and historical bodegas
I love the city of Barcelona with all my heart. My family moved to Barcelona 23 years ago. I went to school and trained at a local tennis academy, that’s a story for a different day, we lived just outside the city.
About ten years ago, my parents moved further out towards Tarragona, a stunning port city with tons of Roman ruins. It’s one of my favorite cities in all of Catalunya (Catalan for Catalonia), I promise to share more about it in later posts. Today, on the other hand, is all about the city of Barcelona. The best places to eat Catalan cuisine and drink Catalan vermut.
If I had only one day in Barcelona, this is how I would spend it. This is my definition of a perfect day in the city—a day full of walking, eating, exploring, people watching, and drinking in historical bodegas. You can find a link to a google map I made of all the places I mentioned in today’s story at the bottom of the post.
This itinerary is best for those who want to experience the city in a way that’s not solely structured around sightseeing but instead is meant to give you an insight into the daily life and fabric of the city and its neighborhoods (barrios). I have a very rustic and traditional taste in the type of places I like to eat in Barcelona. Given my love for traditional Catalan cuisine and homestyle cooking. If you prefer fine-dining or Michelle star stuff, this post is probably not for you.
I would start my day at Mercat de Galvany. I know everyone’s favorite market in Barcelona is Mercat de la Boqueria, but it is definitely not my favorite. Mercat de Galvany is a smaller neighborhood market with some of the best tortilla (tortilla de patatas) you can find in the city—world. I would head straight for a seat at the Mantequerías Pirenaicas Mercat Galvany stand. They also have great sandwiches, bocadillos in Spanish, or entrepá (singular) entrepans (plural) in Catalan.
Just so no one is confused they have a small cute restaurant nearby also called, Mantequeries Pirenaiques on C/ de Muntaner, 460, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, 08006 Barcelona, Spain.
Pro Tip: The restaurant tends to sell out of tortilla by 12pm, so if you want to try the tortilla go to the one at the market.
But if you are looking for a more diverse menu of simple traditional Catalan dishes and some with a modern twist, give the restaurant a try! It usually has a line of locals standing outside waiting for a table—so don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. Since this spot is in a residential area, you will probably be one of the few tourists in the restaurant which can be a strangely satisfying feeling. This spot is more expensive than pretty much all the other places on today’s list.
Sant Gervasi-Galvany is a residential neighborhood with endless charming restaurants and cafes. After finishing our breakfast, we will need to go on a little walk. Very close to the market is the stunning, Jardí de la Fundació Julio Muñoz Ramonet. The garden provides a little oasis. Being there blocks out the noise of the city, giving folks a quiet place to sit, read, meditate, or just sit in tranquility after the hussle and bussle of the market. The garden is open every day of the year from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is free to access. I don’t have time to go into the insanity of the actual art collection of Julio Muñoz Ramonet that was bequeathed to the city of Barcelona, but you can read about it here.
After the gardens, let’s walk over to the only Gaudi building I love, Casa Vicens Gaudí, it’s about a 16 minute walk. It’s in one of my favorite neighborhoods in all of Barcelona, Vila de Gràcia. It’s also super interesting and a little known fact that the neighborhood of Gràcia was,
“a town that until the 19th century was agricultural and sparsely populated. However, with the industrial revolution, steam factories started to take root which accelerated urban expansion turning Gràcia into a town with excellent cultural, worker and petit-bourgeoisie activity. Around 1860, the village had already established the street pattern that has lasted more or less to our days…Finally, Gràcia was annexed as a new neighborhood to the city of Barcelona in 1897.”
This building was Gaudi’s first big commision, and is the first home designed by Gaudí (1883-1885).
After taking in the sights and taking lots of photos, I mean how can you resist those beautiful tiles, it’s time for our first vermut of the day. There are a ton of options for both traditional and modern bodegas in Gràcia. I am going to tell you about two of my favorite spots that seem to be less common in the world of tourism, at least for now.
The first place is Bodega Cal Pep, it’s located in a more secluded part of Gràcia. Not to be confused with the super famous Cal Pep restaurant in el Born neighborhood. Bodega Cal Pep is one of 31 historical bodegas in the city of Barcelona and is considered by locals a neighborhood favorite. The bodega was first opened in 1936-37 and is now operated by Pep’s great granddaughter, Griselda Lopez Ruiz. She is a fourth generation owner and is doing all she can to keep the place open. If you are looking for a traditional atmosphere with lots of barrels, antique fridges, old furniture, and cheap house vermut, Bodega Cal Pep has it all!
Honestly these types of places are becoming harder and harder to find throughout Barcelona, due to the impact of gentrification and homogenization on the food industry in the city. Even with their protected historical status, it’s difficult to keep up with the rising costs (especially rents), strict and unhelpful city regulations, and little substantive financial support from the municipality.
The case of Bodega Cal Pep is especially dire due to the ongoing legal dispute with the city. Let’s help Griselda make sure Bodega Cal Pep stays with her family and her daughter can one day be a fifth generation owner.
The second spot is Bar Bodega Quimet. It’s a lovely walk from Cal Pep to Quimet. It’s a great way to see and get a feel for the entire neighborhood. You can walk past the Plaça de la Virreina, Plaça del Sol, Plaça de la Revolució, and Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia. Once you get to Bar Bodega Quimet you will most likely see a crowd of locals pouring out of a tiny poorly lit space. Once inside you will see barrels full of vermut and old-school wooden door fridges.
