Informal
La Cova Fumada, a family-run, hole in the wall bodega, is rarely less than bursting with locals. Legend has it that the potato bomba (balls of mashed potato stuffed with meat, rolled in breadcrumbs and served with spicy sauces) was invented here. Small octopus, marinaded sardines, and grilled breads in garlic mayonnaise are three other specialities that are equally as deserving of your attention (00 34 93 221 4061; Carrer del Baluard; closed Sun; from £2.40).
There are no seats at Quimet I Quimet, just two small tables. Yet this glorified wine cellar serves delicious tapas – cold meats, cheeses, seafood, caviar, jams – to crowds that spill onto the pavement. Quimet is said to be one of the favoured tapas haunts of El Bulli’s Adrià brothers: try the salmon and truffled honey montaditos to see why (00 34 93 442 3142; Poeta Cabanyes 25; closed Sun & August; from £1).
Modern
Bar del Pla is casual, but culinary standards are still high at this bar close to the Museu Picasso. The menu is more ambitious than in most taverns, with pig’s trotters and tempura-esque artichokes. Standards like pa amb tomàquet (toasted bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil) are among the most outstanding in the city (Carrer de Montcada; closed Sun & Mon; from £1.30).
Two tiny rooms with stools by a counter where chefs prepare the food on the spot, Cal Pep is a Barcelona institution. Seafood is the speciality here, with the trifásico – a combination of battered whitebait, shrimp and calamari – a favourite with locals. The size and popularity of the place mean that queuing is inevitable, but this makes chatting with the regulars even easier (Plaça de les Olles 8; closed Aug; from £3).
Set up by Ferran and Albert Adrià, the former head chefs at internationally renowned – and sadly now closed – restaurant El Bulli, the more laid-back Tickets takes Barcelona’s tapas tradition to new heights. Specialities adapted from the El Bulli menu include baguettes emptied of bread and filled with Iberico ham, liquid ravioli, and candyfloss trees filled with fruit (Av del Paral.lel 164; closed Mon & Sun, & Aug; from £4.50).
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