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Where to eat in Barcelona: my 24 favourite restaurants

Nobody eats well following the tour buses. These are the 24 restaurants in Barcelona I'd send a friend to: the cheap neighbourhood place, the one locals keep to themselves, the splurge that's genuinely worth it. No photo menus.

ABaC★ 4.4 · EUR 250-320 · Creative · 3 Michelin starsJordi Cruz's three-star restaurant up in Sant Gervasi, inside its own hotel with a garden. Directions
Bar Cañete€40–60 pp · Catalan tapasA buzzing, white-jacketed tapas institution near La Rambla, family-run since 1935. Directions
Bar del Pla€25–40 pp · Catalan tapasA warm, modern tapas bar in El Born mixing Catalan classics with clever twists, slow-cooked egg, ox-cheek, croquetas, and a good wine list. Directions
Batea€35–55 pp · Modern seafoodOne of the trendiest seafood spots in town: Galician-Catalan cooking under sunset-pink walls, leaning into oysters, grilled fish and Atlantic-meets-Mediterranean cocktails. Directions
Bormuth€15–30 pp · Tapas & vermouthA relaxed El Born tapas bar over two floors, big on vermut and easy sharing plates: patatas bravas, escalivada, boquerones. Directions
Brunch & Cake€15–25 pp · BrunchThe Instagram-famous brunch spot that locals secretly love, towering pancakes, avocado everything and healthy bowls in a plant-filled, boho room. Directions
C81 Pizzeria Napoletana★ 4.3 · EUR 3-12 · Neapolitan pizza★ Tip: The EUR 3 cosacca is not a loss leader, it is the one to order: no mozzarella means nothing to hide the dough behind. And search the street rather than the name. Google lists it as 081 while the sign inside says C81, but there is… Directions
Can Solé€40–60 pp · Paella & seafoodA white-tablecloth Barceloneta classic since 1903, lined with signed photos and serving some of the city’s best rice dishes: arròs negre, seafood paella, fresh fish. Directions
Cervecería Catalana€25–40 pp · TapasThe reliable all-rounder in Eixample: a vast, always-packed tapas bar with a dizzying menu of montaditos, grilled prawns and croquettes. Directions
Cinc Sentits★ 4.7 · EUR 145-190 · Catalan · 2 Michelin starsTwo Michelin stars for cooking rooted in Catalan produce rather than in spectacle, in a small room in the Eixample. Directions
Disfrutar★ 4.8 · EUR 285-350 · Creative · 3 Michelin stars★ Tip: The booking window opens months ahead and the tables go in minutes. Put a reminder in your calendar for the release date rather than trying your luck: there is no walk-in version of this restaurant. Directions
El Nacional BarcelonaEUR 25-45 · Spanish and Catalan · four kitchens, one hallFour kitchens and four bars under one roof, so a group that cannot agree does not have to. Directions
El Xampanyet€20–35 pp · Cava & tapasA century-old tiled cava bar by the Picasso Museum in El Born: marble tables, fizzing house cava and famously good anchovies. Directions
Enigma★ 4.5 · EUR 220-280 · Creative · 2 Michelin starsAlbert Adrià's room, rebuilt after the pandemic closed it, moving guests through spaces as the meal goes. Directions
Kafenion Barcelona★ 4.9 · EUR 3-10 · Greek specialty coffee and pastriesA Greek coffee bar on Carrer de Pau Claris, run by four brothers who roast their own beans, and the reason locals cross Eixample for a freddo cappuccino instead of the usual cortado. Directions
L'Entrecôte Barcelona★ 4.3 · EUR 25-40 · French · steak-frites, one dish★ Tip: Say your cooking point once and mean it: the second serving comes out the same way as the first, so 'medium rare' at the door is a decision for the whole meal. They do not take bookings for small tables at peak, and the queue on… Directions
La Cova Fumada€15–25 pp · Seafood tapasA scruffy, sign-less family bar in Barceloneta, open since 1944 and the birthplace of the ‘bomba’ (a spicy potato-and-meat croquette). Directions
Lasarte★ 4.7 · EUR 250-320 · Basque-Catalan · 3 Michelin starsMartín Berasategui's Barcelona restaurant, and the first in the city to hold three Michelin stars. Directions
Los Caracoles★ 4.3 · EUR 40-80 · Catalan · spit-roast and snails★ Tip: Order what the house is named for and the bill stays sane: the snails in sauce are EUR 15.90 and the half spit-roast chicken EUR 17.50. It is the seafood platters that take a meal here from EUR 30 to over EUR 100 a head. The… Directions
MartínezEUR 35-55 · Catalan rice dishes and charcoal grill · terrace over the portRice and the charcoal grill, on a terrace hanging over the port. Directions
Mont BarCreative Catalan tapas · Bib GourmandA modern tapas favourite on Carrer de la Diputació, Mont Bar pairs a marble bar and a serious wine list with a Bib Gourmand kitchen. Directions
Quimet & Quimet€20–30 pp · Tapas & montaditosA tiny, bottle-lined standing bar in Poble Sec with no kitchen, just brilliant montaditos built from premium tinned seafood, cheeses and preserves. Directions
Salts€8–13 a drink · Terrace bar · Drinks · TapasA laid-back terrace bar tucked beside the Piscines Municipals de Montjuic, Salts trades on one thing above all: the view. Directions
Suculent★ 4.6 · EUR 60-95 · Catalan · bistroA small bistro on the Rambla del Raval doing serious Catalan cooking without any of the ceremony: cap i pota, marrow, slow-cooked things, at a bar you can eat at alone. Directions