The best Paella I have ever eaten was in Barcelona. Now granted, the man who cooked it was from Valencia (saludos a Federico 'cico' el calvo), but good Paella is all around Barcelona . . . you just have to know where to find it. So here is my list of the top 5 locales serving the best Paella in Barcelona:
- Lombardo, on Rambla Catalunya 49 (not 'the' Ramblas, but the avenue that runs west from Placa Catalunya toward the hill, which is much more authentic and lovely than 'the' Ramblas),
- Pitarra, in the Barrio Gotic, on Calle Avinyo 56,
- Can Majo, in Barceloneta, on L'Almirall Aixada 23,
- Can Ros, also in Barceloneta, on L'Almirall Aixada 7,
- Sete Portes, on Passeig Isabel II 14.
In addition, some people have told me that if you have good timing, you can find Paella in the hidden corners of the world-famous La Boqueria market. I have never been so lucky.
So don't be fooled, BARCELONA IS A CITY OF MAGNIFICENT PAELLAS! Just hit the cobblestones and start looking . . .
Can Ros was delicious. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCan Majo was great. Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated.
ReplyDelete7 portes is fabulous albeit expensive. you definitely get what you pay for here.
ReplyDeleteGreat and attractive restaurant, really not more expensive than any other good restaurant.
DeleteLombardo is no longer there. It is now Taller de Tapas.
ReplyDeletehttp://paellabarcelona.es
ReplyDeleteLas Mejores paellas y tapas!!!!
I find the average standard of paella in Barcelona to be really low! Many restaurants serve bland brown coloured half cooked rice with minimal effort. What is worse, you are expected to seem impressed by their cybical efforts.
ReplyDeleteCan majó was brilliant! Cheers. After searching for a good paella for a few nights it was a welcome tip. You pay a little more (€15 pp for the basic version) but the seafood and paella base were outstanding. And the creme catalana afterwards nearly stole the show:-D
ReplyDeletePitarra was awesome! Got 2 bottles of champagne and a bottle of red wine comped... Oh, and the food was great too... Wear a dress and leave your man at home!
ReplyDeletePitarra was really great, thank you for the recommendation! The paella valenciana was one of the top two meals I had on my vacation in Spain. Loved that it was hidden in the little back streets behind Passeig de Colom!
ReplyDeleteI live in Barcelona and for me the best restaurant for paella is Cheriff in la Barceloneta. Always full, reservation in advance is needed.
ReplyDeleteCan Majo was outstanding. The best paella experience we've had in Barcelona.
ReplyDeleteBut Pitarra, on the other hand, was not good. The paella tasted overly fishy (as if the seafood wasn't fresh).
went to can majo back in 2009 and it was the best meal we had in Barcelona, glad to see its still doing well!
ReplyDeletei went to pitarra with a few friends from the US ( i am from mallorca ) as i wanted to show them some decent spanish paella, not knowing barcelona that well, i decided to follow the advice from this website plus it was the closest of the 5 reccomendations to our apartment. I have to be honest, the paella was absolutely awful. without doubt one of the worst ive ever had. I also think that the waiter pushed some starters on us, that ended up being pretty terrible and overpriced. he did reccomend a wine that ended up being very good, so id like to give him credit for that.
ReplyDeleteall in all, it was a pretty horrible experience, especially considering that in the barrio gotico and in barcelona in general, its hard to find a bad meal. i will never return and i would urge people to try the other wonderful restaurants in the area.
genuinely very disappointed the price, the food and the ambience, do not reflect what you normally find in the wonderful city.
Following his advice and ate at Can Majo ate well but it was a great change comida.En try another restaurant that is located opposite the beach and there they call Bogatell understood why it takes so famous paella. It's a great meal if you find a good place to make it good. Our restaurant was the best place Catamaran.
ReplyDeleteI went to the restaurant seven gates following your advice, but I liked the other located on the beach Bogatell. No sale published in the guidelines, but there are many Spanish eating good sign! Cheaper and good.
ReplyDeleteHis name is Restaurant Catamaran.
Ate in Can Ros last night. I liked the restaurant space itself - small, clean, tastefully decorated - and the wine list was good. The paella I thought was average. The portion for two people was not very generous (and I'm not a huge eater) and the seafood content was on the low side - just 2 langoustines and a few pieces of octopus. THe service was underwhelming as well. All in all, taking the price into consideration (paella for two, 1 beer and one glass of wine for 42 Euros) I think there could be some serious competition from other places.
ReplyDelete