Where to find truly great tapas in Barcelona

Few things are as synonymous with Spanish culture as tapas, and few things have origins as steeped in mythology. There is the story of the ailing King Alfonso X, known as El Sabio or The Wise, who was nursed back to health on a diet of wine and tiny morsels. Delighted with the remedy, he ordered that everyone in Castilla should embrace this curative new diet. Nonsense!, others claim, the wise king decreed that taverns serve a snack with each glass of wine to prevent drunken brawls; tapas began as a civic, peace-keeping measure!

Tapas traditions

None of this, however, explains the origin of the name. Tapa means lid and many claim it derives from the old practice of placing a slice of ham on the glass to keep pesky flies from falling into the wine. One story involves a visit by King Alfonso XIII to Andalucia, although in this case the cause for concern wasn’t the flies, but the flying sand. Afraid the strong wind would sweep the beach into the royal glass, the innkeeper covered it with a slice of ham. The king thought this ingenious, ate the ham, drank the wine and ordered another round, but this time with a different tapa (lid)!

The fact that these legends play out in Castilla or Andalucia is no coincidence. Both are famous for their tapas tradition: el tapeo or strolling with friends, stopping at different places for a drink and sampling the house specialty is very popular.

Traditionally, tapas were simple (olives, cheese, ham) and on the house when you ordered a drink, but their rise in popularity resulted in a proliferation of tapas styles. Whereas in Castilla, typical tapas include callos (tripe), potato omelette or croquettes, Andalusian tapas are far more seafood oriented: cuttlefish, pescaito frito (tiny fried fish), prawns, shrimp omelette. The Basques have a tradition of their own: here tapas are called pintxos and consist of a small slice of bread with different toppings, usually held together by a toothpick. Going from bar to bar sampling pintxos is one of the most social and entertaining ways of eating in San Sebastian.

Tapas recommendations in Barcelona

Although tapas are not a typically Catalan tradition, the practice has become popular over time and nowadays you’ll find all sorts of tapas restaurants in Barcelona, from authentic bars where locals pop in for a drink and a tapa to creative restaurants that have transformed tapas into the centrepiece of their dining experience. Finding tapas in Barcelona is easy. Finding good tapas in a place that doesn’t feel like a tourist trap is trickier. I have my three stalwarts – deeply local places where the food is good and the atmosphere unique: El Vaso de Oro, Quimet Quimet, and Bar Ramón.

El Vaso de Ora – beer and hearty tapas

El Vaso de Oro is in Barceloneta, the city’s old fishing quarter, and it takes its seafaring association very seriously. From the waiters’ white nautical uniforms with gold trim to the wooden lamps shaped like ships, El Vaso de Oro embraces the maritime identity of the neighbourhood. Even the layout – the narrow wooden bar where you have to squeeze past other patrons – recalls the confined cabins of a boat. In fact, there’s only one thing un-sea-related: the food. Sure, the tapas include the odd seafood item, but mostly it’s robust, hearty, inland fare: chorizo, morcilla and other sausages, cured ham, foie, sirloin steak with foie (the house specialty), Manchego cheese, salted almonds, pimientos del padrón (slightly spicy green peppers and pretty much the only vegetable on the menu).

The crowd matches the food. Robust, hearty, (mostly) men over 50 with bushy beards, a beer-drinking crowd of local regulars that come for good, no-nonsense food. The bar serves wine, but one look at the shelves of old, ceramic beer mugs and the motto el manantial de la cerveza or the beer spring on the coasters and you know what the beverage of choice is around here. Word has spread and you’ll see a smattering of younger patrons, a few foreigners too, who know that when it comes to delicious meat-and-potatoes-style tapas, El Vaso de Oro in Barcelona is one of the best bets around.

El Vaso de Oro, Carrer Balboa, 6 – 08003 Barcelona; 93 319 3098

Quimet Quimet – vermouth and local delicacies

Just like El Vaso de Oro, Quimet Quimet is a true tapas bar, where you stand, or perch on a stool, have a drink, eat a tapa and move on to the next place. Located in the Poble Sec in Barcelona, Quimet Quimet is even smaller and most evenings, patrons literally spill out onto the street. Sometimes it gets so crowded, you’re rubbing shoulders with strangers. But it’s absolutely worth it.

