Barcelona...ah, Barcelona. I do love Barcelona. For the last 10 years or so I've usually gone on business at least once a year, and sometimes more often so I have come to know the city pretty well. However, Mrs. T has never been and I've wanted to bring her here for ages so at long last I was able to add a few days on to the front of a business trip and spend a long weekend playing before my work started.
I've never really found the "perfect" hotel in Barcelona, but we got pretty close on this trip. We stayed at Hotel 1898 (http://www.hotel1898.com/en/) which is right in the centre of Barcelona on La Rambla, the main pedestrianised shopping street in Barcelona. Sadly, it is also where the tragic terror attack happened about a month before our visit - but like London, Barcelona has recovered quickly and La Rambla was business as usual with swarms of people packing the streets all weekend. Apart from a few small annoyances the hotel was lovely (although expensive). We booked a superior room so got a corner room at the back of the hotel with a small balcony overlooking a quiet little square with a few bars/restaurants (and plenty of buskers/street performers passing through). What were the annoyances? Well, the most annoying thing was the lobby was so overpoweringly scented with the most noxious smelling perfume that is so common in 'boutique' hotels these days. Sigh. Also, I'd say the staff were only OK. Friendly enough, but no more than that.
Like a lot of hotels in Barcelona, there was a nice bar and pool on the roof of the building with 360 degree views.
We arrived at the hotel a bit too early to check in and were starving, so we had a quick lunch on the sunny rooftop of the hotel. The food was OK here, but we had much better food the rest of the week. For instance, while it looks great the salmon dish was cured salmon with a asian dipping sauce - this would have been fine but it was smoked salmon which didn't work at all with the sauce.
We fared much better at dinner. We went to Cera23 (https://www.cera23.com). It is a restaurant I've been to before and love it's simplicity and vibe. I had actually managed to mess up my reservation by putting the right "day" in my email but the wrong date. We managed to get a seat at the bar, but they weren't particularly comfortable seats - luckily the incredibly friendly manager said there was a cancellation and he was able to seat us at a proper table about 15 minutes later.
We had octopus & prawns for starters and tuna & cod (the Spanish call it codfish which always makes me smile for some reason) for our main course - a seafood extravaganza. I have found the seafood in Barcelona is always great and this was no exception.
On Saturday Mrs. T and I went for a good wander around the streets of the Gothic quarter. While it was really warm the whole time we were there, it started to rain right around lunch time and we ducked into a pintxos bar (Bilbao Berria). If you've never been to a pintxos bar, there are small dishes up on the bar and you just take what you fancy. All of the bites have a different stick shape in it which they count up at the end to calculate your bill. You can also order some things off a menu.
Later, for dinner we had something really special - my favourite restaurant in Barcelona. It is a very small place in the north of the city called Con Gracia (http://www.congracia.es/en/home) that I try and visit at least once a year if I can manage it. I was really excited to finally take Mrs. T there. You get a choice of two tasting menus - one where you will know what is coming and one 'mystery' menu where you only find out about each dish when it arrives - I always choose this option and it was no exception on this occasion...we also got the matching wines. I won't describe every dish here, but absolutely everything was amazing as usual.
The staff here are charming (there are only two of them) and it is not excessively expensive - 65 euros for the food and only 30 euros for the matching wines - a steal for the quality of the food, cooking and wine. A really fantastic night.
On Sunday it was another sunny warm day and we went for another wander in the Gothic quarter. I had a restaurant chosen so we headed off in that general direction, stopping in the Placa Reial for a coffee and gander at all the various buskers and a good dose of people watching.
For lunch we headed for a tiny tapas place with a difference - it has an asian slant. It is called Viana (https://www.vianabcn.com). We got there early which was good because by the time we left if was completely rammed and it is a tiny place (perhaps room for 25 people). There is a partially open kitchen at the end of the restaurant with three chefs cooking away.
In my view, the food couldn't have been better here - and I had the best patatas bravas I've ever tasted. I really love these sharing Tapas dishes because you get to taste a lot of different dishes. Once again, the staff and service were excellent and the bill wasn't too outrageous.
Finally, for our last dinner we went to a place that was about a 20 min walk from the hotel called Agust Gastrobar (http://agustbarcelona.com/en/). Again, the food was absolutely stunning, both in presentation and taste. Really good seasoning and loads of flavour.
