Heading to Barcelona for a couple of days.
Day 1 Sat - dinner is at Mont Bar (mostly because I loved it in 2019 at lunch and would love to return to dinner)
Day 2 is a Sunday. Normally I would love to go to Teoric or something similar.
Other prior favorites are Barra Alta, Dos Palillos, Succulent, Capet, Disfrutar, Enigma, Monocrom, Estimar
None are open Sunday
Considering Gresca and Dos Pebrots
Open to more ideas please. Ideally something not overly loud and not super formal but with pleasant vibe and great food.
See my recent report here:
I visited both Gresca and Dos Pebrots (and Mont bar).
Mont Bar has moved much more upscale, but is still on our ‘must’ list. We hit Dos Pebrots on the Sunday and Gresca on the Tuesday - the latter was our preference, albeit a bit more downscale than our prior visits.
I did read your excellent review. How is the atmosphere at Gresca?
Also are there counter seats? I can’t find reliable photos of the restaurant because Gresca Bar gets mixed in. When I am making a reservation, it asks for Taula Baixa vs Taula Alta, what is the difference?
Currently, there’s not much difference between the Bar and the restaurant. On previous visits the Restaurant had tablecloths and a ‘tasting menu’ whereas the Bar was a la carte. However, there doesn’t seem to be much difference anymore (no tablecloths). The winelist seems to be the same for both (it’s online - they used to have a more upscale list for the restaurant side). I had the same choice for seating. Chose ‘Baixa’ and got a ‘regular table’ (on the restaurant side). Food was still good, but I found it much noisier than previous visits (incidentally Dos Pebrots was similarly noisy). But on Sundays, limited choices anyway.
It feels as though they have merged Gresca and Gresca Bar into one restaurant.
Food looks a bit more to our liking at Gresca than Dos Pebrots. Maybe even embrace the vibe and seat at the bar.
I guess the wine list will be fine enough - I can see us happily drinking a bottle of George Laval or Marie Courtin champagne. Maybe even another bottle of Albarino or something…(any suggestions for a delicate dry white would be appreciated).
As I mentioned, the wine list at Gresca ia much reduced from its former ‘glory’.
We chose:
O’Esteiro (20), Albamar, Rías Baixas – Mencía, Caiño Tinto, Espadeiro €45
La Del Vivo (21) Raúl Pérez D.O. Bierzo - Godello €47
Terrers ( 19 ), Cavas Recaredo, Corpinnat – Macabeu, Xarel.lo, Parellada €60
All were “OK” without knocking us out. There was nothing on the list that enticed us - the Albarinos (in particular) were mostly unknown houses to me. I’d probably stick with the sparklers, unless you order the Txuleta.
Appreciate it! We are not likely to do Txuleta when so many fun options are available.
Besta is open Sunday nights. I am pretty sure you can order a la carte, if a tasting menu is not your thing. Not completely sure of this, as my Spanish is lame. But I went and had the tasting menu and will look forward to going back when I am next in Barcelona. Pretty sure I posted here about it. Very creative seafood/fish mostly menu.
Some other places I could recommend open Sunday lunch only, I think, but you are looking for dinner, yes? If it’s me, and I want Sunday lunch, I have it at Can Majo on their terrace. The best seafood fideua I’ve ever had (also I am partial to their teeny clams).
It’s been a long time since my last visit, but what about PA COMER ALGO; open Sunday night? I liked it a lot last visit.
I was going to recommend it, but it does get pretty loud, and @beam seems to want something a bit more “restaurant-y” rather than “tapas-y.” That said, I ate there almost three years ago now (most recent time), and thought the food was delicious. No service to speak of, though, so if that’s important to you, probably better off someplace else. Still, for me (and my dinner companion), we really liked the bustling vibe.
Besta looks great!
Even though tasting menu its not a problem!
Thank you!
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this looks like our kind of place as well!
wish I had more nights in BCN
When in Barcelona, I always go to 7 Portes for the traditional vibe and food… No modern cuisine there, but white gloves service and best Catalan dishes. https://7portes.com/es/
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Another fun place and iconic is Los Caracoles. An experience in itself… https://www.loscaracoles.es/index.php?lang=es
beam,
Alta Taberna Paco Meralgo (a play on words: “pa’ (para) comer algo”) has been a staple for us on Sunday nights. Counter and high table seating only on chairs with very low backs, so one doesn’t linger. The waiters are quite amusing and it does get loud (but Spain dining is loud!) Yes, it’s busling and it’s a small plates kind of place—not sit down, fine dining, but always fun.
Must reserve because all the neighboring concierge desks recommend it for Sunday evening dining.
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Rather than lunch at Set Portes, which now sees many, many tourist (granted, along with many Catalan families out for Sunday lunch), we now enjoy even more Can Majo for rice dishes, with a lovely terrace facing the beach.
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Thank you!
I think we will do Besta for dinner.
Maybe we do Paco Meralgo for lunch.
The fideua is my favorite rice-ish dish at Can Majo. I also love their simple tiny clams (really tiny). And that terrace makes me feel like the essence of vacation.
This looks like a winner for Sunday lunch by the sea!
Maribel, they’re not in the same bracket :o)
