The 32 best restaurants in Barcelona

Airy and elegant Compartir is one of the best restaurants in Barcelona

Barcelona’s impressive food scene covers all manner of cuisines. Head to the maritime district of Barceloneta if it’s paella you’re after, but if you want traditional Catalan dishes it’s best to stick inland, in, for example, the Barri Gòtic or Gràcia, where you’ll find tiled dining rooms and plenty of pa amb tomàquet (Catalan bread rubbed with tomato) and hearty stews. Tapas are not a Catalan speciality, but can still be found – from time-honoured classics on charming squares to deconstructed versions at those restaurants created in the aftermath of the gastronomic revolution spearheaded by superchef Ferran Adrià.

It is worth remembering that many restaurants in Barcelona close for a period in August, and occasionally the whole month.

All our recommendations below have been hand selected and tested by our resident destination expert to help you discover the best restaurants in Barcelona. Find out more below, or for more inspiration, see our guides to the city’s best hotels, bars and nightlife, things to do and shopping.

Find a restaurant by type:

• Best all-rounders
• Best for families
• Best for cheap eats
• Best for walk-ins
• Best for fine dining
• Best for seafood

Best all-rounders

Casa Fiero

It’s unusual to find this level of mastery in such a relaxed environment and at this price point. The cosy dining room throngs with families and groups of friends, the waiters are fun and informal, but the food is intensely serious. Peppy bluefin tuna tartare with radishes and crunchy flatbread lines up alongside chargrilled leeks served with an almond emulsion and a herb “salad”. If the local Maresme peas are in season, you’re in for a treat (dotted, on our visit, with strips of cod tripe and crumbs of black pudding). There are plenty of dishes that are easily shared and you can eat like a king for less than €60 (£52) a head.

Area: Eixample

Price: ££

Reservations: Essential

Can Culleretes

The second-oldest restaurant in Spain, with a mention in Guinness World Records, Can Culleretes has been around since 1786 – and many of its waitresses act like they have too. These redoubtable matrons chivvy customers into one of three main dining rooms, tiled and hung with oil paintings and photos of happy patrons, and then serve them no-nonsense but tasty Spanish dishes at really good prices. Try the wild boar stew, the suckling pig or the seafood “pica pica” of plates to share. It can get busy with tourists, so you might want to book a later table.

Area: Barri Gòtic

Price: ££

Reservations: Recommended

Can Culleretes is the second-oldest restaurants in Spain

La Vinateria del Call

One of Barri Gòtic’s most atmospheric and cosy little restaurants. Dishes are sourced from mostly local producers, and include wonderful artisanal cheeses, cured meats and so on, designed to be served with a mountain of tomato bread and shared between friends. It’s also a good place to order Catalan classics such as esqueixada (salt-cod salad) and escalivada (smoky chargrilled aubergine, onion and red pepper, served cold). The tigres (stuffed, fried mussels) are always reliable and the homemade fig ice cream is especially good.

Area: Barri Gòtic

Price: ££

Reservations: Recommended

Casa Delfín

Casa Delfín used to be something of a Mediterranean greasy spoon, serving deep-fried fish to workers, and there was much hand-wringing when it was sold and spruced up. The new owners did a great job, however, and preserved the spirit of the menu as well as many of the features of the bright and airy interior. Try chickpeas, spinach and black pudding to start, perhaps, followed by liver and onions with sherry or roast lamb with rosemary and thyme. The terrace is the place to sit, if the weather allows, and is open year round.

Area: Born

Price: ££

Reservations: Not necessary

Casa Delfin retains its greasy charm despite now boasting an elevated menu

Agua

There is a line of similar restaurants along the seafront here, but Agua is the most fun for its laid-back atmosphere, sunny, split-level dining room and large, lively terrace. It does get quite busy, but there’s a comfortable reception area with a bar, where you can order something to nibble on while you wait. The main menu covers the Mediterranean basics, from paella to spankingly fresh fish, along with really tasty steaks, creative salads and plenty of child-friendly dishes. Book well ahead for a table on the terrace, which sits right on the edge of the sand.