Phew...another successful meal and the end of our long weekend in Barcelona. I stayed on for a few more days and had a few other great meals at Bar Canente and Restaurant Informal (and Agust again). It is a city I could go back to again and again so until next time...adios.
I've never really found the "perfect" hotel in Barcelona, but we got pretty close on this trip. We stayed at Hotel 1898 (http://www.hotel1898.com/en/) which is right in the centre of Barcelona on La Rambla, the main pedestrianised shopping street in Barcelona. Sadly, it is also where the tragic terror attack happened about a month before our visit - but like London, Barcelona has recovered quickly and La Rambla was business as usual with swarms of people packing the streets all weekend. Apart from a few small annoyances the hotel was lovely (although expensive). We booked a superior room so got a corner room at the back of the hotel with a small balcony overlooking a quiet little square with a few bars/restaurants (and plenty of buskers/street performers passing through). What were the annoyances? Well, the most annoying thing was the lobby was so overpoweringly scented with the most noxious smelling perfume that is so common in 'boutique' hotels these days. Sigh. Also, I'd say the staff were only OK. Friendly enough, but no more than that.
Like a lot of hotels in Barcelona, there was a nice bar and pool on the roof of the building with 360 degree views.
We arrived at the hotel a bit too early to check in and were starving, so we had a quick lunch on the sunny rooftop of the hotel. The food was OK here, but we had much better food the rest of the week. For instance, while it looks great the salmon dish was cured salmon with a asian dipping sauce - this would have been fine but it was smoked salmon which didn't work at all with the sauce.
We fared much better at dinner. We went to Cera23 (https://www.cera23.com). It is a restaurant I've been to before and love it's simplicity and vibe. I had actually managed to mess up my reservation by putting the right "day" in my email but the wrong date. We managed to get a seat at the bar, but they weren't particularly comfortable seats - luckily the incredibly friendly manager said there was a cancellation and he was able to seat us at a proper table about 15 minutes later.
On Saturday Mrs. T and I went for a good wander around the streets of the Gothic quarter. While it was really warm the whole time we were there, it started to rain right around lunch time and we ducked into a pintxos bar (Bilbao Berria). If you've never been to a pintxos bar, there are small dishes up on the bar and you just take what you fancy. All of the bites have a different stick shape in it which they count up at the end to calculate your bill. You can also order some things off a menu.
Later, for dinner we had something really special - my favourite restaurant in Barcelona. It is a very small place in the north of the city called Con Gracia (http://www.congracia.es/en/home) that I try and visit at least once a year if I can manage it. I was really excited to finally take Mrs. T there. You get a choice of two tasting menus - one where you will know what is coming and one 'mystery' menu where you only find out about each dish when it arrives - I always choose this option and it was no exception on this occasion...we also got the matching wines. I won't describe every dish here, but absolutely everything was amazing as usual.
The staff here are charming (there are only two of them) and it is not excessively expensive - 65 euros for the food and only 30 euros for the matching wines - a steal for the quality of the food, cooking and wine. A really fantastic night.
On Sunday it was another sunny warm day and we went for another wander in the Gothic quarter. I had a restaurant chosen so we headed off in that general direction, stopping in the Placa Reial for a coffee and gander at all the various buskers and a good dose of people watching.
For lunch we headed for a tiny tapas place with a difference - it has an asian slant. It is called Viana (https://www.vianabcn.com). We got there early which was good because by the time we left if was completely rammed and it is a tiny place (perhaps room for 25 people). There is a partially open kitchen at the end of the restaurant with three chefs cooking away.
In my view, the food couldn't have been better here - and I had the best patatas bravas I've ever tasted. I really love these sharing Tapas dishes because you get to taste a lot of different dishes. Once again, the staff and service were excellent and the bill wasn't too outrageous.
Finally, for our last dinner we went to a place that was about a 20 min walk from the hotel called Agust Gastrobar (http://agustbarcelona.com/en/). Again, the food was absolutely stunning, both in presentation and taste. Really good seasoning and loads of flavour.
Tomatoes and Burrata
Ceviche
Iberico pork
Tuna Tataki
Tropical sorbet, tapioca and coconut cream
Phew...another successful meal and the end of our long weekend in Barcelona. I stayed on for a few more days and had a few other great meals at Bar Canente and Restaurant Informal (and Agust again). It is a city I could go back to again and again so until next time...adios.
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