At Quimet Quimet, tapas meet one of Catalunya’s finest traditions: fer el vermut literally: “do the vermouth”. Catalunya is known for its excellent vemouths, and Quimet Quimet has a delicious house variety – dark, herbal, spicy and just sweet enough. My favourite, however, is from the village of Falset in the Priorat. A fresh, light vermouth the colour of a sunset. The tradition of the vermut isn’t just about the beverage though. Traditionally, it was a lunchtime aperitif. The vermouth was prepared with a splash of soda or sifó and a slice of orange or an olive, served with olives, crisps, anchovies, salted almonds, clams or cockles.

Quimet Quimet serves all of these local delicacies…and so much more. The montaditos (another variation on small slices of bread topped with different ingredients) are exquisite – salmon, yogurt and honey; prawns and roasted red pepper; smoked sardine and sun-dried tomato, etc. – as are the cheese and cured meat assortments. Quimet Quimet is also a paradise for wine lovers and a great place to discover Catalunya’s wine regions, not just the commercially well-known El Penedés, but others like the Priorat, Montsant, Terra Alta or Empordá-Costa Brava. Although more obscure, these official appellations of origin grow interesting, autoctonous varieties and produce some of the Catalunya’s finest wines.

Quimet Quimet, Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes, 25 – 08004 Barcelona; 93 442 3142

Bar Ramón – high energy and gourmet tapas

As much as I love the high-spirited energy of a bustling tapas bar, sometimes the occasion calls for a different dining experience. Sitting down to a meal, however, doesn’t mean renouncing tapas. Bar Ramón in Sant Antoni is without a doubt one of Barcelona’s most original local spots. The restaurant is a curious mix of new and old, local and international, creative and traditional. In a way, it expresses the personalities of its owners, a brother and sister team.

At first glance, Bar Ramón looks like most good, local bars: unfussy furniture, a long bar, a glass display of cold tapas. Inviting, cosy, not flashy. But then you hear the music – good classic rock and blues – and you notice the guitars on the walls and the photos of music legends. The colours, a little warmer and more vibrant than in most local bars and the aging, rock’n'roll regulars hanging out at the bar. Bar Ramón really is a place to hang out. Once you sit down and order a glass of wine, a blanca (beer in a white mug) or a vermouth, the spirit of Ramón takes over and you’ll order food and talk to people until suddenly it’s past midnight.

The crowd isn’t just locals or aging rockers. All sorts of people love Bar Ramón, and they flock to this hole-in-the-wall spot from all over town and even further afield. They have one thing in common: they’re secret gourmets. You’d never guess how great the food is from Bar Ramón’s unassuming, unpretentious look. The cold tapas are particularly creative: the other night, I had a salmon and apple pie, and roasted vegetables layered with flavourful, soft cheese. The hot tapas tend to be more traditional and offer a little journey to different corners of Spain: Galician-style octopus, fried cuttlefish, grilled prawn and pineapple skewers (a little modern twist), roasted potatoes with an ever so slightly spicy Brava sauce, and the Catalan classic pa amb tomaquet or bread rubbed with tomato, olive oil, garlic and salt. I really only have one piece of advice when going to Bar Ramón: bring a bunch of friends so you can order and try as many tapas as possible!

Bar Ramón Carrer Comte Borrell corner Tamarit; 93 325 0283

My thanks for this Guest post to Aisha Prigann who writes the BCNinternet Barcelona Blog about culture, leisure and tourism in Barcelona, including tips on accommodation and fun things to do in the city.

All photos by Aisha Prigann

More Spanish pleasures

The Moorish charms of the Alhambra in Granada
Seafood on the beach – at the Chringuitos in Spain
The sweet taste of Horchata in Valencia

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Family Villa Holidays on a Budget

Looking for ideas for your next family holiday? This article will give you some destination ideas that are ideal for a family villa holiday that won’t break the bank…

The ideal way to get yourself luxury family holiday accommodation at a price you can afford is to hire a big villa and share it with another family too.

