The best Spanish restaurants Catalonia

" El Amaya de toda la vida " turns 80 in 2021; a long life in the hustle and bustle of La Rambla. Specializing in Basque cuisine. At the back of the restaurant, the dishes are more sophisticated. The mojitos and paella (with meat or vegetarian) are excellent. The waiters are pleasant, as is the setting, which has retained its old-world charm. Drinks are a little pricey, but everything is of a high quality, which justifies the price a little. As well as the paella, you'll love the chocolate mousse with orange and the snacks you can nibble on with a drink. And it's all fresh!

Welcome to a place of dreams and fantasy! Gracia's "little garden" is an invitation to get away from it all, and the whimsical decor is a big help. Plant elements, apple-green leather banquettes, an accumulation of abracadabrantesque objects, warmly subdued lighting, you'll soon feel like you're somewhere else. While Le Jardinet is first and foremost a cocktail bar, it's also a great place to satiate yourself with a few well-crafted, well-balanced local tapas made from seasonal produce.

Le petit jardin d'Aribau" is the perfect escape! Pushing open the door of this central Barcelona address, you enter a colorful, plant-filled world that's not lacking in dreaminess. Seated under a phantasmagorical canopy, you can enjoy hearty lunches and delicious dinners with flashy presentations! Salads, grilled meats, Mediterranean-inspired tapas and Asian dishes are all on offer. The house wines and cocktails also deserve your attention! An oasis of sensations!

This cozy restaurant has been a Raval classic since 1940. Located a stone's throw from Plaza Cataluña, it's a meeting place worth visiting for its simple dishes and finely crafted tapas at very good prices. With its old-fashioned atmosphere, it is the ideal place to take a break with friends at any time of day, even on Sundays, to share a coffee, a beer or a vermouth, accompanied by patatas bravas with aioli, homemade croquettes, eggplant slices with honey or cannelloni with truffled bechamel. A very good address!

This is one of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona still in operation, having opened in 1873. On the verge of closing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a joy to see it still standing to welcome you in a warm atmosphere where time has stood still and enjoy tasty traditional tapas with a Catalan sauce. Among the highlights of the menu; the platter of sobrasada with honey served with bread, cod bombas with romesco sauce or cod confit, black garlic pipil , Santa Pau beans and chard.

Founded in 1931, the Can Codina bar has stood the test of time! Once a meeting point for politicians and FC Barcelona footballers, it is now a place full of history. The marble tables, the granite bar and even the stools, almost everything is from the past! You go there to mingle with the locals and enjoy quality tapas, very inexpensive homemade croquettes or chicken wings. You must also try the homemade vermouth! The owners and the waiters are pleasant, the bar is worth the detour!

A former Catalan wine wholesale bodega founded by Joan Balsells i Torres and Balbina Garrido, this restaurant looks back on 80 years of history and is one of Catalonia's gastronomic highlights, offering generous dishes prepared with the greatest respect for tradition. In fact, the restaurant offers complete, healthy menus with straightforward, local flavors (such as the Calçots menu). Tapas and grilled meats are served in a warm, informal atmosphere, the ideal setting for a drink with friends and family.

Recognizable by its motifs reminiscent of a flamenco dancer's dress (white polka dots on a red background), Casa Lolea has become a veritable institution on Sant Pere Més Alt street. Attracting travelers and locals alike, its cozy service room, reminiscent of an Andalusian bistro with an indus' twist, is the place to be! Here, you can enjoy contemporary Spanish dishes and tapas, washed down with sangria, the house specialty (the pretty bottles are on sale, by the way)!

This is the most famous restaurant in Figueres for its rice. There are no less than sixteen types on the menu: creamy (risotto type), melosos with juice or "dry", paella type. In the melos department, for example, you can choose rice served with étrilles and Bordeaux porcini mushrooms or, in the dry department, you can choose black rice or seafood paella. As it is very popular, its small space is quickly filled, especially on weekends when families invite themselves for a big paella. Reservations are highly recommended.

In the majestic setting of a modernist building on Calle Còrsega, you will find this restaurant, a reference point for Catalan cuisine that combines tradition and modernity. The dishes are prepared with fresh seasonal products from the best producers of km 0. You can choose between different types of tasting menus, a la carte or the lunch formula at a competitive price and renewed every week. Restaurant Windsor has one of the most pleasant garden terraces in the city center, ideal for a drink before or after dinner.

