The second city break of the year saw me visiting Barcelona for a long weekend with my boyfriend James.

Here’s the first of two post from Barcelona; the first being a little jam-packed feast of where to eat and drink in Barcelona and the second will be a ’72 hours in Barcelona’ guide!

Writing up this food guide for Barcelona is making me want to look at return flights to Barcelona ASAP!

 

The Grill Room in Barcelona

On the first night, we had a wonder around the Gothic Quarter and passed plenty of restaurants, ranging from Italian and Indian to Turkish and Spanish tapas bars.

We stumbled on The Grill Room, nestled in a little side street. The Grill Room served up traditional fresh Spanish dishes using ingredients straight from the local food market.

We chose a set course meal with three dishes.

For starters, James and I both had the sweet chilli and vegetable pasta. The chilli kick was sweet and not too spicy, and the vegetables were crunchy and super flavoursome.

James had a pork steak for diner, drizzled in a creamy mushroom sauce with triple cooked chips. He loved the tenderness of the meat but said it could have done with a few vegetables.

For main course I had a seared fish steak on a bed of sweet chilli tomatoes and onions, topped with crunchy cabbage. I’m gutted I didn’t ask what the fish was but it so tender and juicy – I’d favour that over salmon any day! …maybe.

James and I both had the lemon sorbet to finish which had the right balance of sweetness and sharpness.

The interior was super cosy and traditional, and the waiters were super friendly and attentive.

 

Margarita Blue in Barcelona

The Gothic Quarter is home to many bars, pubs and clubs, and I’m just glad we stumbled on Margarita Blue on our way back to the hotel on the first night.

Margarita Blue is a jazzy little cocktail bar with a cosy, chilled out atmosphere. We browsed the menu and I went for Sex on the Beach, whilst James was a little more adventurous and went for an alcoholic slush puppy. It looks deceiving but this little drink definitely packed quite the punch!

 

Colom Restaurant in Barcelona

I think out of the three restaurants we visited in Barcelona, the Colom Restaurant was by far my favourite.

We headed up Las Ramblas this time and walked through a different part of the Gothic Quarter, where we found the traditional restaurant serving authentic Spanish tapas, paella and of course – sangria! The restaurant was full of locals so we knew straight away we’d found a goodun’!

The interior of this restaurant was fun; it was decked out like a ship with wooden floorboards, dropped material on the walls, wooden benches to eat at and shanty songs playing softly in the background.

We went with the set meal deal which was a choice of tapas, a paella dish and a drink each.

For tapas, we had garlic bread, crab fish cakes and spicy chicken wings. The garlic bread was incredibly garlicky which is good seeing as we both love garlic – a lot! The chicken wings were tender and the crab cakes were delicious. The crab meat was delicately flavoured with a deliciously crunchy coating.

We shared the chicken paella for mains and oh my god, I have never tasted paella so good in my life! I was in paella-heaven and cannot recommend this place enough.

James had a beer and I had sangria, which was deliciously fruity and sweet.

 

Stoke Bar in Barcelona

I’m always a little reluctant when touts approach asking if you’re looking for bars or restaurants, especially in a foreign country, but on this occassion, I’m glad we did.

We headed to a little bar called Stoke Bar, where we drank strawberry and mango daquiris and of course… more sangria!

It was a lovely little spot that was bustling with people eating and drinking. It was so good in fact, that we headed back to the bar on our last night in Barcelona!

 

Restaurante Ferran in Barcelona

For our last night in Barcelona, we decided to check restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor for something a little more special.

We found Restaurante Ferran, a beautiful restaurant that oozed sophistication.

For starters, we ordered pitted green olives, bruschetta with tomato and garlic paste and crab cakes.

I’ve never been an olive lover but these green olives were so juicy and strong. It’s probably what started my olive addiction – I just love them now! The bruschetta was crunchy and the fresh tomato and garlic paste was a nice addition. The crab cakes came a little later than the other starters but they were worth the wait. The crab meat was soft and flaky and the batter had a nice crunch to it.

For mains I ordered fresh tagliatelle pasta in a light cream and mushroom sauce, topped with fresh prawns. This dish is by far the best pasta dish I have ever had. The pasta was soft and soaked the mushroom sauce up well, and the prawns on top tasted incredibly fresh and soft.

James ordered a Surf and turf dish with fresh chicken, prawns and triple cooked chips. The chicken leg was soft with a crunchy skin, and the prawns were fresh and super tender.

Restaurante Ferran was the most expensive restaurant of the three, but it was so worth it!

 

I’m so glad that James and I were able to sample the traditional Spanish cuisine whilst we were there for a short weekend break. I happily gained 3 pounds that weekend in paella and sangria alone!