One of our favorite things about travel is that we get to experience new and incredible food from all the places we visit. Chris and I consider ourselves "foodies", and we love to find local spots with great ambiance and food that stands out from the ordinary and leaves an impression on your tastebuds that you definitely won't forget! Barcelona's prolific and refined food culture appeals to people like us very well. In fact, in this European Metropolis, it's expected to simply order a few tapas and a drink or two, and sit in a plaza with you friends and talk for hours without feeling the pressure from waiters to fill your table with other customers. You are always welcome to simply sit and enjoy your exceptional meal, coffee, or glass of wine for however long you please.
During the time that we lived in Barcelona, we were able to discover some of the best that the city has to offer for foodies like us. Most of the places featured in this post were introduced to us by our local Catalan friends, and a few places we simply discovered in our wanderings around the city. Barcelona is without a doubt a food lovers dream, with lots of local treats like tapas, pinchos, jamon, paella, and chocolate and churros, not to mention an incredible sampling of international cuisine with flavors from the middle east to Asia.
Nomad Coffee (featured above) is by far our favorite coffee shop. It's located in our favorite neighborhood in the city, El Born. in their "Coffee Lab" They roast their own coffee beans which are shipped to Spain from growers all over the world, and offer all kinds of brews made with or without fresh milk, and with no sugars or syrups. In fact, you won't even find sugar if you ask for it. But if you are a sugar lover, you'll find that the coffee is so good that you absolutely don't need it. Nomad is set apart by the care they put into brewing each cup and the staff are friendly and fun while also being incredibly knowledgable about the various types of coffee that they serve.
If you're looking for great ambiance and a quiet treasure hidden away just a few blocks off of the popular Las Ramblas (main street in the center of the city), head to Jardins de Rubio. In this cobblestone courtyard surrounded by the beautiful buildings of the university that owns it, lies this hidden gem. The garden has a little tiled foundation in the middle with fragrant orange trees shading tables for two and benches to relax on.
Just a few feet from the orange trees, the ancient stone walls carve out the most adorable little restaurant called El Jardi. Completely outdoors, you can enjoy delicious tapas, local wine and beer, or a variety of other smaller plates under the suspended rope lights that hang high above the garden seating, or grab a seat under the old stone archways. It's the perfect spot to get away from the crowds and enjoy one of our favorite drinks, a tinto verano (summer wine) consisting of a dry red wine and lemony seltzer water.
Have you ever heard of a cronut (croissant / donut)? Or a kruffin (croissant/muffin)? If you're in Barcelona, and you're craving some delicious cro+muffin or cro+donut goodness, look no further than Chok! Before we came to Barcelona I'd never heard of either of these delectable desserts, but now that I've had one from Chok, I can hardly go back to eating a regular donuts or muffins.
Chok's creations (cronuts, kruffins, cookies, chocolate dipped everything, drinks, etc.) are unlike anything you've experienced anywhere else. After trying one of these I can guarantee that you'll be back multiple times to try all their masterpieces. Chok is located just off Las Ramblas in a tiny shop with an artfully crafted display window. One of our favorite creations is their double-stuffed brownie cronut (featured above) along with their raspberry cheesecake, chocolate peanut butter, and their Crema Catalana (a Catalan specialty) flavors.
Beyond Chok, Barcelona has hundreds of other amazing bakeries as well. Our absolute favorite was Forn Baluard, near the beach neighborhood of Barceloneta. Although it's not right on the water and can be a little difficult to find, it's well worth the effort and should definitely not be skipped during a visit to Barcelona!
Brunch is also becoming quite a fad in Barcelona these days. Bruncheries are sprouting up all over the city and we were thankful that they did, as brunch is our favorite meal of the day! One of the most unique and delicious places we found among the city's brunch spots was the adorable, Israeli owned and inspired UGOT (featured above) We loved the fun decor and atmosphere of this place. Between their bright printed wall paper and mismatching tea pots and cups, UGOT invites you in and will hold you captive for hours on end.
Their menu is full of typical Israeli dishes, and some more traditional style brunch items as well. Be sure to order one of their specialty tea's or coffee's and possibly one of their home-made pastries to go along with it. Our favorite menu item by far was the Shakshuka, a traditional Israeli dish of eggs poached in stewed tomatoes, garlic, onions, chilis, and a variety of spices. You can order theirs with or without eggplant, and a side of homemade hearty bread.
Another of our favorite brunch spots in the city is called Brunch & Cake. This very popular spot offers some seriously tasty twists on traditional breakfast and brunch items, along with an extensive coffee, juice, and smoothie drink options. Brunch and Cake has limited seating in it's fairly small space, so show up close to opening if you don't want to wait.
Finally, we'll round out this post with a specialty of Spain, and something you have to try when you visit, Chocolate and Churros. You can find this amazing dessert at lots of restaurants throughout the city, but our favorite is a place in the Gothic quarter called La Pallaresa. You can order your chocolate con swiss or sin swiss (with or without cream). We of course went with con swiss. So if you can find this hidden gem, squeeze into a seat in this small but quaint restaurant and enjoy this delicious treat with tourists and locals alike.
We could honestly write multiple posts about all the great places to eat and drink in our favorite city (Barcelona), but there are so many other posts to catch up on, so we just wanted to give you a small taste of a few of our favorites! Feel free to message us if you have any questions about places to eat / drink in Barcelona if you're curious.
Labels: Barcelona, Barcelona Blog, Barcelona Food Blog, Brunch and Cake Barcelona, Chok, El Jardi Barcelona, foodies, Nomad Coffee, Spain, The Road Less Traveled, Travel Blog, Travel Photography, TRLT, Ugot Barcelona
