A First Timer’s Guide of What and Where to Eat in Barcelona

It took me less than a day to fall hopelessly in love with Barcelona.

So in love that I was back only 10 months after my first trip. As my husband Nick would put it: what’s not to like about people who eat like Hobbits - many times a day and with gusto? Traditionally, a day in the life of a Spaniard consisted of 5 meals: 

• Desayuno (Breakfast) is the smallest meal of the day, consisting of a small pastry or toast with butter and jam, and a coffee.

• Almuerzo (Mid-morning snack) is taken sometime between 10:00AM and 12:00PM, and is meant to tide you over until lunch. This is the time to have a Bocadillo, a small sandwich, or a slice of Tortilla de patatas, a thick potato omelet. You can even have a combination of the two - a Bocadillo de tortilla de patatas!

• Comida (Lunch) is the largest meal of the day, enjoyed between 2:00PM to 4:00PM. People take their lunch break seriously and businesses tend to close between that time. Many restaurants will offer a Menu del dia, a set multi-course meal for a fixed price. 

• Merienda (Late afternoon snack) is another snack time meant to tide you over until dinner. However, this is mostly for kids coming home from school.

• Cena (Dinner) is a lighter meal eaten after 9:00PM. If eating out among friends, many people will preface this meal time with a drink and Tapas, small dishes meant for sharing, or let it evolve into an entire evening of bar hopping and sharing Tapas at each destination.

According to my good friend, Tyler Mains, local American expat and infallible gastronomic curator, these meal times have evolved to something closer to the North American three meals a day. To that, I say nonsense. If you want to experience Spanish culture in Spain, then go with tradition. That said, I believe we’ve established when to eat: all day.

An even better question is now what to eat? The following is by no means derived from research or advice from cultural experts, but merely foods that were such revelations to us that we could not imagine a visit to Barcelona, or Spain for that matter, without consuming these in abundance and with abandon.

Foundations

One of Everything’s Top Picks

Honourable mentions

Nomad - for properly hipster third wave coffee.

Paral.lello Gelato - for fantastic artisanal gelato in fun flavours.

Cuvee 3000 - a bottle shop where you can also enjoy your purchase onsite.

La Vinya del Senyor - a great wine bar with a lovely second-floor view.

Entre Latas - for an extensive selection of carefully curated conservas.

Dr. Stravinsky - for inventive cocktails made in a veritable laboratory of experiments in made-in-house fermented, distilled, macerated, vacuum-cooked, cold-drip brewed, or fat/milk-washed ingredients.

Words and photos by Kimberley Kwo