Tips for Lunch in Barcelona?

Greetings. We'll be in Barcelona for a day on our upcoming Med cruise. We currently have a half-day tour booked, which will leave us around 4 hours to explore.

We'd really like to sample some local food, but we aren't sure of the best way to do this. The tour provider will drop us off either back at the ship, or somewhere else we tell them ahead of time we'd like to be dropped off.

So, my questions are: where would be a good spot to be dropped off after the tour in order to have some choices of places to eat, and once we're done, what's the best way to get back to the ship? Alternatively, if we get dropped off back at the ship, how should we go about getting to (and back from) a good location for finding some tasty food?

Any advice and suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Cheers.

Paul... what sort of food you like? That's essential.

Paul... what sort of food you like? That's essential.

Mostly, I think we'd like to try some local specialties--paella, jamon iberico, etc. The ability to stop in a couple different places to try things would be preferable to a longer sit-down meal in one spot.

Obviously, since I am sure you know you're visiting Catalonia, I'm going to point you to places with Catalan cuisine, which is pretty much Mediterranean as well.

You see, the problem is that there are literally dozens of places. We Catalans like food very much, and gastronomy is a key part of our culture. Eating out, from simple "grabs to eat" to "proper sitting meals" is part of our routine thus there are all sort of places. Some of the best restaurants in the world, according to the Michelin guide, are here. So at the end of the day, choosing this one or that one, it all boils down to very personal preferences. Saying this because my recommendation today should be taken only as an example of places to go to, but if you ask me again tomorrow I'll probably mention some other. The choice is too large. Hence the reason I was asking what sort of food you like better.

Another issue: you said you have four hours "only"... that doesn't give you much leeway to hop around (and enjoy the meal that is!). You need to factor in the return trip which, even if by taxi, should account for say 20-30' at least (time to find a taxi, a short 10-15' ride to the ship, etc.) Lastly, not to further spoil your hopes, note that depending on when you visit, certain parts of the city are swarmed with tourists, which means that you'll find many restaurants full, not only with locals but also with visitors.

Anyhow, what about being dropped by the beautiful pedestrianised area of El Born?, in front of the Estació de França is a good place for any bus to drive you to, and from there you can walk into La Ribera -the neighbourhood where El Born is located. You could start by dropping by (1) El Xampanyet, a hole-in-the-wall with basic tapas in an ambience of a typical Catalan bar -note the term 'bar' has a different meaning here. After that, at merely 100 yards you could visit (2) Bar del Pla, which offers a different sort of tapas, more elaborated and involving several ingredients in each one. A nice way to step up in the world of tapas.

Before walking to the Xampanyet, I'd strongly advise a flash visit here... for a quick glimpse on local history. It's "on the way" to Xampanyet.

Again, these are only two options.

After you're done, you can walk back to the station and grab a taxi there -there's a small taxi rank and there are usually taxis available. Alternatively, walk to one of the main streets, Via Laietana (3) and simply hail any passing taxi (green pilot light on the roof on) Make sure you are pointing in the right direction: southbound!... towards the sea, which means to your left, coming from Bar del Pla.

Enjoy!

(1) Site: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d697571-Reviews-El_Xampanyet-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

Location: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/41.3843088,2.1851366/El+Xampanyet,+Carrer+de+Montcada,+22,+08003+Barcelona,+Spain/@41.3842393,2.1811313,17z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a2fe8bb2db47:0x7c0703c76612adb8!2m2!1d2.1816799!2d41.3845384!5i1

(2) Site: http://www.bardelpla.cat/ing_bardelpla.html

Location from (1): https://www.google.com/maps/dir/El+Xampanyet,+Carrer+de+Montcada,+22,+08003+Barcelona,+Spain/Carrer+de+Montcada,+2,+Barcelona,+Spain/@41.3851632,2.1795707,18z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a2fe8bb2db47:0x7c0703c76612adb8!2m2!1d2.1816799!2d41.3845384!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a2fea800df51:0xfef20dc5463c38f4!2m2!1d2.1800184!2d41.385611

(3) https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bar+Del+Pla,+Carrer+de+Montcada,+2,+08003+Barcelona,+Spain/41.3839729,2.1787323/@41.3846699,2.1772882,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!4m7!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a2fea7f11297:0xfb502fb6497f2c34!2m2!1d2.1800144!2d41.385603!1m0

Obviously, since I am sure you know you're visiting Catalonia, I'm going to point you to places with Catalan cuisine, which is pretty much Mediterranean as well.

