Any visit to Barcelona is not complete without sampling their delicious tapas.

Restaurants in Barcelona

By Brenda Padilla

While Barcelona is known for its haute cuisine, you will also find wonderfully simple, traditional dishes like “Mar y Muntanya”, a combination of meat and shellfish that brings together the flavours of sea and mountain just like this unique city itself.

Some of the top chefs in the world work in Barcelona and others are sure to frequent this city that boasts a mix of flavours dating back to Roman times yet blending influences from Spain and neighbouring France as well as the contributions of immigrants from around the world.

Barcelona Chef Ferrán Adriá has been widely acclaimed and has made quite a media splash in the New York Times and the French Le Monde. Along with Adriá numerous chefs throughout the city enjoy local, regional or national recognition – mainly for vanguard cuisine.

If you’d like to try traditional Catalan fare, you might sample the roasted green onions called “Calçots”. The “Butifarra con Mongetes” promises to fill you up with hearty sausages and beans seasoned with garlic. If you’re looking for something lighter, then order the “Esqueixada de Bacallà”, a tasty salad made of salt cured cod, lettuce, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, onions and fresh peppers. For dessert, this is your big chance to experience a genuine “Crema Catalana” known as “burnt cream” in some parts of the world – a creamy custard pudding with caramelized sugar on top.

As you head out into the streets in search of good food and drink, expect a light breakfast, a heavy lunch, lovely pastries and coffee for afternoon tea and then a light dinner consisting of tapas perhaps.

Approach food in Barcelona with an open mind and ready palette and you’re sure to have a most scrumptious time.