When you think about Spanish food are you tempted to imagine yourself eating a taco while watching flamenco dancers? Because many people (including myself for a long time) really don’t know what Spanish people eat.
But the truth is that the food in Spain is both unique and AMAZING! Like many other countries in Europe, it even varies a lot depending on the region you are in. Anthony Bourdain even said Barcelona was one of the his favorite food cities in the world.
These are some of the best foods to try in Barcelona that give you a good idea of the food culture.
PS. You will love them!
Eating in Spain when Gluten Free/Keto/Paleo/any other special diet
I was 100% gluten-free for over 11 years (we thought I had Celiac’s disease and much later learned I don’t). Even though I am not gluten-free anymore, I remember how hard it was to find food safe to eat. Let alone when traveling! Or if you’re a fellow foodie!!
I was so afraid that people wouldn’t understand how important it was to protect my food and that I would get sick on vacation. Even now, gluten-free stuff is near and dear to my heart and I always think about it when I’m ordering food. This site is helpful in planning gluten-free travels.
Some restaurants in Barcelona were even 100% gluten free!
I thought that Barcelona was a great food place for anyone on a diet! It seemed like there was lots of options available so that no matter your diet you could find things wonderful to eat.
Paleo or Keto? You’ll love all the cheeses, meats, oils and nuts available anywhere. It’s much easier to avoid carbs here than other places in Europe that put bread on every table.
Vegan or Vegetarian? More liberal cities like Granada and Barcelona are amazing for meat-free diets. I was surprised how many places offered veggie options for people to order. This site talks about the best veggie friendly cities in Spain.
If you’re not on any special diet, then the world can (literally) be your oyster! (Psst… The seafood in GREAT in Barcelona.) These are the most iconic dishes to try when you’re in Barcelona.
Paella
The supremely iconic dish of Spain. Paella.
It is a rice-based dish that has all kinds of goodies mixed into it and cooked together in a pan, where it (hopefuly) gets deliciously crispy on the bottom.
No matter who you are, you can get a paella that you will love. We tried chicken, vegetarian, shellfish, and squid ink (both beautiful and yummy, but in hindsight very staining with a toddler! *face palm*). In Barcelona, the most popular paella is seafood paella since the Mediterranean and great fishing is right there!
This is something that I actually have been inspired to make at home since we’ve come back. It’s so satisfying and comfort food-y and you can pack it with the things you love.
Our favorite place for this was La Cuina de Laietana near the Plaza de Catalunya. It doesn’t follow totally my rule of eating away from busy areas, but still is a few blocks away. It’s a bit pricier, but definitely worth a splurge one night!
You can watch the cooks make the paella while you wait for the table through a glass divider. Link instantly made friends with the cook by babbling and waving at him. The cook handed him little bits of food to try to keep him happy with we waited, which made us love the place even more! (The manchego cheese and serrano peppers were our favorite at this place also!)
Tapas
Ok come on! You cannot go to Spain without trying this absolutely iconic food.
Tapas are usually what people think of first when they think of Spanish food. They are actually a type of dish rather than a specific dish. These small sharable plates are great add-ons to entrees, can be combined into a meal or are great things to nibble while enjoying great company!
“Great!” you think, “Small plates mean these are going to be super cheap!”. Well…
Tapas can actually end up being pretty expensive depending on where you go and how many you end up trying!
As I had mentioned in how to do Barcelona for cheap, the general rule to save money on eating out is to avoid the touristy restaurants. Go a few streets in from the main areas and your bill can drop from 50€ to 10€.
Another great place to check out is one of the mercats, or markets, where local vendors sell great food to the locals at booths. You get great quality food for cheap, meet locals and have a great afternoon exploring as you get groceries! My favorite was the smaller Santa Caterina Mercat.
Teaser: I have a post coming next week all about tapas!
I feel like I must specifically name one tapa because of how important it is to Spanish culture, jamón.
Jamón (ham) is like a religion in Spain. It isn’t the spiral-cut-honey-glazed ham you might be thinking of. More like prosciutto, this ultra-thin sliced cured meat is fatty and very tender. You can eat it plain, with fruit or in a sandwich. But it’s quintessentially Spanish so try it you must!
I can’t wrap up talking about the best foods to eat in Barcelona without ending with desserts!!
Gelato
I know, I know! Not necessarily Spanish in origin, but they do a fantastic job. Plus, it’s exactly what you want as you are wandering around on a hot day exploring Barcelona.
Gelato shops are everywhere and have ever flavor you can imagine. From the ones you expect, like chocolate, strawberry, pistachio and caramel to unique flavors like mascarpone and fig, goat cheese and honey, or avocado!
Unsurprisingly, Lincoln LOVED the gelato everywhere we went. I sometimes had to turn him so he wouldn’t see someone with a cone as we walked past because he would start saying “peez!” on repeat and pointing like crazy! That kid would eat his own cone as fast as he could and then want my cone too!
There are two great places that I really recommend for gelato. They are in great locations, have great gelato and have really unique and interesting flavors.
Swiit Ice Cream – Gothic Quarter
Ultra-friendly staff and a killer location near a castle-like courtyard in the Gothic Quarters. It’s the perfect place to pause, grab a seat and watch the birds and people go by. Or grab a cone and keep exploring the winding streets and beautiful buildings of this neighborhood.
Their flavors are really unique and fun to try without being too “out-there”.
Churros con chocolate
You can get hot chocolate in white, milk or dark chocolate, depending on what you like. A lot of places even scoop a huge dollop of cream on top!
If you feel like it’s just too hot for hot chocolate (it is southern Spain afterall, which is one of the reason that I think the winter is the best time to go), you can find chocolate milkshakes that are made with ladles of melted chocolate.
A few streets down from the Picasso Museum you can find Be Chocolat, a chocolate shop that also makes amazing chocolate drinks to order. We got a lemon white chocolate milkshake (because I love lemon anything and Link likes white chocolate) and it was the best milkshake I’ve ever had! I wish we had gone more for other milkshakes.
What food did you like to try in Barcelona?
2 comments
Hi there,
I love your list of where to eat in Barcelona. You have some really good ideas about the city, you did a great job. If you are ever back in Barcelona I would love to show you some amazing places to eat in the city. I run a food tour company called Eye on Food Tours drop me a line some time.
all the best,
-A
PS. Cute little boy…..
I would love that! There’s no better way to find the good places to eat than from locals!
And thanks, I think we’ll keep our little guy. 😉