Area: Barceloneta

Price: ££

Reservations: Recommended

Agua has a laid-back atmosphere, sunny, split-level dining room and large, lively terrace

Tapas 24

Acclaimed chef Carles Abellan describes this side venture as ‘classic tapas’, but that is only half the picture. Although it’s modelled on tapas bars of yesteryear (its glass frontage is painted with menu items and jolly prawns, as those of all good tapas bars used to be) and it does serve Russian salad and ham croquettes, but it does them like nobody else. It also has the occasional more outré offering – my personal favourite is the ‘bikini’, a luxuriously truffled ham and cheese toastie. The bar does not take reservations, so it’s best to avoid peak times if you can.

Area: Eixample

Price: ££

Reservations: Not possible

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Best for families

Bella Napoli di Raffaele

A hugely popular Italian restaurant, known for its pizza but it’s a crime not to try its other dishes (the gnocchi, for example, or the linguine all’astice – with lobster and clams) and a range of Italian craft beers. The Neapolitan waiters move adeptly through the packed dining areas, and are famous for their charm – they will guide you through the menu, but it’s hard to go wrong. The Sofia Loren pizza is a favourite, with provolone, rocket and bresaola, and the Tina Pica with aubergine, basil and parmesan is also good. Leave room for the homemade tiramisu, which is superb. You can also get pizzas to go.

Area: Montjuic and Poble Sec

Price: ££

Reservations: Recommended

Pizza gets all the attention at Bella Napoli, but the rest of the menu is just as special

Pepa Tomate

A sunny corner café and restaurant, with a cheerfully eclectic approach to décor. There’s a short list of dishes that manages to cater to most tastes, whether you’re after a fat burger and chips, a toasted sandwich or something a little more sophisticated – spinach fritters with honeyed aioli, for example, or cod tempura with padrón peppers. Portions are generous, but leave room if you can for the creamy tiramisu, served in a Kilner jar. It’s a great place to come with children, with a playground just outside and friendly waiters who will provide crayons to draw on the paper placemats.

Area: Gràcia

Price: £

Reservations: Recommended

Pepa Tomate is a sunny corner restaurant with a simple but generous and delicious menu

Manteca

The recent pedestrianisation of the long, wide C/Consell de Cent, which cuts east–west through the heart of the Eixample, has been one of Barcelona’s greatest success stories and few places have benefited as much as Manteca’s lively terrace. The interior, lined with rock memorabilia, is also a relaxed spot for excellent tapas (try the croquetas), tacos and a handful of more substantial dishes, such as tender octopus on a bed of confit potatoes. Note that from Monday to Thursday it doesn’t open until 5.30pm.

Area: Eixample

Price: £

Reservations: Not essential

Manteca wins fans for its liveliness and local feel

Gelateria Italiana Deliziosa

The last few years have seen a tidal wave of ice cream parlours opening in Barcelona, but for most people this family-run gelateria will always remain unbeatable. A refurb saw away with the olive-green wood panelling and 1960s fonts, sadly, but the ice cream is still made and sold fresh every day, with the purest ingredients. It’s hard to pick a favourite, but the fig is a speciality, and the liquorice is good for novelty value. There is a second, smaller branch in the Born at Placeta de Montcada 12, near the Picasso Museum.

Area: Gràcia

Price: £

Reservations: Not possible

Gelateria Italiana Deliziosa has a traditional, family-run appeal that newer rivals can’t replicate

Envalira

The place to come for good old-fashioned cooking in an unpretentious setting. It’s not going to win any design awards, but Envalira can’t be faulted on value. The speciality is paella and other rice dishes (such as arròs negre, the Catalan version made with squid ink), but this is also a good place to try dishes from all over Spain, particularly Galicia. Try, for example, tarta de Santiago, the Galician answer to bakewell tart. The restaurant is brightly lit and austerely (un)decorated, but if you book a table at the front near the bar you’ll feel a little less hemmed in.

Area: Gràcia

Price: ££

Reservations: Recommended

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Best for cheap eats

Les Quinze Nits

The Andilana group now owns an impressive nine restaurants around town, and though they all have different names, they all work on the same principles – extremely elegant dining rooms in attractive old buildings, with creative Mediterranean dishes at budget prices. It’s not haute cuisine but it’s good for the price, as are the luxurious surroundings. Les Quinze Nits was the first branch and continues to be the most popular, with queues snaking across the Plaça Reial (there is a no-bookings policy), but you can always try your luck at nearby branch La Fonda (C/Escudellers 10), which may have a shorter queue.

