BARCELONA A SHORT GUIDE
R E S TAU R A N T S
† M A M A C A F É & R E S TAU R A N T CALLE DOCTOR DOU, 10
Mama Café is my stalwart favourite restaurant in Barcelona. It’s really near MACBA in the Raval area. It has a really reasonable Menú del Dia which generally comes in at around €15 for three courses. The staff are really friendly and relaxed. It ain’t El Bulli but I’ve never been disappointed.
MOSQUITO CALLE CARDERS, 46
Sergi and I went here on my last night. It’s Japanese tapas with really good German beers and nice wines. The tastiest Asian food I’ve ever had, without a doubt! It’s small inside but awesome. Dim Sum is their speciality and as they say ‘Life without Dumpling is not worth living!’ A little extreme? I dunno it tastes so good. Here’s a picture of people having a laugh there….look at them there….
P I M PA M B U R G E R & P L AT S C A L L E S A B AT E R E T, 4
Gourmet burgers that looked pretty good! I just had chips but there were loads of people having a whale of a time, just eatin’ burgers ‘n’ all. This is was before there was all the gourmet burger places in Dublin but for fast food it’ll do ye.
R E S TAU R A N T S
† GOLFO DE BIZKAIA CALLE VIDRIERIA, 12
A tapas bar in El Born (really nice area of the city). I think that it’s one of a chain of tapas places. It’s grand but there are loads of really good ones that I can’t remember where they are... one was called Xampanyet but there’s a few of them aswell so not sure which one I was in. The important thing to know is that there’s also loads of SHITE tapas places, especially in the more touristy areas so try and get a good look at the food before you commit. Golfo de Bizkaia is one where at least you know the tapas are of a decent standard. You just grab a plate when you go in and pick them off the bar yerself. You pay at the end by the amount of cocktail sticks you have left on your plate. Needless to say we made many trips to the bathroom to dispose of pocketsful of cocktail sticks.
M AOZ FA L A F E L BARRI GOTIC & OTHER PLACES
Maoz does GREAT falafels for cheap. That. Is. All.
Born is really nice. It has lots of independent shops. There is a pretty little cathedral. And if yizzer are feeling cheap, you can grab a roll and a can of beer in the supermarket on Passeig del Born and have yer lunch on the steps. There’s also a pizzeria too.
BARS & CLUBS
†
PESCA SALADA CALLE LA CERA, 32
Goddammit, all the things that are good about the world are in this tiny bar with a scaly interior. Pesca Salada specialise in gin and tonic and they have an extensive enu of different ways to imbibe said loveliness. I had Hendricks Gin with cucumber and cardamom. jo had Hendricks with Nordic Mist and rose petals. It was THAT FUCKIN’ GOOD!!!
ODDLAND C A L L E J OAQ U I N C O STA , 5 2
Oddland and Manchester bar are nice little spots fo’ cheap drinks and nice people. Better cocktails can be found down the road at Negroni but a bit pricier… only a bit tho… Nice barman told me I sounded really spanish…. WEeEEEeeEewww!! These are only the ones I can remember which means there were definitely more and they could well have been better. You can buy beers on the street as you walk from fine drinking establishment to fine drinking establishment. Just be careful, don’t look like a tourist ‘cos there’s a fair amount of opportunistic bastards on the prowl, fur realz.
APOLO/NITSA CLUB NOU DE LA RAMBLA, 113
Really good nightclub. I spent my entire four months pretty much living here. Maybe avoid on a Tuesday though. Unless you wanna be date-raped.
MARKETS
† S A N TA C AT E R I N A M K T
LA BOQUERÍA
A V. F R A N C E S C C A M B Ó , 1 6
RAMBLA, 91
These are lovely big roofed markets for amazing cheese and stuff if you wanna do some dinners in instead of out. And you can get nice tapas, bread and coffees. Santa Caterina has a nice restaurant through the right–hand door. There’s also a Caprabo (like Spanish Tesco) so you can get all yer bits.
Behind La Boquería, there is a tapas bar called something like Papa’s or Papito’s. It was recommended to me by Sergi. I went once and had delicious fish croquettes but then a beggar started harassing me and I ended up having to give her half my bleedin’ croquettes.
AT T R AC T I O N S
† DISSENY HUB
THE MUSEUMS
PA R K S
CALLE MONTCADA, 12
ALL OVER THE PLACE
LOTS OF THEM
This is the Design Hub, didn’t go in but in front they have a little café facing onto an little old stone courtyard where on Sundays you can see a free ‘Jazz’ concert…really really nice. Me Jo n Brian sat on the ground drinking canas and enjoying the balmy evening. Can’t go wrong. Kicks off around 9, I think, or at least it used to.
As regards museums and galleries etc...definitely the Picasso one and maybe MACBA too depending what’s on, but do check out the Gaudi stuff like Casa Battlo and Mila, even just the outside cos they’re totally AWESOME!!! And Sagrada Familia is high level stuff so if you get a chance it’s the big touristy thing everyone does in Barcelona and then look up Avinguda Gaudi and I lived there so maybe have a moment’s silence or something, light a candle, y’know yerself... OH AND PALAU DE LA MÚSICA!!! Beautiful. I lived near there too. Loads of Pakisatni shops near there, just in case you were wondering.
You HAVE to go to Parc Guell cos it’s really amazing. Ciutadella is really nice too and it’s got the zoo if yer so inclined. You can get cable cars up to Monjuic, I think which is apparently good. And my one regret is that I never went to Plaza Espanya which is meant to be beautiful, dunno why I never made it. YAY BARCELONA!
RAS BOOKS DOCTOR DOU, 10
A wee magazine and book shop slash gallery with lots of good design magazines. Right beside Mama café. They have some nice designy yokes.
V I N TAG E S H O P S THE RAVAL HAS LOADS
THE PLAZAS AROUND EVERY CORNER
There are lovely little courtyards and squares all over the place, particularly in Barri Gotic, around the cathedral and in the Raval. Theres a lovely one with orange trees growing in it somewhere around the place.
Blow is a good vintage store. Only across the road from Mama Cafe!! The vintage street is called Riera Baixa, Just around the corner from Rambla de Rava.
F I N A L LY. . .
† Get a mint tea in the kebab shops in Rambla de Raval. All the high street shops are on Placa dels Angels and the Rambla. You’ll find pretty reasonable menu del dia for around €12 during the day and a little bit more at night. Basically an all –day early bird. Hospital is a bit of a dodgy street so maybe avoid it if you can or at least avoid looking lost. Pickpockets are fairly common so keep a hold of everything. In saying that,I never had a problem. Except the last time when I did…. The Gracia area is a bit further out but good for eating and drinking. Sunday is a bit deadsville. Eixample also known as Gay-xample for the gays.
HAVE FUN BITCHEZZZ