19 Jul Barcelona Tapa Guide: Savoury Bites & Charming Taparies

Every little item presented on a Barcelona menu is a plateful of flavours. Heavy with spices, the traditional Catalan cuisine has been glorified in the capital long ago and is still assiduously honoured, making Barcelona the one impeccable destination for lovers of home cooking.

When in the heart of the Old Town, skipping breakfast is not such a shame – Barcelona’s night owls like to party at night, sleep late and wake up just in time for the most succulent meal of the day;  brunch. In addition to the traditional ham bocadillo and botifarra with beans, which locals enjoy as their second breakfast, Barcelona restaurants will offer you a plate of the cuisine’s most irresistible morsels – the Catalan tapa.

An Offbeat History Lesson

Continuing to explode throughout the region, the Spanish tapa culture actually began a bit further south, among lonely roamers making their stay in the taverns of Andalusia. Full of hefty sherry to warm wary travellers, the region’s pitchers were notorious for yet another peculiarity – a thick slice of ham placed on top. Once the tavern singing was starting to turn mellow and the pitchers were emptied up, the time was about right for a ham to be wallowed in.

Simultaneously keeping the roamer longing for a delicious after-bender bite and protecting a glass of sherry from the tavern fruit flies, the ham tapa was born here, on account of the thirsty vagabonds. Since then, Spain’s most boastful appetizer became an art of its own. Today, it is the fare for those looking for a bite to share in fine company.

As a consequence, Barcelona made it a tradition – a simple slice of Catalan bread accompanied with a shred of the region’s finest meat and sprinkled with spices is another Barcelona pleasure that shouldn’t be missed.

Tapas for Novices

Although traditionally considered as appetizers, Catalan tapas are, like everything else, served in the capital’s eateries, wholesome, honest and insanely delicious. If unable to decide on a specific one, a plate of callos tapa for starters won’t disappoint you. Not that the ingredient list matters, for even the tiniest of spice pinches is brilliantly fused into a harmonious whole, but this kind of tapa is actually a pig tripe dish sprinkled with chickpeas and, as every other Catalan serving, dipped into a savoury sauce.

During weekends, when Barcelona is particularly vibrant and the weather calls for a long walk, a proper brunch requires a distinctive kind of appetizer. To start your day in a spirited fashion, order the octopus a la gallega or calamares a la romana – both seafood-based, the first is delightfully spicy and seasoned with paprika and garlic, while the latter hides a squid ring dish, coated with eggs, soda and flour and irresistibly battered up and fried until crisp.

Still, a gastronomic adventure in Barcelona is never complete without three of the cuisine’s most beloved tapas – whichever kind you order, be sure not to miss pa amb tomaquet, chorizo and mushrooms and patatas a la Catalana.

Pa amb Tomaquet

Along with Gaudi’s swaying architecture, seductive sangria and continuous street fiesta, pa amb tomaquet is yet another emblem of the Catalan capital. The internationally acclaimed Barcelona tapa is a rather simple one – generously spiced tomato bread, seasoned with recognizable Catalan fervency for straightforward, yet savoury dishes. The bread, carefully toasted a couple of times, is smeared up with garlic, then tomato, and finally, salted and refreshed with a generous drizzle of olive oil.  

Chorizo and Mushrooms

If in need of something more restorative and fleshy, the chorizo and mushrooms tapa is a brilliant choice. Piquant on the palate and sharp on the nose, the chorizo sausage is one of the superb meat products of the region, and as such, it is accountable for the vast number of succulent traditional recipes. As a tapa, the smack of paprika-seasoned chorizo is even further enriched with the sourness of mushrooms dressed with sherry vinegar. The result – a perfectly smoky, tangy bite.

Patatas a la Catalana

For those familiar with the Spanish cuisine and its most delectable branch, Catalan cooking, patatas bravas are most likely the first dish that comes to mind when potato tapas are mentioned. Soaked in tomato sauce and pierced with a toothpick, the perfect little patatas cubes are amazing for long and tipsy bar evenings. Being their cousin tapa dish, the patatas a la Catalana, however, are a bit more than a snack – these Catalan-style potatoes are splendidly stuffed with anchovy fillets, seasoned with parsley, chives and red bell pepper, and served with sour crème.   

Barcelona’s Taparies

Taking much pride in its culinary scene’s unique take on these traditionally Spanish mini-meals, Barcelona is more than glad to share it with tourists. And, however brilliant tapas are for the invigorating mid-day meal, you can have them whenever your taste buds desire a smack. Mostly, the capital’s restaurants prepare them as an appetizer just before lunchtime, while bars serve them along with booze.

It goes without saying that a cosy tapa venue can be found on each of the city’s corners; in addition to that, tapa servings are usually pretty cheap, which simply makes them the perfect indulgence for your food-loving belly at any given time. Here are a couple you shouldn’t miss.

Quimet i Quimet

Although widely proclaimed the most iconic tapa bar in the whole of Barcelona, Quimet i Quimet is quite easy to overlook. Ever since it was opened as a wine shop back in 1914, this charming workshop of wonders still looks like yet another spirit-selling venue. Today, this family ran bar, colourful with bottled delights, dusty tins with conservas and other tempting edibles, serves the best bodegas de tapas in the capital.

Their montaditos, spectacularly sculpted tapas served on bread, differ a bit from the appetizers usually prepared in Barcelona, and are, in fact, little open-faced sandwichy bites in which the Quimet i Quimet’s smoked salmon, fresh Greek yogurt and truffled honey all come together in one of the most exciting morsels you’ll ever have the pleasure of trying.

Lolita

As opposed to the vintage charm of Quimet i Quimet’s wine barrels, Lolita is a bona fide mecca of urban culture and the contemporary culinary scene. Instead of patina and dust, the taperia startles with neon lights and loud music.

Specializing in anchovies and olives and offering a dizzying array of delectable choices, Lolita will give you a hard time picking your tapa. In between enormous, fleshy smoked olives, eggplants with cane molasses and chicken strips in breadcrumbs, the crowded bar excels in disassembling traditional recipes and fusing them into new-fangled ones.

Of such sort, burrata is somewhere near the typical tapa dish, but refined with salty tapenade made from black olives, accompanied by another pulpy paste and made sweeter with semi-dried tomatoes.

La Esquinica

As locals stubbornly claim, patatas bravas are nowhere more goluptious than in the off the beaten track La Esquinica. Located on a subway drive from the centre, this old fashioned eatery is mostly tourists-free, yet its notorious queues are the unbeatable testament of its high-quality servings. Beloved for over half a century, ever since it was opened back in 1972, the eatery still offers authentic, straightforward and hearty dishes, with tapas not lacking the creativity of the contemporary scene.

If there for the first time, start off with a bountiful allioli dip of patatas bravas, and continue on to the sea-food tapas, of which chocos, a surprisingly creamy squid rings, and tigres, a dish of mussels stuffed with a delicious filling in which onion, pepper and tomato sauce trippingly complement each other.

Vigorous but honest, the national fare of Catalonia is now a brilliant mixture of traditional zest and modern innovation. Served in Barcelona, where the tapa culture is ever alive, the long-established Catalan menu is as appetizing as it gets.