Area: Barri Gòtic

Price: £

Reservations: Not possible

Les Quinze Nits’ menu include all manner of fish and meat dishes, and some colourful salads

Bormuth

A split-level tapas bar that opens out on to two streets. Bormuth is friendly, lively and has reliably good food. The selection of tapas contains all the classics: patatas bravas, croquetas, tortilla, Padrón peppers and so on, but my favourite is the fried aubergine drizzled with honey (a Cordoban recipe). The egg and chips combo with cured ham, sausage or chorizo is also a crowd-pleaser. Get there early for the tables on the street or in the open-fronted section facing the handsome façade of the Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria.

Area: Born

Price: £

Reservations: Recommended

The selection of tapas at Bormuth includes fresh options such as lentil salad and tabbouleh

San Kil

For something a little different, head to this bright Korean restaurant, down a quiet Gràcia side street. The waitresses normally dictate what you should order, for this is the way of things at San Kil, but push for the seafood omelette to start, or the bulgogi – pork or beef cooked at the table and eaten rolled in lettuce leaves. There are also some good spicy fish dishes (try the calamari, for example), though very little for strict vegetarians.

Area: Gràcia

Price: ££

Reservations: Recommended

San Kil’s spicy, sweet and crunchy dishes offer something different to standard Catalan fare

Mosquito

Mosquito seems to change its identity every few years, but the basic concept is cheap, quick and good Asian food. For the time being, that means Chinese dim sum, with a few other dishes from around the continent – Japanese gyoza dumplings, Thai curries, and noodle dishes – thrown in for good measure. My favourite is the Vietnamese pho (a steaming beef broth into which you stir herbs, chopped chilli and beansprouts to taste), though sadly this is only available at lunchtime. It can get quite chaotic in the cramped bar area – book one of the tables at the back if you can.

Area: Born

Price: £

Reservations: Recommended

Mosquito offers a wide ranging menu, from dumplings to pho

Elisabets

Elisabets is a wonderfully old-school place, with little by way of decoration but for a few old radio sets dotted around the walls. It specialises in the sort of food your grandmother used to make. No-frills, huge portions of ossobuco (braised veal shanks) and other stewy delights are served up as part of the fixed-price menu, though there is an à la carte menu, too. Note that Elisabets is only open until 5:30pm.

Area: Raval

Price: £

Reservations: Recommended

Elisabets is a no-frills institution serving up classic tapas dishes - Elisabets

Bar Celta Pulperia

One thing Barcelona is short on is decent old-fashioned tapas bars, but the bright and noisy Bar Celta has been plugging this hole in the market for over 50 years. It specialises in dishes from Galicia, and its house tapa is pulpo a feira – boiled octopus sprinkled with paprika and served on a wooden platter. The chocos (fat rings of fried squid, served with lemon quarters) are also a favourite, but plenty of other tapas standards are served, from patatas bravas to tortilla, all of them washed down with Galician albariño wine drunk from white ceramic bowls.

Area: Barri Gòtic

Price: £

Reservations: Recommended

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Best for fine dining

âme

A diminutive and upmarket bistro with French influences (cheese before dessert, starters that riff on consommé and profiteroles). Flavours are earthy and autumnal year-round, with purées of sweet potato, wild mushroom and chestnut forming beds for delicately constructed mouthfuls of maitake mushrooms or Palamos prawns. Stand-out dishes include the dry-aged squab with mizuna sprouts, persimmon and a tangy plum sauce; and a Pyrenean trout with beurre blanc, fig leaf oil and trout roe.

Area: Eixample

Price: £££

Reservations: Recommended

âme specialises in delicate, earthy and often autumnul flavours

Suculent

Chef Toni Romero continues to inspire a loyal following at his superb little bistro, which turns out top-notch food at affordable prices. The “Classics” tasting menu (€70/£61) is a favourite and features the likes of tender roast lamb’s neck seasoned with ras el hanout or the legendary steak tartar served on a bed of marrowbone. Though you’ll find just as much technical wizardry here as in many Michelin-starred restaurants, where Suculent succeeds is in the evident love that goes into every dish – this is food that impresses but also warms the soul.

