Barcelona’s Restaurant Guide

Hello!

This post is a Bacelona’s Restaurant Guide and is always “under construction” as we are adding new areas, new tips and new comments from our Experience from La Salsamenta Barcelona Cooking Class and from the experiences we get from our guests. So let’s move on!

Basics:

First, let’s start with one of the Basic rules in Barcelona: The NO-GO food area. Except you need to eat something quick like a sandwich, hot dog or similar we strongly suggest not to eat in following areas: Las Ramblas, Plaça Reial, Paseig de Gracia, Sagrada Familia, Avinguda Diagonal, Raval, and Gotic quarter.

That may sound like a lot of places, but those areas are tiny. As an example, Sagrada Familia. By Sagrada Familia we just mean 2 blocks from the church, a bit further it should be OK. We have to say that even in those areas there are nice places. But unless you know where you are going (we include some recommendations bellow) better not.

Quick shots:

    • Try to eat always as soon as possible. Workers are fresh, you will be able to get a table easily. As time goes by restaurants get crowded, service slow down and in trendy places it can be a little bit stressing. 

    • Ah, of course, make a reservation if possible!

    • Opening times and menus are usually up-to-date on Google and the restaurant website. Check it out so you avoid surprises

Classic Recommendations:

So, let’s move on to our recommendations in this Barcelona’s Restaurant Guide. Those are some of the oldest restaurants in town that offer a great blend of traditional cuisine and amazing environment.

    • Els 4 Gats: The café opened on 12 June 1897 in the famous Casa Martí, and served as a hostel, bar and cabaret until it eventually became a central meeting point for Barcelona’s most prominent modernist figures, such as Pablo Picasso and Ramon Casas i Carbó. Now became a restaurant that keeping that spirit in mind serves delicious traditional food.

    • 7 Portes: It was inaugurated in 1836, it was a restaurant specialized in serving different dishes of Catalan cuisine, specializing in serving fish and rice. The restaurant is located in the Xifré house in Barceloneta (near the Lonja de Barcelona) and is one of the century-old restaurants in the city. A meeting place for artists and Barcelona intellectuals.

    • Los Caracoles: Los Caracoles is one of the emblematic restaurants of Barcelona opened in 1835. It is located in the Gothic Quarter. One of its characteristic dishes has been snails served in a tapa accompanied by wines. Also, don’t forget to try it’s classic “Pollastre a l’ast” (Roasted chicken).

    • Can Culleretes: Placed in an historical building and started running in 1958. It serves good quality set menus from 20-25€ that will give you a good opportunity to taste local cuisine at a reasonable price.

    • Can Pineda: A bit outside the common touristic areas. Can Pineda started in 1902 as a food house for the factory workers in the area, but it has evolved in one of the top quality Catalan food restaurants in Barcelona.

    • Can Solé: Founded in 1903, everything started cooking for the fishermen at the Barceloneta port to become what today is an emblematic restaurant in the city. 4 generations of the family have been serving delicious meals over 100 years

Restaurants by Area:

So, apart from the city classics here we provide you with some extensive recommendations of great value for money restaurants that are not so traditional:

Hope you enjoy our Barcelona’s Restaurant Guide and please leave a comment with your new discoveries just below!

Cheers! Bye Bye!

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Client Testimonials

Makiko profile picture
Makiko
5 December 2025
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素敵な場所で、楽しい経験でした。材料の説明も面白く、料理をしない人や1人旅の人にもお勧めです。
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Makenna
3 December 2025
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This was the cutest experience! Even better than the paella we had at the restaurants and we got to meet some amazing people. The host also shared the recipes so we can make them at home!
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Paige
1 December 2025
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Incredible paella, really enjoyed the experience and others in the group were lovely. I had a great time.
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Sonia
1 December 2025
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Viajamos desde Puerto Rico y hicimos la actividad como regalo de aniversario. Sin lugar a duda fue el mejor regalo. Nuestra primera experiencia y fue espectacular. Clara muy atenta, el lugar y lo especial que fue ella hicieron de esta experiencia única. Muy atenta y nos brindó además de la paella otras cosas y todas muy deliciosas. Sin lugar a duda volveremos y lo recomiendo muchísimo! Gracias Clara!
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Christine
1 December 2025
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Loved it!
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Isabel
1 December 2025
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Clara ist eine sehr fachkundige und sympathische Person. Es war eine tolle Runde, die Zutaten waren hervorragend, auch die Weinauswahl war toll. Alles in allem ein sehr schönes Erlebnis.
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Samantha
1 December 2025
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My best friend and I took this class when we were in town for Thanksgiving. It’s right near Park Güell so we were able to go after we went to the park. It was so fun connecting with everyone and learning to make paella. The food was phenomenal and we had tapas to eat and wine to drinks would highly recommend taking this cooking class if you have time. Would recommend booking before or after you go to Park Güell since it’s in the same area.
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Helen
1 December 2025
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Amazing time and the hosts and the other guests who a blast. Coming from the US,this was my Thanksgiving meal and it was awesome! I highly recommend!
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Rohan
1 December 2025
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This was an awesome experience. The location was quiet, serene, and beautiful. Sara welcomed us and our toddler who enjoyed playing in the garden as well. The food experience was very educational; Sara talked about the traditions and where Paella came from and what it means to the people of Spain; then got into the ingredients and we started cooking. Sara was also very accommodating to dietary restrictions and we got to make a separate Paella with those restrictions in place. I would absolutely recommend this experience to anyone looking for this sort of class; it's a lot of fun and the experience is one we'll remember forever.
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Natalie
1 December 2025
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Wonderful experience!

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