What to Eat and Drink in Barcelona: Tapas, Vermouth and Markets

Don't want to leave it to chance? Guided tapas tours on GetYourGuide take you round a few proven places in one evening.

Tapas are not Catalan. They are a Spanish export that Barcelona adopted, just as the tourists did. Real Catalan cuisine looks different: bigger portions, fewer photos for Instagram, more food cooked with salt and fire. You will find both side by side in Barcelona, and both are worth trying.

What is Catalan food, if not tapas?

Catalan cuisine is built on big dishes for a full lunch, not on small plates with a beer.

• Pa amb tomàquet - bread rubbed with tomato, garlic and olive oil. The base that almost anything gets added to.
• Calçots - grilled young onions dipped in romesco sauce, seasonal (January to April), eaten with your hands.
• Mongetes amb botifarra - Catalan sausage with white beans, a typical set-menu dish.
• Esqueixada - a cold salad of salted cod, tomatoes and onion, a summer classic.
• Crema catalana - the Catalan version of crème brûlée, with caramelised sugar on top, milder in taste than the French original.

Which tapas to try in Barcelona?

Tapas are about a slow evening with several people at the table - you order bit by bit, share, and wash it down with wine or vermouth, without rushing to a main course.

• Patatas bravas - fried potatoes with a spicy sauce, the most widespread tapa of all.
• Boquerones - anchovies pickled in vinegar, sourer and more delicate than the ones in oil.
• Jamón ibérico - cured ham. The darker the label (bellota), the more expensive and better it is.
• Pulpo a la gallega - octopus with paprika and olive oil, a typically Galician dish, but common in Barcelona.

For lunch I also had paella with langoustine, peas and green beans. Paella comes from Valencia, but in Barcelona you will find it almost everywhere. It is often served for two people, so keep it for sharing.

What is vermouth and why is it a ritual in Barcelona?

La hora del vermut - the "vermouth hour" around midday, when Barcelona sits down on the terraces for a glass of vermouth with ice and an olive.

Vermouth is a fortified wine flavoured with herbs, served with an ice cube, a piece of orange peel and an olive. It is taken as an aperitif before lunch, not as a drink for the whole evening - ideal for one glass before you go for food.

• Best time: Saturday around midday, when locals keep up the ritual of "vermouth before lunch".
• Order it "de grifo" (from the tap) - freshly poured vermouth is smoother than the bottled kind.

At the beach, a glass of sangria with a piece of orange is also worth it, like the one I had. Prices on the beaches tend to be higher than in the city.

Which markets to visit in Barcelona?

Barcelona's food halls are not just for shopping - each has a few stalls with a bar where you can sit down and eat right among the sellers.

• La Boqueria - the best known and most touristy, right by La Rambla. Expensive, but a taste of everything at once.
• Mercat de Sant Antoni - open since 1882, the stalls have belonged to the same families for decades, and there are fewer tourists than at Boqueria.
• Mercat de Santa Caterina - in El Born, with a colourful wavy roof from outside and the bar Joan inside, serving honest stewed dishes.

In La Boqueria on La Rambla I photographed two counters worth stopping at: a bar with pinchos (the signs include bomba de carne y patata and jalapeño y queso) and a stall with seafood on ice, with prawns, crabs, scallops, oysters and percebes (goose barnacles).

Where to go for the classics and paella: Restaurant 7 Portes?

This is where I had a fantastic tray of tapas. Restaurant 7 Portes is one of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona. It has been running since 1836 and serves traditional Catalan and Mediterranean cuisine, including paellas and rice dishes.

Practical info: you will find it at Passeig d'Isabel II 14 near Port Vell, open daily from 13:00 to midnight, and you can book a table online. They list rice dishes and paellas as their speciality, so have a paella if you come for lunch.

Where to go for cheap cava: La Xampanyeria (Can Paixano)?

This is my favourite place in Barceloneta. An old place like a fishermen's pub, where you drink cava by the glass and eat bocadillos (sandwiches) and tapas with it. According to guidebooks a glass of cava costs roughly €0.95 to €1.40 and the food is similarly priced. In the photo you can see my bottle of rosé (rosat semi sec).

Good to know:

• They don't take reservations. According to guidebooks it is packed from about 19:00 until closing, so come earlier.
• Most sources say it is open Monday to Saturday from roughly 9:00 to 22:30 and closed on Sundays. Sources differ, so check the hours before you go.
• Address: Carrer de la Reina Cristina 7, Barceloneta. The nearest metro is Barceloneta (L4).

On the map: La Xampanyeria on Google Maps · website: canpaixano.com.

Where to eat healthy and fast: Honest Greens?

My favourite quick and healthy choice in Barcelona is Honest Greens. It is a restaurant chain with speciality coffee. The menu is divided into To Share, Market Plates, Garden Bowls, Honest Bites, plus breakfast, coffee and drinks.

You can order through their Honest Greens app (iOS and Android), so you skip the queue, and they have a loyalty programme with stamps. There are several branches in Barcelona, for example in Barceloneta, Born, on Plaça Catalunya or on Rambla.

The food there is fantastic. In the photos there is a plate with steak, quinoa and a salad with green pesto, hummus with bread and vegetable sticks (pistachios, sumac and tomatoes on top) and a bowl with fish, quinoa and salad. I drank ginger lemon kombucha with it.

Where to go for tacos: Taco Alto?

Mexican tacos are one of my sure bets in the centre. Taco Alto has several branches in Barcelona, for example in Born (Carrer del Portal Nou 62) and by Plaça Universitat (Ronda Universitat 12). According to guidebooks a meal comes to roughly €15 to €20. Sources give different opening hours, so check them on the website before you go.

Where to go for breakfast: Orval Studio?

For breakfast I go to Orval Studio in Poblenou (Carrer de Buenaventura Muñoz 31). According to Time Out they have toasts made with Yellow Bakery bread, pastries from The Cake Man and vegan doughnuts on Fridays. Hours differ between sources, so look up the current ones.

Where to get a burger by the beach: Makamaka?

Makamaka is a beach burger café in Barceloneta (Passeig de Joan de Borbó 76), right by the promenade. It has been running since 2012 and its best-known burger is the Maradona. It suits lunch or an evening after the beach. It is open most of the day, but check the exact hours.

Where to go for seafood: Puertecillo?

Among my seafood tips is Puertecillo Marisquería. According to reviews you pick seafood from an ice counter and say how you want it cooked: prawns, octopus, scallops, oysters or lobster. There are several branches (Born, Sagrada Família, Paral·lel and Sitges), so always check the address on the map.

You can find more of my tips and photos from Barcelona on Instagram.

When do people actually eat in Barcelona?

Lunch is usually between 14:00 and 16:00 and dinner easily after 21:00 - come at a typical "evening" hour by your own habits and in many places they will not be open yet.

• Menú del día - a fixed-price menu offered at midday (starter, main, dessert, drink), the cheapest way to eat properly.
• Restaurants away from the tourist arteries (La Rambla, right by Sagrada Família) tend to offer better value for money.