Area: Raval

Price: £££

Reservations: Recommended

Suculent turns out top-notch food at affordable prices

Compartir

Little sister to the distinguished Disfrutar (currently at the top of the World’s Best Restaurants list and at which you are unlikely to secure a table without some serious forward-planning), Compartir is run by the same team and has a similar approach to playful haute cuisine – at a lower price tag.

Its cavernous dining room is fun and relaxed – driftwood is suspended from the ceiling and elegant deco curves are balanced by rustic Catalan tiling – and a complement to dishes that look as good as they taste. The marinated sardines with emulsions of carrot and coconut are a standout – a Pollock on the plate and a flavour explosion on the tongue.

Area: Eixample

Price: £££

Reservations: Recommended

Compartir serves sophisticated fare in its suitably elegant dining room - JOAN VALERA

Alkimia

There is a kind of alchemy going on at this restaurant where the deconstructed, theatrical takes on Catalan standards show Ferran Adrià’s influence. An opening salvo of deconstructed pa amb tomàquet (the traditional bread rubbed with tomato) in a shot glass is just the beginning. Jordi Vilà is a serious chef, with a Michelin star to prove it, and his dining room has a serious air. The restaurant sits within the microbrewery and gastro space of the Fábrica Moritz, and has a separate dining area – Alkostat (from al costat, at the side) – with a simpler, more accessible (read also: cheaper) menu.

Area: Eixample

Price: £££

Reservations: Recommended

Alkimia serves deconstructed, theatrical takes on Catalan standards

Cinc Sentits

Every accolade – including two Michelin stars – has been deservedly heaped on Cinc Sentits and its haute take on Catalan cuisine. To maximise the diner’s experience of what chef Jordi Artal can do, the restaurant only serves fixed menus – the “tasting menu” for €219 (£191) or “light menu” for €199 (£173). Though produce is overwhelmingly local and dishes are influenced by Catalan classics, there is an homage to the chef’s mixed Canadian ancestry in the “shot” of maple syrup, cava, cream and egg yolk. The restaurant is also known for its wine selection, and small-production wine pairings are available for each menu. A non-alcoholic pairing sees kombuchas, infusions and juices prepared tableside.

Area: Eixample

Price: £££

Reservations: Essential

Cinc Sentits is known for its wine selection

Shunka

An excellent Japanese restaurant hidden down a side street near the cathedral. Time was, you would often see Ferran Adrià in here. However, a shake-up a few years ago meant that some of Shunka’s finest chefs were moved to a new branch round the corner, Koy Shunka, which promptly gained a Michelin star, and this one was slightly relegated to second position. This one is far cheaper, however, and does what you’d expect – all varieties of sushi, tempura, teriyaki, noodles and plenty more – and well. Reserve a seat up at the bar surrounding the kitchen for a really good show.

Area: Barri Gòtic

Price: ££

Reservations: Recommended

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Best for walk-ins

Milk

Milk performs all sorts of functions. It’s a stylish but relaxed place for a late-night drink, a restaurant that feels more like a really good pub (with grub to match – from homemade burgers and steak sandwiches, to smoked salmon fishcakes and the occasional foray into Asian cuisine), and it’s a great place for a relaxed brunch with the papers. Choose from eggs Benedict, banana and walnut pancakes or just a good old-fashioned fry-up, and maybe treat yourself to a bloody Mary or a mimosa. Best of all, you can rock up for brunch any time up to 3pm.

Area: Barri Gòtic

Price: £

Reservations: Recommended at weekends

Milk is a restaurant that feels more like a really good pub

Els Quatre Gats

The Four Cats is worth visiting for its building alone – a handsome Modernista affair, by Gaudí‘s contemporary Puig i Cadafalch. It also has a colourful history as a former watering hole of Picasso and the artists of the time. The tiled and galleried interior is just as stunning, and though the Mediterranean food is not quite up to the surroundings, it is decent enough. If you don’t feel like a full meal but are intrigued to see the place, you can always have a coffee in the bar at the front.

Area: Barri Gòtic

Price: £££

Reservations: Recommended

El Quatre Gats is set in a glorious old building designed by a Modernista contemporary of Gaudí

El Atril

Here, you can sit in the stone-walled dining room or under umbrellas on the little Plaça de Sant Cugat. Tapas and sharing plates include prawn tempura with romesco (a nutty, tomatoey Catalan sauce), fried eggs with cured ham on a bed of shoestring fries and battered calamari with black garlic mayonnaise. Light and healthy options include inventive salads and a vegan burger. Brunch is served on weekends.

