tapas guide
October 2nd, 2013
One would think that after our blow out feast at Fogó we would have had enough food for one day! Me too, but today happened to be the launch of De Tapes Per Barcelona and by 9 pm we were getting peckish…
de tapes per barcelona
De Tapes Per Barcelona is the 7th incarnation of this biannual city wide tapas festival sponsored by the Estrella Damm brewery.
tapas map
76 bars and restaurants are taking part this time – each provides a tapa and a small Estrella beer for 2.40€. All participating bars have a big poster outside and leaflets containing details/pictures of the tapas each bar does. There’s a map of Barcelona on the back pinpointing where all the establishments are. Someone had even produced a mobile phone app too!
We thought we’d start in the middle, by the cathedral, as there were a quite a few participants in a small space and it would be easy to go from bar to bar (as per the map above).
set de gòtic
We started at Set de Gòtic, just off Portal de l’Àngel. It’s a traditional looking restaurant selling a lot of charcuterie. I hadn’t been there before but it is the kind of place I would visit.
el boletaire
The tapa here was El Boletaire – a crusty cannelloni containing seasonal mushrooms and nuts with a gorgonzola and roquefort foam and a port and fig sauce. I really enjoyed the cannelloni and cheese foam, but the sauce was a bit sweet for my savoury taste buds. Regardless, it’s an elaborate tapa which I’m sure is quite poplar with most people.
Set de Gòtic is at: c/ Montsió 5, 08002, Barcelona
la taverna del bisbe
La Taverna del Bisbe looks like an old school establishment with doormen and dark wooden bar and tables. With the staff in smart uniforms it reminds me of the Lions Tea Houses I used to visit with my grandmother back in the 1960s.
tataki de tonyina vermella
We sat at the bar, with a table top fridge containing all sorts of exciting tapas. The offering here was Tataki de Tonyina Vermella – blue fin tuna served tataki style. Tataki is a Japanese method of briefly searing fish or meat in a hot pan. The tuna was served with citrus and tomato marmalade – it was absolutely delicious.
La Taverna del Bisbe is at: Avinguda de la Catedral, 6, 08002 Barcelona
el cafè d’en víctor
El Cafè D’en Víctor is literally joined to La Taverna del Bisbe, but in stark contrast is all chrome and plastic. The outside terrace is very nice, but the interior doesn’t suit me at all. When we ordered our beer and tapas, the waiter asked the barman for draft beers and the poor guy thought he meant large ones. This caused a big argument between them, which amused me since I understood the names they were calling each other!
tast basc
Here we had Tast Basc – which I believe means Basque taste or taste of the Basque, so the influence here is Basque cuisine. The Tast Basc was a choux pastry filled with bacalao (salt cod) and a tuna truffle taco with ginger jam. I really enjoyed this.
El Cafè D’en Víctor is at: c/ Tapineria, 12, 08002, Barcelona
la gloria
We walked around the corner and were at La Gloria. We were both feeling a bit bloated by the beer (I prefer wine normally) so we sat outside and drank a rosado. Unfortunately the tapas and beer have to be consumed inside, so we had to pay for the wine before going in to try the tapa.
la gloria fridge
Like La Taverna del Bisbe (above) La Gloria is quite a traditional bar selling racións (small portions) of food which you choose from a fridge running along the back of the counter. All the food here looks very good.
gratacels
The tapa in La Gloria was Gratacels (skyscrapers) – boneless pig trotters reformed into a little tower, served with a samfaina (ratatouille). this was without a doubt my favourite. The rich and sticky trotters were marvellous!
La Gloria is at: Via Laietana, 29, 08003 Barcelona
It was getting a bit late after La Gloria – we did try to get a tapa at H3, just up the road, but they’d stopped serving, so we retired to Iposa for a glass of wine. I’d really enjoyed the food, but the beer had made me feel quite stuffed…
De Tapes Per Barcelona is on until October 20th, 2013.
Wow!!! I think I need to live your life for a few hours….Beautiful stuff. I especially liked the Tast Basque…I am a big fan of bacalao.
Thanks Natalia – I love bacalao too 😉
Feeling a bit peckish? After that lunch, I would have been feeling a bit unconscious! Not you. No, you go back out and look at all the wonderful tapas you enjoyed. I know one thing. If I’m ever lucky enough to get back to Spain, I will surely ask for your assistance. Forget Michelin. I’m going with the Mad Dog Guide. 🙂
Thanks John, that’s a wonderful compliment! If I’d been properly hungry I might have managed more 😉
What a great and acceptable version of the “pub crawl”. I’m with you on the beer thing…I can’t drink that volume. The gratacel did sound delicious and how a tapa should be. The others sounded a too posh and clever for me. The Tast Basc sounded good too. Nice post, MD.
Thanks Roger – it’s a very sensible pub crawl too. I did see that there’s a tapas tasting every once a week in Poble Sec, just East of Barrio Gòtic – there one can have beer or wine 😉
Que rico! There’s nothing more fun than a tapas crawl. Eating, drinking canas or vermouth and enjoying the life of the city. What a pleasure to read! Great photos too!
Thanks Amanda it was great fun 😉
There are so many interesting places to visit and now I’m adding Barcelona just to experience this foodie crawl! I’m not sure where I would begin but I love following your path for sure!
Thanks Linda – Barcelona is my favourite place for food and culture 😉
I’m with you too on the beer, even if it’s just a cana (sorry, my keyboard won’t do the squiggly n!) but my oh my – what a wonderful tapeo. Even our local village does something similar, the tapas aren’t quite to grand but it’s fun and as I’m not a red wine drinker I get glasses of fino which can be quite dangerous after a while!
Yes, one or two little beers isn’t too bad, but after that it becomes an ordeal.
I think your village has the right idea – a tapa and fino, what could be better 😉
Oh, how fun. And peckish is one of my favorite words.
I have trouble with mice raiding the fridge too 😉
What a tapas extravagazanza – I was especially drooling over the tuna and mushroom ones. I have *got* to go to Barcelona! Thanks for bringing us such beautiful and yummy photos.
Thanks Fiona – it’s a great idea. You must go to Barcelona, though I like it so much I find it hard to go anywhere else 😉