Barcelona – the hipsters & the tapas

We used Foursquare quite extensively in Barcelona to help us find good eating & drinking spots.  It’s a really awesome app…

This is a roundup of the interesting spots we found:

• Milk – quite close to where we were staying…  This place was hipster heaven.  The kind of place that would put even the mighty Power & Glory back in Cape Town to total shame on the hipster scale.  It’s one of those “you’ve got to be in the know” kinda spots and it’s got a really fun & quirky interior with a relaxed vibe.
  The burgers came highly recommended and after seeing them pass us to other tables, we figured right, that sounds good.  We paired it with a great bottle of Rose wine and well, it was perfection.  That burger in fact was so good, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say, it might possibly be the best burger I’ve ever had.  Yes… I said it…  well regular sized one at least (I’ll explain that one when we get to my coverage of San Sebastian).
  I would highly recommend this spot if you’re ever in Barcelona.  It was one of my favourites.

• The Cat Bar was also in our hood.  And it’s also very hipster.  Think strange, slightly depressing piano music in the background.  “Cat art” all over the walls.  And an odd bunch of folks, including one of those fire dancer type girls standing outside doing some kind of dancing with some kind of prop (sans fire though).
  I ended up talking to some travelling musician guy from Argentina, and it was all rather strange to be honest.  But you know what, it makes for a good story.  And therefore I figured it was worth a mention and worth a visit.

• My top tapas bar was without a doubt, Bar del Pla.  Amazing food & wine.  Friendly service.  Jam-packed inside, so clearly they’re very popular.  In short – amazing experience.
  I wish I had time to go back for a return visit actually.  On the menu, you have to try the tomato-rubbed flat bread, the crispy beef with foie gras, fried potatoes in spicy sauce, marinated salmon, the squid ink croquettes, and if you have a sweet tooth, the cheesecake’s pretty damn good.

Clockwise from top left: fried potatoes, squid ink croquettes, tomato-rubbed flat bread, octopus bombs (these were tasty – but not my personal favourite), cheesecake & crispy beef.

• Now if you’re looking for a quick & easy snack for breakfast or lunch, I will say Bilbao Berria, not too far from Las Ramblas, is a good bet.  They do ready made tapas which are refreshed & updated regularly, so you can just pop up to the bar every few minutes to see if there’s anything new that tickles your fancy.
  A lot of the places in Barcelona which do the ready made option are crappy.  The tapas stand there forever and are stale and tasteless.  But this is not the case here & it’s really well priced too.  They also make a pretty good coffee.

• Lastly we have, Casa de Tapes, close to the Magic Fountain show.  My favourite thing of theirs was their patatas bravas.  And their croquettes are good too.
  But they have a top 10 tapas rating system, and their mini burgers came out tops on that.  To me it was good, but lacked some kind of tanginess – like a gerkin, spicy mayo, salsa or something.  But D really loved them.  So it was probably just a personal thing.
  They have a particularly extensive menu – from smaller tapas to big dishes.  From Mediterranean to Mexican.  So there really is something for everyone, and that’s why I’d say they’re a good place to check out.

There you go guys.  That’s my final post about Barcelona.  I hope I’ve given you a good roundup of everything to see, do & experience.

Next up, we head up north to the small coastal city of San Sebastian…

xxx