Are you planning to visit Barcelona and want to know what local food to eat? You found the right article to read. If trying different cuisine is one of your favourite subjects to talk about, you got the right Travel Guide. Here you will find the best Barcelona Food Guide, with all the best Spanish food and dishes to eat in Barcelona.
It is one of the reasons I travel honestly, to try new and different cuisine from all over the world.
I will never understand people that look for their country's food while abroad, it doesn't make sense to me, does it for you?
In my personal opinion, planning a trip is just as much fun as taking one. Don't you like that feeling of anticipation and endless possibility? It is hard to beat, isn't it?
Below you’ll find everything you need to know about what to eat while exploring Barcelona, to enjoy even more this fantastic city.
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Read 28 Delicious Food and Drinks You Have to Try in Barcelona Below
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1. Drink Coffee in Barcelona:
The best way to start your day in Barcelona is with delicious Spanish coffee.
There are many different ways to drink coffee in Spain, so here is a complete guide of Barcelona's coffee:
Cafe solo (espresso) is the standard coffee you drink in Italy.
Descafeonado is a decaffeinated coffee you can have in every way like the normal one.
Cafe' Americano (black coffee) is an espresso topped up with hot water.
Cafe' Cortado (macchiato) is espresso with a bit of foamy milk, usually served in a small glass, and sometimes it contains also condensed milk.
Cafe' con Leche (latte/caffelatte) is an espresso with hot milk and frothy milk on top.
Cafe' Leche Manchada is a very weak Cafe' con Leche because it contains less coffee.
Cafe' Bombon is an espresso with condensed milk (in the same amount).
Cafe' con Hielo is basically a coffee with ice for the hottest days.
Cafe' Carajillo is a coffee with alcohol inside. You can add anything you want, like whisky, brandy, rum...just ask which liquors they have (my advice is to add Baileys in it, super yummy).
2. have Breakfast in barcelona:
There is so much delicious sweet and savoury food to try in Barcelona that you will have to stay there for at least a couple of weeks to try every day something different. That is why I wrote a separate article about it.
There are many cafés in Barcelona, where to sit and take your time while enjoying the first meal of the day, and also many local bakeries where to grab something to eat on the go.
If you don't have the chance to stay at a hotel that serves local breakfast, my advice is to don't pay for your breakfast at your accommodation just to get the usual continental food.
Get ready and go out to try every day a different bakery or café where you will find all the local delicacies. Trust me you won't regret it. You can find some wonderful breakfast spots in "The Most Complete Guide of Where to Eat in Barcelona", where I listed all the places from Breakfast to Dinner, so you won't need to look further.
To know more about what Barcelona has to offer for your breakfast, read my "16 Delicious Breakfast Food you Have to Eat in Barcelona".
3. Paella in Barcelona:
Paella is famous and known all over the world. I don't really think I actually have to explain what it is.
Still, just in case you haven't heard about it, Paella is short grain rice cooked in a special pan called "paellera" with the addition of saffron (to give the yellow colour) and other ingredients, it depends on the type of Paella:
Paella de Marisco: or paella marinera, is the most popular along the coast, and it is made with 5 seafood ingredients, usually prawns, calamares (squid), crayfish, mussels, clams and other delicious fish and shellfish, it depends on the season. When in Barcelona, this is a must to try.
Valenciana: The original Paella is the Paella a la Valenciana from Valencia, and it is made with snails, rabbits, and a long flat kind of green beans. I had it in Valencia, and it was absolutely delicious.
Paella Mixta: This is a mix between the paella a la Valenciana and the marisco. It is made with both meat and fish, the type of meat depends on the restaurant, it can be chicken or pork. This is the most eaten by tourists.
Paella Negra: This is one of my favourites. It is Paella made with squid and its ink (that is why it is black). Please don't feel scared o try it only because it is black. You have no idea what you are missing. Give it a try. They serve it with delicious aioli sauce (a better version of the garlic mayo).