Area: Born

Price: ££

El Atril serves creative seafood plates

Quimet i Quimet

Everybody’s favourite tapas bar is about the same size as a large wardrobe, and it can be a struggle to abide by the “no standing on the pavement” rule. It’s still worth it, however, for the wonderful montaditos – delicate little arrangements balanced on a slice of French bread and made in front of your eyes. Highly recommended is the smoked salmon with cream cheese, soy sauce and honey, but there’s no real list. The bar also specialises in wine (bottles of every vintage line the walls) and conservas (tinned seafood), most of which is surprisingly good.

Area: Montjuic and Poble Sec

Price: £

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Best for seafood

Cal Pep

Not quite a tapas bar, not quite a seafood restaurant. Cal Pep does have a cosy dining room at the back and a terrace to the side, but if you sit there you’ll miss all the fun. Better to stand at the bar (or wait your turn patiently behind those at the bar) and watch the cooks working the stoves. There is no shtick here apart from superbly fresh seafood, served simply and on plates designed for sharing. Non-fish eaters will also find plenty to eat, however – try “the tortilla trampera” with chorizo and alioli.

Area: Born

Price: £££

Reservations: Recommended

Cal Pep is not quite a tapas bar, not quite a seafood restaurant

Can Ramonet

There’s no shortage of paella restaurants in the maritime district of Barceloneta, but Can Ramonet is one of the oldest – it has been around since 1956. It’s also one of the best, and you’d do best to book, although there’s a great tapas bar to keep you occupied while you wait: as well as the shellfish, try the croquetas of jamón ibérico or the spicy potato bombas. Net-fresh fish and paella are the main draw, but if that doesn’t appeal, there are also juicy steaks. If you can’t get a table here, try the smaller branch, El Nou Ramonet, nearby at C/Carbonell 5.

Area: Barceloneta

Price: ££

Reservations: Recommended

Can Solé

Another of Barceloneta’s excellent paella restaurants, this one a little more upmarket than most (with prices to match), and attentive waiters – there can’t be many restaurants that provide reading glasses to diners. There are two specialities: paella in various forms, and what is known as “grandmother’s spoon food” – steaming hotpots of chickpeas with chorizo, oxtail stew, cannelloni filled with beef, pork and wild mushrooms and so on. There is a quiet dining room upstairs, but the best place to sit is downstairs by the open kitchen where you can watch the action.

Area: Barceloneta

Price: £££

Reservations: Recommended

Can Solé is one of of Barceloneta’s excellent paella restaurants - Can Sole/Martinez Studios

Set Portes

An elegant old paella and seafood restaurant, under an arcaded walkway down near the port. It’s been around since 1836, and the great and the good to have graced its tables are immortalised in little plaques on the backs of the chairs. Despite its vast size – there are several dining rooms – and history, sympathetic lighting and accommodating waiters make it feel both cosy and friendly, something quite unusual in a restaurant of this stature. The food is excellent, respecting old recipes while occasionally adding a new twist. If you’re feeling extravagant, go for the paella with lobster.

Area: Barceloneta

Price: £££

Reservations: Recommended

Set Portes is an elegant old paella and seafood restaurant

Botafumeiro

Named for the enormous incense-burner that hangs in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, this is one of the city’s top traditional seafood restaurants. The wood-panelled walls, crisp white linen tablecloths, and flotilla of long-aproned waiters make it an elegant and convivial place to dine. The freshest seafood on the market is collected each morning from harbours in Catalonia and Galicia, and served up just hours later. It’s worth pushing the boat out on the mariscada, a heaped platter containing all manner of delicacies, from percebes, the highly prized Galician barnacles, to razor clams and oysters.

Area: Gràcia

Price: £££

Reservations: Recommended

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How we choose

Every restaurant in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighbourhood favourites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to best suit every type of traveller’s taste – and consider the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest opening and provide up to date recommendations.

About our expert

Sally Davies

After stints living in Seville and Madrid, in 2001 Sally Davies settled in Barcelona’s El Born, a stone’s throw from Ciutadella Park and the Santa Caterina market, two of her favourite places anywhere.

Sally Davies, Telegraph Travel’s Barcelona expert

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