 

You see, the problem is that there are literally dozens of places. We Catalans like food very much, and gastronomy is a key part of our culture. Eating out, from simple "grabs to eat" to "proper sitting meals" is part of our routine thus there are all sort of places. Some of the best restaurants in the world, according to the Michelin guide, are here. So at the end of the day, choosing this one or that one, it all boils down to very personal preferences. Saying this because my recommendation today should be taken only as an example of places to go to, but if you ask me again tomorrow I'll probably mention some other. The choice is too large. Hence the reason I was asking what sort of food you like better.

 

Another issue: you said you have four hours "only"... that doesn't give you much leeway to hop around (and enjoy the meal that is!). You need to factor in the return trip which, even if by taxi, should account for say 20-30' at least (time to find a taxi, a short 10-15' ride to the ship, etc.) Lastly, not to further spoil your hopes, note that depending on when you visit, certain parts of the city are swarmed with tourists, which means that you'll find many restaurants full, not only with locals but also with visitors.

 

Anyhow, what about being dropped by the beautiful pedestrianised area of El Born?, in front of the Estació de França is a good place for any bus to drive you to, and from there you can walk into La Ribera -the neighbourhood where El Born is located. You could start by dropping by (1) El Xampanyet, a hole-in-the-wall with basic tapas in an ambience of a typical Catalan bar -note the term 'bar' has a different meaning here. After that, at merely 100 yards you could visit (2) Bar del Pla, which offers a different sort of tapas, more elaborated and involving several ingredients in each one. A nice way to step up in the world of tapas.

 

Before walking to the Xampanyet, I'd strongly advise a flash visit here... for a quick glimpse on local history. It's "on the way" to Xampanyet.

 

Again, these are only two options.

 

After you're done, you can walk back to the station and grab a taxi there -there's a small taxi rank and there are usually taxis available. Alternatively, walk to one of the main streets, Via Laietana (3) and simply hail any passing taxi (green pilot light on the roof on) Make sure you are pointing in the right direction: southbound!... towards the sea, which means to your left, coming from Bar del Pla.

 

Enjoy!

 

(1) Site: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d697571-Reviews-El_Xampanyet-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

Location: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/41.3843088,2.1851366/El+Xampanyet,+Carrer+de+Montcada,+22,+08003+Barcelona,+Spain/@41.3842393,2.1811313,17z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a2fe8bb2db47:0x7c0703c76612adb8!2m2!1d2.1816799!2d41.3845384!5i1

 

(2) Site: http://www.bardelpla.cat/ing_bardelpla.html

Location from (1): https://www.google.com/maps/dir/El+Xampanyet,+Carrer+de+Montcada,+22,+08003+Barcelona,+Spain/Carrer+de+Montcada,+2,+Barcelona,+Spain/@41.3851632,2.1795707,18z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a2fe8bb2db47:0x7c0703c76612adb8!2m2!1d2.1816799!2d41.3845384!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a2fea800df51:0xfef20dc5463c38f4!2m2!1d2.1800184!2d41.385611

 

(3) https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bar+Del+Pla,+Carrer+de+Montcada,+2,+08003+Barcelona,+Spain/41.3839729,2.1787323/@41.3846699,2.1772882,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!4m7!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a2fea7f11297:0xfb502fb6497f2c34!2m2!1d2.1800144!2d41.385603!1m0

Thank you so much for the excellent info!

I picked up a ton of good info from your response to OP, EnricM, thanks so much. We're in Barcelona for our first time on a cruise with Brilliance/RCL in June. I've visited Spain during my Navy days (Rota, Ibiza, Palma, Alicante/Benidorm, and Torremolinos). We're at the Hotel Jazz for two nights before departure.

@johnjen... a lot has rained since, hahaha!

@johnjen... a lot has rained since, hahaha!

:p:D:D:D