Barcelona Tapas Tour – where to find the best tapas in Barcelona

There are few better ways to spend an afternoon in Barcelona than embarking on a tapas tour; wandering around, taking in the sights and sounds of the city, whilst delighting in the immense variety of different types of tapas available and you immediately know when you’re in a tapas bar because you’ll almost certainly see a bar-like counter running the length of one wall containing a plethora of different dishes, both hot and cold.

Tapas are originally from Andalucía, when the owners of bars put a little ‘lid’ of bread on a glass to keep the flies away from the sherry, but this simple ritual developed throughout the whole of Spain.

One of the great benefits of tapas eating is that it represents the perfect opportunity to try out something new; after all, if you don’t like it, you won’t have spent you a fortune finding out and that’s how I discovered pulpo a la gallega – octopus.

El Vaso de Oro (Balboa 6 ) is one of the best known tapas bars in the city and it’s always busy. The beer here is justly popular and the selection of tapas is legendary.

Similarly, Cal Pep (Plaça de les Olles), just south of the church of Santa Maria del Mar, has a great reputation. There’s a good restaurant of the same name next door, but if it’s just tapas you’re after, they’re always fresh and seasonal here. Also quite near here is Sagardi (Carrer de l’Argenteria 62). This has Basque cuisine, and absolutely amazing chorizo and cheese and prawn tortilla.

My other recommendations are Cerveceria Catalana (Carrer de Mallorca 236), which, as you would guess, has a vast selection of beers; Paco Meralgo (Carrer de Muntaner 171) – Spanish speakers can work out the pun for themselves – which serves tapas with a modern twist; Bar Celta (Mercè 16 ), a Galician bar that has wonderful calamari and superb rias baixas albariño white wine to wash it down; and Quimet i Quimet (Carrer Poeta Cabanyes 25), a bar run by the same family since the beginning of the 20th century where you can find just about the best selection of cheeses in town.

Finally, of course, I have to mention my all-time favourite, Els Quatre Gats (Montsió 3). This place is Picasso’s old haunt where, even if you don’t stay for a meal, you will find some wonderful fresh, authentic tapas.

There are, it goes without saying, dozens – if not hundreds – of other superbly atmospheric tapas bars in the city. Discovering your own favourites is a highlight of the Barcelona experience.

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