I personally love to come here for their house vermut. They also do have some delicious tapas and a great selection of wines! If you didn’t get a snack at the previous spot, I recommend you eat something with your second glass of vermut. Bodegas started as shops selling primarily wine, liquor, and ice. Overtime they started to serve food and became bars and in some cases restaurants.
Pro Tip: You can buy vermut or house wine by the liter to go. At Bodega Bar Quimet you can buy a liter of their house vermut for 5.50 euros.
If you are not much of a drinker, and rather keep eating. There are several great Catalan family owned restaurants in the area. You can stop by Bar Restaurant Casi for an early lunch, as of December 2023, they close at 12:45pm. I usually get the set menu for 11.80 euros for a first and second course. I love their meat and vegetable stew, Escudella i carn d’olla, and meatballs in a creamy gravy like sauce, Albóndigas en salsa, served with some of the tastiest fried potatoes you can imagine. The owner, Xavi Montes, is one of the kindest and warmest people I have ever met. When Tom and I went there for the very first time he made us feel as if we have been going there regularly for the last 30 years. This spot is hidden away from the more touristy parts of Gràcia and I recommend you try and make it there before they disappear.
If you work up an appetite as you probably will if you are drinking vermut, an aperitif designed to stimulate your appetite. Catalan vermut is distinct from the more bitter and orange peel forward Italian and French vermuts. Personally, I think Catalan vermut is superior, but don’t take my word for it, hit up some bodegas and vermuteria and get back to me. If you need some recommendations, let me know in the comments and I can share my favorite brands that are available here in the U.S.
If you missed the early lunch hours of Bar Casi don’t worry, there are plenty of other Catalan restaurants nearby. You can try Restaurant Cal Boter, they have really good Botiffara (Catalan pork sausage) with local white beans. This place is always busy and packed with locals. They also offer menú del dia for 14.50 euros, you get a first and second course, dessert, bread, and one drink. God how I miss having access to set menus! Last thing I want to mention about this place is that they also offer seasonal regional dishes. For example, if you visit Barcelona sometime between December and April, they will be serving Calçots, a charred local green onion (something between a spring onion and a leek) comes with romesco sauce.
Okay, now that we had lunch, we can get back to walking. Let’s start making our way down to the coast. I like to walk down Pg. de St. Joan all the way to Arc de Triomf. There are lots of shops along the way, beautiful views, and another indoor local market, Mercat de l'Abaceria. I usually stop by the second hand bookstore with a great selection of international books, Re-Read Llibreria baix-cost Barcelona. Since we didn’t have any dessert, we could grab some of the creamiest gelato in the world from DelaCrem Obrador (a newish location!).
Once we reach, the Arc, let’s go explore El Born Center for Culture and Memory. There’s something pretty cool inside the cultural center. You can see the excavated city ruins of 1700s Barcelona!
I previously wrote about the Roman ruins in Barcelona that you can see under Plaça del Rei in the Museu d’Història de Barcelona (MUHBA). You can read more about it here.
Whenever I am in the neighborhood, I always get a mascarpone croissant from Patisserie Hofmann only about a 1 minute walk from the cultural center. The bakery is down a small alley right off of the Pg. del Born. I know this bakery is on every must try list for the city of Barcelona, but it truly is that special and the quality has stayed the same over the years since I first tried it years ago. Sadly, it no longer costs 2.50 euro.
With your croissant in hand, we can walk over to the Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar, a 14th century Gothic church. From there I would keep walking towards the sea, to a place called Can Paixano. This place used to be my regular hangout spot before it exploded. Is it still worth a visit? To me, yes. I would visit even if it means standing in line surrounded by tourists because of how much I love their cheap champagne, morcilla (blood sausage), and super casual vibe of standing and eating at the counter.
Pro Tip: I will usually grab a bottle of their Rosé champagne to go, which used to be only 3.00 euros a bottle, I think it’s around 5.00 euros but don’t quote me. You can buy bottle at the very back of the bar.
Since this is my perfect day in Barcelona, the day wouldn’t be complete with visiting one of my favorite neighborhoods, Barceloneta. It’s also the perfect place to have some unpretentious and affordable seafood. Depending on the day of the week, the places here have especially wild hours and tend to close early. I would get dinner at Bodega La Peninsular. The sardines are simply divine. If you are not super hungry, stop by Bar Electricitat for some of the tastiest boquerones and of course a copa of vermut. Yes, I know you are not supposed to drink it this late, but who the f cares.
And as cliche as this will be. The last place where I would end my night would have to be La Plata. Yes, the same La Plata that every food writer including Anthony Bourdain went to and that now every food influencer goes to. But what can I say! This place deserves every single word of praise. Their house vermut is one of my all time favorites, the fried fish is out of this world, Pepe’s charisma is hypnotizing, and the botifarra on a small piece of bread rubbed with tomato is life. Don’t forget to buy a bottle of their vermut to go!
Honestly, if you still have the energy, a nightly walk through the Gothic Quarter is probably one of my favorite things in the world. The claustrophobic streets, colorful tiles, winding roads, and one stunning building facade after another. You could walk to Plaça del Pi (one of my favorite more hidden public squares in the Gothic Quarter) and from there to Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona in the El Raval neighborhood (I love to watch the skateboarders), and from there to Mercat de Sant Antoni in Eixample Esquerra neighborhood.
GOOGLE MAP:
Dream Day in Barcelona
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What would you add to the list?
BURNT BASQUE CHEESECAKE:
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Sounds like a pretty perfect day to me too! My favorite hidden square: plaça Sant Felip Neri, you can still see the holes bullets left on the exterior wall of a school furing the Spanish civil war, and it's super cute as well.
Sounds absolutely amazing!