Exploring Barcelona: Where to eat


We had some incredible meals in Barcelona but also some shoddy ones too. It really does help to do your research because you won't always find good food on every corner. Here's a guide on where to eat in Barca.


Milk - We'd heard that breakfast wasn't much of a thing in the city. That's not what we wanted to hear so we trekked to this Irish run bar that we heard did a cracking brunch. Well worth hunting out. We ended up eating here twice. Serving brunch from 9am - 4.30pm, the restaurant did a very spicy version of Huevos Rancheros. Despite having to gulp down lots of water, it was delicious. The portions are massive and great value for money. If you've got a sore head from the night before, definitely make a special trip here!

En Ville - Situated in the El Ravel neighbourhood, we very nearly didn't come here. Our original choice was shut during the month of August so we had to go for plan B. This French restaurant was only a few minutes away so we took a gamble. Turns out it was a great gamble. I'm still dreaming about the light, melt-in-your-mouth Roquefort cheese mousse. This fancy little restaurant has gorgeous decor and a brilliant menu. It's not the cheapest but it's amazing if you fancy splashing out. And a break from tapas! If you love your seafood, this place is right up your street.


Hotel Do - I have to admit I would never have eaten at a hotel on holiday when they're so many restaurants to be discovered. But this was a recommendation to my boyfriend and plus it's situated bang in Placa Reial - perfect for people watching. So on our first night we decided to give it a shot. Connor's source certainly knows his stuff! The food was delicious - I came unstuck and managed to order the smallest portion on the menu. But my Catalan speciality of grilled octopus was cooked perfectly. I really couldn't fault it.

The Benedict - As the name of the restaurant would suggest, you'll find a variety of different Eggs Benedict dishes to choose from. Serving brunch from 10am-4pm, the joint is only open Thursday to Sunday for brunch. The rest of the week - apart from Monday - it opens at 7pm for the bistro/cocktail bar. With such an extensive brunch menu, it can be a bit overwhelming but that's all part of the fun right. I opted for the Mexican omelette stuffed with Spanish sausage, jalapeños, sautéed onions and green pepper served alongside delicious rustic potatoes. Delicious! Most dishes are around the 10 euro mark so it's not going to break the bank.


Bodega Biarritz - The best tapas of my entire life. It only fits about 10-15 people in it and you will probably have to queue and deal with grump staff but it's 100% worth it. Ask to sit at the bar if you can. There will be a lovely lady who will ask you what you fancy from the food at the bar. Choose your snacks - there's also some specials written on the board behind - and the chef will make sure they're piping hot. I really wished we went back more than once. Still kicking myself.


Ocana DF - We were dying to go back to the stunning Placa Reial so did a little research on the restaurants in the area. When I see tacos on the menu, I'm easily persuaded so off to this little Mexican cafe we went. The spicy food was superb. It's quite expensive and you may have to buy a lot of small plates to feel full but it was some of the best tacos I've had. The Taco Tingo De Pollo with Chipotle cream was spot on. One word of advice. Go easy on the cocktails, they're likely to blow your head off.
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Exploring Barcelona


Back in August, I spent a week soaking up in the incredibly hot sunshine in Barcelona. Coming just two two weeks after I was made redundant, it was the tonic I needed. I'd only ever been to the city for a day trip and spent most of that wandering around the magnificent Camp Nou during a guided tour. This time we opted for a week to ensure we had maximum relaxation.




Our amazing apartment was located in a little alley just off the beautiful Plaza Reial - the beautiful 19th Century square pictured above. It was the perfect location in Barri Gotic - just yards from La Rambla and a walkable distance from the beach. We sat outside a few times for dinner and soaked up the atmosphere. There's just something about sitting outside in a pretty square that scream European chic. In London, if you sat outside you'd have rain and pollution to contend with!




I won't go too much into too much detail about what we ate and what we saw as I've got a few more posts dedicated to that. But I will say I absolutely fell in love with Barcelona. I'd heard that it was an unsafe, dirty city riddled with pickpockets but I never felt unsafe for a minute - not even wandering around down roads trying to find a Lonely Planet recommended restaurant! It felt like a rebellious, bustling city that was constantly evolving. A very exciting place to be!




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Old El Paso Restaurante Range


I'm a sucker for Mexican food so when an invite popped in my inbox asking me to come along and try my hand at cooking the new Old El Paso Restaurante range, I bit their hand off. Pun intended. Especially when they mentioned we would be treated to a taco lesson by Pussycat Doll Kimberley Wyatt! Pretty snazzy eh?!

In order to offer you a true authentic experience, the Old El Paso Restaurante team actually travelled around Mexico and sought out the ingredients themselves. They wanted to see what secrets the locals had to make the food taste so delicious. Each taco kit is a speciality from across the country. You'll find Baja Fish Soft Tacos - my personal favourite -, Chicken Tinga, Pork El Pastor and Steak Carne Asada. I tried them all and they're all as mouth-watering as they sound!





We were very kindly given an incredible goodie bag which had all four taco kits for us to try at home. So far I've only been able to rustle up the tasty chicken tacos - the steak ones are for dinner tomorrow! I can confirm the bad boys are so simple to make - you don't all need a Pussycat Doll to help give you some guidance. We scoffed these between the three of us and there was more than plenty to go around. In fact we could have invited a fourth person but we didn't. Because we're greedy.




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