These Viral Barcelona Spots Are Worth Your Time and Money
Sometimes you got to believe the hype!
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As I’m eating my way through Barcelona, I thought it would be helpful to offer an honest and concise review of Barcelona’s most viral food spots. I am gonna start with three in today’s essay and go through my entire list over the next couple of weeks.
One question in particular that was gnawing at me as I was getting ready to revisit these places this March is whether their growing fame has negatively impacted the quality of the food? And secondly, I was curious to see how this immense virality impacted the overall experience of eating at these now incredibly popular places.
Simply, in today’s essay I want to weigh in and let you know whether these places are really worth your precious vacation time and hard-earned money. For some of these great places, the wait can be over an hour long! Do we wait or go while the prices in Barcelona are ever increasing, new places opening, and there are already so so many choices.
The decision is a difficult one, but I’ll try to keep it at least very vaguely scientific in my assessment. I will focus on three main criteria; food quality, ambiance, and those dreaded three letters, ROI! Yes, whether you get a good enough return on your investment in terms of how much time you have to spend waiting in line and the price tag. No really, you’ll be surprised. This is Barcelona, after all, there is an entire way of life you step into when you’re stepping into line for some amazing patatas bravas.
La Cova Fumada
There’s always a wait. No exceptions. No matter how early you come, expect to wait at least 20 minutes. One pro tip as you are giving your name to Josep María Solé—one of the owners and grandson’s of Sra. María Pla who opened La Cova Fumada back in 1944/45—is to ask for a standing spot at the bar (that’s what I do) and you will have the shortest wait. If you get lucky, as me and my sister did, Josep María who seems to somehow always be there will close the iconic ancient wooden doors behind you. And the noise of the waiting crowd outside fades, you are in, not closed off but tucked in the heart of a traditional Catalan kitchen. And the dishes as soon as you order start appearing from every which way be it from the bar or the kitchen that’s almost itself a part of the dining room.
You can learn more about the family history of La Cova Fumada here.
Food Quality: Superb and Unchanged
Ambience: Retained Traditional Vibes (with lots of tourists and locals)
Return on Investment: High
El Xampanyet
As someone who predominantly is a skeptic when it comes to waiting in lines. I usually associate hype with unmet expectations, but this time, I ate my fucking words. I would wait a lifetime to have another bowl of grandma’s pasta, chickpeas with eggplant, spicy snails, and their creamy molten bacalao tortilla for which I would consider giving them my first born. Same pro tip as before, your best bet, if you want to cut down on your wait, is to ask for a standing spot at the bar. On top of the perfectly executed food the staff was welcoming and considerate given the volume of customers they serve each day. While waiting for my sister, who was stuck somewhere in the hollows of the Barcelona underground train system, the hostess handed me a complementary vermouth which is an occurrence that is quite rare here in Europe.
El Xampanyet is right in the heart of el Born and it opened back in 1929, operating under the same family. So when your long wait is finally over and you are called to claim your spot, you feel like you are walking right back into history. The tiles, oh those colorful Catalonia patterned porcelain tiles.
Food Quality: Superb and Unchanged
Ambience: Retained Traditional Vibes (with lots of tourists and some locals)
Return on Investment: High
delaCrem
Running from the rain with my sister, gripping one umbrella, we found ourselves looking at the most versatile gelato menu. Don’t get overwhelmed by all the options, remember you can always try and get your favorite.
Barcelona and gelato might not be a pairing that comes to mind right away, but the gelato here is exceptional. At the end of a long day full of walking, sightseeing, salty tapas, and refreshing cervezas, what can be better than a creamy cup of gelato? Especially one that is made with locally sourced, high quality ingredients, and served out of traditional metal canisters. The gelato is temperature controlled assuring that creamy gelato texture, something that is very commonly overlooked in most gelato shops.
There are several DelaCrem locations throughout the city, but my personal favorite is the one just a few blocks away from the Passeig de Gràcia train station. Their gelato also comes in a wide variety of flavors and is not too sweet especially if you go for the more savory flavors such as pistachio, Parmesan, Pastis de Formage, and Yogurt Natural de la Garrotxa (a personal favorite of mine) with lots of vegan options.
Food Quality: Superb and Unchanged
Ambience: Retained Original Vibe (some tourists but mostly locals)
Return on Investment: High
I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IF THERE’S A VIRAL SPOT IN YOUR CITY THAT FALLS INTO THIS SAME CATEGORY OF CONTINUING TO PROVIDE QUALITY FOOD AND EXPERIENCE EVEN AFTER THEIR MASS POPULARITY. HAS THE HYPE EVER PROVEN YOU WRONG?
This was very interesting how you posted the videos along with your critiques. That gelato looks amazing as well as all of the other food.