Barcelona is known for great tapas and even better sangria. However, as a tourist you can be overwhelmed by all the options for places to eat, especially when visiting the main tourist areas, such as Las Ramblas.

Las Ramblas is a joy to visit but with cafes and restaurants lining the road, touts are out right through the day.

This can be confusing and can even put you off eating anywhere around that district. However if you know where to look it can be a great place to eat! I’ve put together a few of my favourite unforgettable tapas spots in Barcelona that will be sure not to disappoint your expectations of Spanish food.

1 – Bodega Biarritz

This tiny tapas bar is tucked away down a side street from Las Ramblas and unless you know of it, it definitely wouldn’t be the most obvious place you’d look to eat.

Bodega Biarritz works in two ways, you can either go up to the bar and select the tapas you want from there, pay for what you’ve picked and happily sit and enjoy it. Great, the foods delicious and the staff are really helpful if you’re not quite sure of what something is and need to ask some questions.

OR

Personally my favourite, you leave it up to the service staff.

They have two options for this on the menu option 1 does not include Iberico ham, Option 2 does, and like many places in Barcelona the set tapas menus say a minimum of 2 people is required.

We explained my friend was a meat eater, I however am not. Fine, they asked us is we were both fine with cheese (um yes!) and then proceed to bring out a starter board of Catalan bread with tomato and salt, and reams of Iberico  ham (my friend was pleasantly surprised they still did a two person portion knowing I wasn’t having any). This was then followed by another 2 course, both containing two different types of tapas ( so another 4 things to eat each!). There isn’t a dessert however when paying the bill you do get these little creme caramel, Baileys esq shots which are a delightful way to end any meal!

Option 2 came to €39 for the both of us – throw in my PINT of Sangria and a coffee and we were looking at under €50 for two people. One thing that does need noting is that Bodega Biriattz don’t take card.

The staff are friendly and menus are offered in so many languages, for our first tapas of the trip we could have easily returned here night after night.

2 – El quim

Inside St Josep La Boqueria, tucked away behind stalls of piquillo peppers and fresh seafood is the gem that is El Quim. It’s constantly busy and is hailed as one of the best places to get tapas in Time out Barcelona, Lonely Planet and many reputable city guides. Square shaped with bar style seating around the outside, the hustle and bustle of the kitchen in the centre is enough to catch your eye even before knowing what this place is about.

We were fortunate enough to turn up just as two seats became spare, right on the very end. Initial thoughts were that we were a bit tucked out of the way and may have to catch a servers eye – oh boy were we wrong. Within seconds we were greeted and handed menus by none other than the owner and boss Quim Máquez. The menu comes in the form of a slip of paper with tickable boxes next to each item. You get handed a pencil, select your options and hand it back to the server.

We chose the Sangria (of course!) spicy potatoes, two portions of tomato bread (we soon regretted this- I’ll explain later) and some croquettes. In total this came in at just under €30 for the both of us.

The flavours of the food were outstanding and we both agreed we could have eaten nothing but the spicy potatoes for the rest of the of the trip – however back to the bread. A lot of the other places we had eaten in Barcelona served us four slices of bread between the two, so we thought why not order two lots and get four slices each, mixed with our other carb loading we’d be ready for our hike up to Bunkers del Carmel. Oh how wrong were, when 16 pieces of bread rolled out of the kitchen. I mean they all got eaten and were just delicious, but we may have needed a siesta after.

3 – Elisabets

Elisabets for us was a genuine random find, we were looking for somewhere near to our hotel but not on the Rambles to sit and chill before an early night ready for an early flight.

We strolled down a turn off after being hollered at to come and eat in a few places (don’t you just love that!) and found ourselves in a small square with Elisabets sat on the corner. We swiftly checked the menu for tapas and squid then went straight in.

Sat around the back right near the kitchen we were surrounded by sports memorabilia, specifically iron man competitors. We ordered the menu for two (it states minimum two people) two sangria and waited patiently whilst listening to the kitchen and trying to figure out who was on the walls.

We were brought what definitely was not for two people : Garlic grill shrimp, chorizo, sliced cold meats, patas bravas, garlic and tomato bread, grilled pimento peppers, squid rings, empanadas, croquettes, black pudding, iberico ham, garlic mushrooms and a creamy salad that looked like a vegetable version of potato salad (think peas and carrots). We were defeated! So much food and all of it to die for.

This meal cost us €17.20 including the drink perfect for our last meal in Barcelona.

So there we have it my three favourite tapas places just of Las Ramblas. Have you got different ones or have you been to any of these? Drop me a comment below and let’s talk food!

*Disclaimer : All prices and menus mentioned in this post were correct at the time of posting. Restaurant prices may have changed since the publication of this blog