Paella vegetarian: This is the perfect option for vegetarians, made with different types of vegetables and doesn't contain meat or fish. If you are vegan, make sure to ask the waiter which kind of broth they use, just to make sure they use a veggie one.
4. Fideua:
Fideua is a Catalan meal, made like the Paella but with thin noodles ("Fideos" like spaghetti). It is delicious, and the taste is very different from Paella. It is usually served with fish, but you can also find it with meat and vegetables. I like it because they always do it with aioli sauce that I love.
Do you want to know more about Barcelona?
Check out all my articles in the "Most Complete Guide of Barcelona" and get all the information you need to make your next travel a success.
5. Pintxos:
Pintxos is a famous kind of tapas from Gallizia, a region in the north of Spain. It is basically a slice of bread with a delicious topping that can be anything from meat, and fish to vegetables.
It is an excellent option for a light and fast lunch, like tapas or even for dinner. Prices usually go from 1 euro up to 4 euros per Pintxos. It depends on the topping.
If you want to know the best Pintxos bars in Barcelona, read my article "The Most Complete Guide of Where to Eat in Barcelona".
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6. Tapas:
Who doesn't love tapas?
Little plate with typical Spanish food, so good you can eat at least 5 or 6. Doing a Tapas crawl is one of the best ways to try as many local foods while visiting different Tapas bars.
There are so many types in Barcelona that I wrote an article only about them. Read "21 Extremely Tasty Tapas You Have to Try in Barcelona".
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7. Gazpacho:
Gazpacho is a delicious cold tomato soup, the perfect light lunch to have during a hot summer day. It is made with tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, dry bread, red onions, olive oil, garlic, sherry vinegar, salt and black pepper and ground cumin mixed in a blender.
A delicious way to get all your vitamins while travelling and refresh yourself.
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8. Salmorejo:
Salmorejo is original from Cordoba, but you can find it in some restaurants in Barcelona. It is my favourite cold soup. I prefer much more this one than its cousin, the Gazpacho.
Salmorejo is made with sweet and ripe tomatoes, dry bread, garlic, salt and pepper and olive oil. It is then topped up with pieces of hard-boiled egg and Jamon.
So good I could eat litres of it.
9. Cargols:
Cargols means Snails, because not only french people eat them (also Spanish and Italians). The most popular way to have them is the Cargol a la Llauna which is basically snails with a lightly spiced tomato sauce made with peppers, garlic, parsley and wine vinegar.
But you can also try the Cargols a la cargolada which is snails cooked in their shells with lard, salt and pepper.
They are always served with a spicy sauce and aioli sauce.
10. Esqueixada:
Esqueixada is a very fresh salad made with raw salted cod (bacalao), tomatoes, black olives, onions and romanesco sauce. It is an ancient Catalan salad.
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11. Anec amb peres:
Anec amb peres is a perfect way to mix sweet and savoury. This is slow-cooked duck with pears. The sauce is sweet but not too much. The strong taste of the duck mixed perfectly with the sweetness of the pears is perfect.
It is usually made for special occasions.
12. Botifarra amb Mongetes:
Botifarra amb Mongetes is a very filling meal that I don't advise you to try during summertime cause it is pretty heavy. If you are visiting Barcelona during a colder season, you have to try it because delicious, and it will give you all the energy you need to walk all day and explore the city.
Botifarra is a large Catalan pork spiced sausage cooked in a pan while Monteges (giant white beans) are cooked in another.
When they are almost cooked, they are mixed together to cook for a couple of minutes, just the right time to make the flavour mix together and the beans absorb the fatty and spicy sauce. (I told you it is a heavy meal, but delicious).
13. Faves a la Catalana:
Faves a la Catalana is perfect in the winter, like the Botifarra amb Mongetes. Faves a la Catalana is made with fava beans, botifarra Negra (black blood sausage), bacon, broth, onion, garlic, tomatoes, fresh mint, paprika and white wine.
It cannot be bad, don't you think?
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14. Fricando':
Fricando' is the perfect dinner, in my opinion. Fricando is sliced veal cooked in a tasty sauce made with mushrooms.