Once you become a parent, you have to accept that some things will never be the same – like how you approach annual holidays. No more leaving things to chance and grabbing a last-minute deal to somewhere exotic. Now it can feel more like an exercise in strategic planning – negotiating children and adults’ holiday expectations, arranging flights that won’t break the bank, or finding enough things to keep little ones entertained on a mammoth car journey can all make the longed-for break seem too stressful to bother with.

But it is still possible to combine a bit of everything in a holiday, with enough variety to satisfy everyone – and renting a villa gives you the opportunity to indulge in a little luxury and give the kids plenty of space to run riot without other guests tut-tutting under their breath. Although the cost of hiring a villa may initially seem high, if you go for a larger one and share the cost with either extended family or friends you’ll be surprised at the value they offer. The kids have mates to play with, you have company too. And you get pool, barbecue, fantastic views and more.

Magic Majorca

Spain is an increasingly popular holiday destination and Majorca may be a sensible choice if you’re travelling with younger children. The largest of the Balearic Islands, Majorca has long sandy beaches and fun-filled waterparks.Aquacity claims to be one of the world’s largest water funfairs, and even has a small zoo and parrot shows to keep non-water babies happy. The Palma Aquarium is home to the deepest shark tank in Europe and holds four different species – blacktip reef, smooth hound, sand tiger and sandbar sharks. Qualified divers can jump in and swim with the sharks, should they so wish, while younger children who have tired of the marine world, can let off steam in the play area or large rooftop jungle garden.

Villas in Majorca come in many different styles, from the traditional finca or farmhouse, to the super modern, so you should find something to suit you. Sharing your holiday with friends with similarly aged children means that the kids will entertain themselves and you can share evening childcare with your friends, giving everyone a chance to have a little quality couple time too.

Villa Tomeu in Pollensa has five bedrooms and sleeps up to ten people, so will give you plenty of space in which to relax. There’s a pool, and grassy terraced areas equipped with a barbecue which are perfect for al fresco dining. Pollensa itself has several bars and restaurants if you are tempted away from the villa, and there are many beaches to explore.

Beautiful Kefalonia

With spacious gardens and barbecue areas, villas in Kefalonia may prove too tempting to leave. But if you do manage to drag yourself away, take the opportunity to visit one of the world’s most beautiful beaches – Myrtos Bay. Just remember to pack sandals as the sand stops at the waterline, and the pebbles can be painful on bare feet. Argostoli Town, Kefalonia’s capital promises a bustling town square, great shops and waterfront tavernas, so would also make a good day trip.

Villa Astria, just outside the picturesque fishing village of Fiskardo, boasts not one, but two pools and enough space to sleep ten comfortably. The smaller pool is perfect for children and there are terraced gardens as well. This villa is separated into the main building and an annexe, so is perfect for two families who want to holiday together but might enjoy a little more privacy.

Cool Corfu

Corfu offers many choices for family holidays, from bucket-and-spade to high action watersports. Head to the north of the island for shallower waters and family-friendly beaches, or the west for sandy beaches and watersports – including pedalos, paragliding, waterskiing or windsurfing.If the kids need some cultural stimulation, take a day trip to the island’s attractive capital Corfu Town which offers lots of shops for souvenir hunting, pleasant café-culture and several interesting museums including the Archeological museum which is stuffed with impressive Roman remains. Head into the interior of the island for complete away-from-it-all countryside and wonderful views out to sea.

You’re spoiled for choice with villas in Corfu. If you’re more of a modern family, with children of different ages ranging from young adults to little ones, Triton House in AghiosStefanos may provide the solution. A separate guest house with twin beds would provide older teens with the privacy they seek, while being close enough to enjoy the benefits of a larger villa – including the swimming pool and covered terrace to make the most of those balmy days. AghiosStefanos has bars and a busy harbour with yachts – so get your sailing shoes on and make the most of this seaside holiday.