What would happen if Captain Nemo opened a restaurant? Yes, we're talking about the man who pilots the Nautilus submarine in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea! Well, probably something like the Verne: an abyssal setting populated by phosphorescent jellyfish and dominated by the indomitable Kraken! On the plate, served in a recreation of a submarine, you'll delight in dishes with marine flavors (the chef selects fresh produce from small producers). The tropical cocktails are not lacking in exoticism either!

Offering crafts in a "Normal" place against goldsmithing in the Celler, this was the objective of the Roca brothers in opening this new space in June 2021. With as a guideline a more informal cuisine taking up traditional Catalan recipes but also proposals from the bar of their parents, always favoring the market cuisine and local products. Simplicity" is also the order of the day in the design, with a large glass façade, open to the neighborhood and also allowing a view of the kitchen.

In front of the walls of Tossa de Mar, this cuina is located in an old fishermen's house. It is run by chef Xavi Lores, who strives to combine the history and culinary tradition of Tossa with modern touches. The place is welcoming and you will be able to test its know-how and attention to detail through a tasting menu or an extensive menu that will perhaps make you discover scampi with a truffle and cava sauce, prawns served with chickpeas or even scampi suquet.

Alquimia is a rather original proposition: its founders place themselves in the wake of the science of the alchemists, those scholars of yore who dedicated their lives to knowledge and the quest for eternal life! Combining the disciplines specific to this art (chemistry, philosophy and astronomy), Alquimia plays on alchemical imagery and offers original, astrally concocted cocktails, bigkinis (an adaptation of the bikini, a typical Spanish club sandwich) and street food from the four corners of the globe. A karmic journey guaranteed!

Superbly located on the main access road to the Costa Brava, this gastronomic restaurant of the Hotel Empordà has been part of the history of the city of Figueres since 1961. Refined decoration, a beautiful view through the bay window, old-fashioned and stylish service have contributed to the reputation of the establishment. As well as its cuisine which is rather bistronomy oriented, but which always values the quality of the ingredients and the local products. With at random of the market, rack of lamb, marinated sardines or filet mignon in sauce. For a meal for two.

Passionate about the gastronomy of its region, this restaurant wants its cuisine to reflect its gustatory intensity, blending products from the Mediterranean with the freshness of fruit and vegetables from the Empordà garden. At the same time, it fuses the tradition of grandma's recipes with innovation, particularly in terms of cooking techniques. You'll be able to savor seafood and rice dishes, as well as dishes with a more exotic touch, such as tacos, baos, ceviches and tatakis. Those with a sweet tooth will also be able to sample desserts inspired by the works of Dalí.

As it is not on the waterfront, but in a street parallel to it, it is mainly reached by word of mouth. Positive and rather justified. Behind the brown door with the boat's sign, there are two large interior spaces, including a pretty garden with many plants. On the kitchen side, it favours fresh produce and proximity. The carpaccios are very good and the paellas look good. One can finish with a turrón ice cream, sprinkled with ratafia liqueur. Remember to book, because the address has its regular followers.

Víctor, nephew of the owners of the old grocery store, created in 1892, will delight you with his seasonal cuisine. In a gastro-bar spirit, you can sit on the Parisian-style terrace or in the small room upstairs. You will enjoy dishes inspired by traditional cuisine, such as Iberian pork feather with emmascarades potatoes (potatoes mixed with cabbage and black pudding), as well as recipes from elsewhere, such as crab ravioli seasoned with coconut and lime. A delight!

The place owes its name to the culture of cider, since it names the cry accompanying the opening of the barrel. Because after the beer in the Dynamic bar, the owners chose to open a space around the cider. With this difference, the setting and the proposals are quite identical: large tables and small corners but also tapeo and pinxos bar, Basque origin obliges. This makes it a rather lively place and very busy at the end of the week. Did you like the formula? You can find it in Empuriabrava and Roses.

A gourmet tapas restaurant to discover in the Gothic Quarter! Le Petit Tapas welcomes you in a pleasantly subdued atmosphere, whether you're in the intimacy of the restaurant room or seated at the bar. The Mediterranean-inspired menu features a variety of creative tapas, as well as a fine selection of local wines. Try the beet carpaccio with goat's cheese and walnuts, the excellent ceviche-style sea bream or the pork filet mignon en croûte! And don't forget to save room for the crème brûlée praline!