9 Best Tapas Barcelona Has to Offer | Where to Find the Best Tapas in Barcelona, Spain

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Looking for the best tapas Barcelona has to offer? You’ve come to the right place!

Barcelona is one of the best cities for tapas in all of Spain, simply because of the sheer variety, you can find there. Knowing where to start can be overwhelming, as many places offer cheap, touristic versions that you’ll want to avoid.

To bring you this list of the best tapas in Barcelona I’ve teamed up with some fellow foodie traveler friends to share our favorites with you! Our list includes Spanish tapas food of all varieties – from traditional to fusion and from budget to gourmet tapas at a Michelin star restaurant! There’s something for every tapas hungry visitor!

Visiting other destinations in Spain? Or maybe traveling through Europe? Check out our other delicious guides:

• The Best 10 Barcelona Foods & Drinks You Must Try 
• Costa Brava, The Best Roadtrip In Spain
• The Best Walking Food Tour Of Girona
• The Amazing Walking Food Tour Of Madrid
• The 10 Best Michelin Star Restaurants In Paris

While in Barcelona don’t miss out on activities that will help immerse yourself with the city (hurry while they’re hot!):

• Sagrada Familia: Skip-the-Ticket-Line Guided Tour & Ticket
• Barcelona: Flamenco Show at City Hall Theater
• Hop-On Hop-Off Barcelona City Tour 1 or 2 Day
• Barcelona: Park Güell Admission Ticket

9 Best Tapas Barcelona Has to Offer

Bar Celta Pulperia

Carrer de la Princesa, 50 // +34 933 15 15 10

Recommended by: Claire of Tales of a Backpacker

My favorite seafood tapas place in Barcelona has to be Bar Celta Pulperia.

Hidden in the back streets of the Gothic Quarter, you would be forgiven for thinking this was some sort of dive bar. But the delicious smells wafting out the door tell a different story. Grab a table (you may have to share, there are no frills here) and a waiter will swiftly ask for your order. The only menu here is printed on the wall by the entrance. The best way to decide what to order is to check out the bar, where rows of dishes are ready to tempt you.

The Galician octopus (pulpo gallego) is a specialty here, and it’s not to be missed – the tender, meaty octopus is served sliced with a generous sprinkling of sea salt and paprika.

The razor clams, cod fritters, and calamari are all divine, and don’t forget bread with tomato, a Catalan staple, to soak up any tapas juices. If you’re not keen on seafood, then their Spanish omelet, padron peppers, and garlic mushrooms are equally good. Wash them all down with copious amounts of beer or wine. Delicious!!

Ziryab Fusion Tapas Bar

Carrer dels Ases 16 // +34 932 68 17 74

As much as I enjoy the traditional tapas found throughout Spain, when I’m in Barcelona, I love visiting Ziryab for their Mediterranean fusion tapas.

The cozy restaurant is located down a winding alleyway near the Picasso Museum in Barcelona’s Old Medieval Town. Ziryab creates versions of traditional tapas with Mediterranean flavors. The end result is lighter, healthier versions of some of your favorite tapas.

I prefer the puff pastry filled with winter chestnuts, rosemary, and blue cheese

or the pan tomaquet with cured Bellota ham, a twist on the classic Catalan pan con tomaté.

Can Paixano (La Xampanyeria)

Carrer de la Reina Cristina, 7 // +34 933 10 08 39

Recommended by: Jonathan of Everybody Hates a Tourist

Many tapas bars in Barcelona are known first for their tapas, and second for their drinks. But Can Paixano (La Xampanyeria) flips the script.

The bar is most famous for its cheap selection of great cava. However, visitors to this small bar in Barceloneta, just across from the Gothic Quarter, can rest assured their cava will pair well with a quality selection of simple tapas.

The menu at Can Paixano is not large, and you won’t find any fancy gastronomic innovations here. What you will find are hearty snacks that go great with all the cava.

Recommended tapas include freshly grilled sausages and small sandwiches.

Can Paixano is small and often crowded with both tourists and locals alike. Pack yourself in, buy a glass (or bottle!) of cava and some grilled meat, let go of any desire for personal space, and make new friends. It’s a quintessential Barcelona experience.

Disfrutar

Carrer de Villarroel, 163 // +34 933 48 68 96

Recommended by: Mar of Once in a Lifetime Journey

Disfrutar is one of the more unusual tapas places in Barcelona. Instead of the typical casual eatery one expects when the word tapas comes to mind, Disfrutar is a twice Michelin awarded restaurant opened by three former head chefs of elBulli, the world’s best restaurant for many years running.

The menu is made of several dishes served tapas-style, small individual portions usually in shared plates. What is unique about them is that the chefs brought with them the molecular cuisine that elBulli originated and made it more accessible yet equally fascinating.

Expect spheres, foams, gimmicks, and incredible flavors that often render the foods of a Catalan childhood or revive elBulli’s famous recipes — like the spherical olives that are crafted in a molecular kitchen but look exactly like the real thing.