My thanks for this sponsored post, written by Belinda Weber on behalf of luxury villa holidays specialist Meon Villas. All the villas mentioned above can be found on their website: www.meonvillas.co.uk

Useful links

Meon Villas – the luxury villa holidays specialist
Aqualand water park on Majorca
Palma Aquarium on Majorca

Photo credits: Palma on Majorca by Piutus, Fiscardo, Kefalonia, Greece by sisaphus, Beach on Corfu by mickpix

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

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Good history, good eating and great living in Galicia

This article from Monica Adorno takes us to Galicia in Spain where she visited Santiago de Compostela  for the Feast of St James, wandered around the old streets, visited the famous cathedral and ate some goose feet at the best restaurant in town.

Good history, good eating and great living; Spain is famous for doing these things and Galicia, with her fierce Gaelic heritage and her shire-like landscape, is no exception. Sometimes you visit a country or a region where there’s a palpable sense of identity; where the locals are inherently proud of their roots, and the feeling is contagious. If you’re lucky, something will click and you’ll connect with a place to which you had no previous ties. The region of Galicia, Spain, that sits at the north-west corner of the Iberian Peninsula, is one such place.

My boyfriend and I arrived in Santiago de Compostela last July. We arranged the holiday so that it coincided with the Festival of St James, celebrated each year on July 25. Last year the festival fell on a Sunday meaning that the dramatics and the exuberance were tripled. This doesn’t happen often and the next one, known as a Holy Year, is due in 2021. The festival was marked by an impressive fireworks display and other symbolic gestures. The local families who can be more reserved here than in other parts of Galicia were out enjoying the day’s activities and it was clear to see that it’s a fiesta that brings people together.

Santiago de Compostela is famous as a place of pilgrimage that millions have travelled to for over a thousand years to pray to the apostle St James whose remains, legend has it, were taken there for burial (Chaucer’s Wife of Bath made the trip). Neither the boyfriend nor I are particularly religious and like many others we made the trip to enjoy the magnificent Baroque and Romanesque architecture, the art, the history and the museums. The entire city is a World Heritage Site, which is a testament to its medieval beauty.

On our first day, having made no arrangements, we decided to spend the afternoon exploring the city. It would be a shame not to get lost in the maze of winding arcaded streets and granite buildings. We walked to the Old Quarter where the pièce de résistance is the magnificent cathedral. Described as the ‘Romanesque jewel within a Baroque case’ it looms impressively over the Praza do Obradoiro, flanked by giant bell towers. We went into the cathedral (entrance is free) and did a guided tour of Las Cubiertas, the cathedral roof. The guide took us through the upper floors of the cathedral interior and once on the roof, the boyfriend and I took in a panoramic view of the labyrinth below.

Back outside and feeling peckish we went in search of some tapas and strolling along la Rua Nova we came across Don Gaiferos, which locals and tourists describe as one of the best restaurants in the city, next to the Church of Santa Maria Salome. I ate estofado de carne, a delicious local stew, and the boyfriend, ever the adventurer, ordered the exotic sounding percebes which translates as goose barnacles. His plate arrived piled high with what looked like small dragon feet which he had to suck the meat out of. These claws don’t come cheap at 30€ for a small portion but they’re a local delicacy and worth buying if only to say you ate dragon feet (though that wouldn’t be strictly true).

Dining in Galicia can be pricey but the food is fresh and everything is so good that to deny yourself these pleasures is sheer madness. For a quick snack try the cheekily titled Queso de Tetilla which literally translates as cheese of small breast and are shaped like them too. The boyfriend, rather predictably, couldn’t resist bringing a bag home.

Author Bio: Monica Adorno is a snowsports writer living and working in London. She spent her university days hitch hiking across Central America and South East Asia. She plans to conquer Mount Everest and marry explorer Bruce Parry!

My thanks for this sponsored post to MyDestination Galicia, where you’ll find comprehensive information on all things Galicia

Photo Credits: Cathedral by bernavazqueze, other photos from MyDestination Galicia

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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