Cerveceria Catalana
Mallorca, 236
Barcelona, Spain
Dining at Cerveceria Catalana has been the most enjoyable food experience for me in the two weeks I've been in Barcelona. In any city we travel to I will be on the prowl for a restaurant that serves great local food in a lively, down-to-earth atmosphere for a reasonable price. Cerveceria Catalana is that restaurant for Barcelona.
When we got there around 8:15 PM, the place was PACKED with no less than 20 or so people waiting for a table. All of them were chatting happily at the entrance, on the sidewalk or around the corner with glasses of wine in hand. We didn't want to wait 30 minutes for an indoor seat so we snagged an open table outside underneath a cafe umbrella and a heat lamp.
Their "tapas" are more like small plates of appetizers consisting of several bites for two people. Non-seafood tapas cost 3 to 7 Euros, while seafood tapas cost around 7 to 15 Euros. What other restaurants sell by the toothpick (a slice of baguette bread with a salad, seafood or meat topping) is 2-3 euros here. We got both a Spanish and an English menu, but their "Tapas of the Day" is exclusively in Spanish. After a 15-minute consultation with our phrase book, we ordered the following dishes.
1. Spanish omelette (tortilla) - J's been wanting to try this for 2 weeks now and it did not disappoint
2. Deep fried anchovies - These anchovies were so large that they were filleted in half before going into the fryer. I thought Cal Pep's batter was tastier, but consider that this dish is 1/3 the price and only SLIGHTLY less tasty.
3. Potatas Bravas - fried potato chunks with mayonaise and spicy sauce. Another typical Catalan appetizer/tapas. This tapa has grown to become one of our favorites. The potatoes always comes out scalding hot - just the way I like my food.
4 Fried hot green peppers (foreground) - I saw a lot of people eating this dish at the bar so I had to try it. Surprisingly, it was not spicy at all. It had a concentrated green pepper taste.
4. Grilled cuttlefish (background) - ordered from the "Tapas of the Day" menu. This dish was J's favorite of the night. He wanted cuttlefish and I suggested grilled. It turned out to be our most expensive tapa at 8 Euros, but OH SO GOOD!
5. Grilled razor clams - another dish from the "Tapas of the Day" menu. This dish was definitely my favorite of the night. I love any kind of clams. It has motivated me to go razor clamming in WA when I get back.
We currently have a 'no repeating restaurant' rule in effect (McDonalds has been the only exception), but for this entire week I will be petitioning J to go back to this restaurant on Saturday night for our last meal in Barcelona.