This place is a must-visit when in Barcelona. They even have menus starting at less than 100 euro – a great value for a 2 Michelin starred restaurant with one of the most acclaimed kitchen teams in the world.

Cuidad Condal

Rambla de Catalunya, 18 // +34 933 18 19 97

Recommended by: Nicole of Wandering With a Dromomaniac

Cuidad Condol bustles all night, even at midnight. Wait times are typically 1 or 2 hours unless you want to stand behind the folks eating at the bar and wait for them to leave.

Bar seating is first come first serve, and people often get drinks and hover behind those seated at the bar, willing them to leave. While there are many seating options, bar seating is by far the best.

It’s a little crazier than out on the floor, but at the bar, you can watch as waiters scoop up foods displayed in the bar’s glass case and hand them through a tiny window to the chefs beyond ton their way to various customers. The waiters are also constantly bringing out huge cast iron skillets full of seafood paella that they scoop out for various patrons.

Their tapas selection is among the best in Barcelona, with favorites like grilled cuttlefish, fried tiny fish, grilled artichoke, and of course the paella.

La Esquinica

Passeig de Fabra i Puig, 296 // +34 933 58 25 19

Recommended by: Gábor of Surfing the Planet

You can have fantastic gastronomic experiences at the center of Barcelona, but the most authentic tapas places are found in neighborhoods somewhat distant from the touristic central area.

La Esquinica, one of the classic and most popular tapas places among the locals, is found in the Horta district.

La Esquinica started as a small family restaurant on one of the hidden streets of the neighborhood, but as it became more popular, the restaurant moved to a more spacious location on the more frequented Fabra i Puig Street.

In this bar, run by people from the Aragon Region, you can find good quality food in a local atmosphere. Their patatas bravas and fried seafood are especially great. If you arrive at Spanish dinner-time, you can expect queues of local people even on weekdays.

In spite of their success, prices have remained low, since this place serves locals and does not want to become a tourist trap.

La Tasqueta de Blai

Carrer de Blai, 17 // +34 931 73 05 61

While visiting Barcelona on a girls’ weekend, we asked our hostel for a tapas recommendation, and they pointed us to La Tasqueta.

When we arrived, we immediately understood why – located on a pedestrianized street, La Tasqueta is exactly how you imagine a tapas place should look. It’s cozy but casual inside, with tapas lining the bar, chatter, and laughter filling the air, and sangria ready to be poured.

The place seemed popular with locals and tourists alike. There was a long wait to get in, but we managed to grab a seat at the bar, right in front of the tapas.

The tapas at La Tasqueta are lined up buffet style – you simply choose the items you want, and the waiter adds up the leftover toothpicks when you’re finished to determine how much you owe.

I loved everything I ate but would have to say the brie, prosciutto, and courgette crostini were my absolute favorite. In fact, I loved it so much I’ve started making my own at home!

Taller de Tapas 

Multiple Locations // +34 934 87 48 42

Recommended by: Clemens of Travellers Archive

Taller de Tapas is actually a Barcelona tapas chain, but this doesn’t detract any of its charms. My favorite store is on Rambla de Catalunya. It’s perfectly located on a tree-lined street, close to shops and bars, and the perfect spot for the final drink of the day.

Taller de Tapas offers unique tapas at a very reasonable price. The first time I came here, I was actually surprised by the prices. I still haven’t found cheaper tapas anywhere in Barcelona.

This is one of those places where you can hang out for hours and hours, ordering everything from the menu and washing the yummy food down with delicious local wine. Truly a phenomenal experience if you want to get a glimpse of what tapas are like in Barcelona.

They offer a great mix of warm and cold tapas, as well as the typical Catalonian pieces of bread with spread, cheese or whatever is on the menu that day. My favorites were dates in bacon and pimentos – mouthwatering!

Carrer Blai

Recommended by: Mike of 197 Travel Stamps

Carrer Blai is the ideal spot in Barcelona to go tapas hopping.

Here you’ll find not just one restaurant, but an entire street lined with tapas restaurants and bars. Most here serve pinchos, small tapas served on a slice of bread and held together by a skewer. Upon entering the restaurants, you’re given an empty plate and can help yourself to as many pinchos as you like. In the end, you pay based on the number of skewers on your plate.

To fully appreciate the wide variety of tapas places, I recommend you try just one or two pinchos per restaurant.

Prices per start at €1. The most famous restaurants on Carrer Blai are Blai 9, Taberna Blai Tonight, and La Tasqueta del Blai but you can’t go wrong with any other place. My favorite pincho is a slice of baguette with sausage and a quail egg.

Barcelona locals typically enjoy a glass of vermouth with their tapas – you should give that a try too.

Planning your trip to Barcelona? Click here to check out this itinerary detailing how to spend 3 days in Barcelona!

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These are the best tapas Barcelona has to offer! Which do you most want to try? Let me know in the comments section below!

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