Delicious and not too heavy, perfect after walking all day exploring the city but not too heavy so you can still go party after dinner (or go straight to sleep, it is up to you).
15. Calçot with Romanesco Sauce:
The Calçot is a Catalonian native kind of sweet green onion grilled while making a barbeque with other meats and vegetables and served with Romanesco Sauce, a typical Catalan sauce made with red peppers, hazelnuts and almonds.
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16. Calamares and sepia:
Squid and cuttlefish are delicious in Spain. They cook them in different ways, grilled with olive oil, garlic and parsley or deep-fried and served with aioli sauce.
17. Mandonguilles amb Sipia:
Mandonguilles amb Sipia is also defined as "mar i muntanya" (sea and mountain). It is meatballs with a sauce made of tomatoes and cuttlefish. It is delicious and particular, absolutely to try.
Plan Your Vacation in Barcelona in the Best Way
Check out all my articles in the "Most Complete Guide of Barcelona" and get all the information you need to make your next travel a success.
18. Bacalla' amb Samfaina:
Bacalla' amb Samfaina is a traditional way to eat Cod in Catalunia. The cod is served with a sauce made with vegetables, onions, garlic, and tomatoes that cannot miss in Spanish cuisine.
19. Escalivada:
Escalivada is a Spanish style "bruschetta", as I call it (I am Italian after all). It is made of a slice of toasted bread seasoned with delicious Spanish olive oil, garlic and salt, with on top some grilled aubergines, red peppers and anchovies.
20. Pollo Catalan:
Pollo Catalan is a delicious meal you have to try when in Barcelona.
It is chicken cooked with dry prunes or apricots, pinenuts, raisins, almonds and a bit of tomato. Absolutely delicious.
Which Desserts to eat in Barcelona?
21. Coca:
Coca is a sweet pastry filled with cream, and candied fruit and topped with icing sugar. You can find it in every bakery. Coca is suitable for breakfast as a snack or after dinner.
22. Crema Catalana:
Crema Catalana is a dessert you will fall in love with, and you will end up eating it every day (or at least this is what happens to me whenever I am in Spain).
Crema Catalana is basically a vanilla custard with sugar on top that has been caramelized with a blow torch until it becomes hard and brown.
Then you have to break the crunchy sugar with the spoon, and while eating, you will taste the fresh cream and the crunchy caramelized sugar.
It is divine.
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23. Mel I Mato':
Mel I Mato' is also one of my favourite desserts (how many do I have? Who knows, I love eating), it is an unsalted cream cheese-like ricotta called Mato'. It is usually served with a lot of honey on top and nuts.
What to Drink in Barcelona?
24. Sangria:
Honestly, in my opinion, Sangria is the best drink when you fancy something different during the summertime while in Spain.
Sangria is fresh, sweet but not too much and fruity. It goes down like nothing else (that is why I always ended up being tipsy when drinking it. Because you don't realize how much you drunk till you have to get up to leave the restaurant).
Sangria is always served with some sliced apples and oranges, you cannot go to Barcelona and don't drink it. You can get it with red wine or with Cava. I tried both, and I prefer the classic one with red wine.
After your vacation in Barcelona, let me know which one you liked the most, by leaving a comment down below in the comment section.
25. Cava:
Cava is a sparkling white wine, a little bit sweet (my favourite), but if you like it drier, you can always opt for the Brut Cava.
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26. Vermouth:
Vermouth is a fortified wine macerated in herbs and botanicals and served with some ice or a splash of sparkling water.
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27. Cerveça:
Cerveça is Beer in Spanish. Do you like beer? Because Spanish beer is delicious.
Barcelona has three local beers that I am sure you will enjoy: Moritz, San Miguel and Estrella Damm.
You can find it in every bar and also in supermarkets.
28. Horchata:
Horchata or Orxata was invented back in the 13th century in Valencia and it is a drink that looks like milk, but it is actually vegan, made with soaked, ground and sweetened tiger nuts.
It is very delicious and refreshing on a hot summer day.
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