Txapella, Barcelona

This branch is further from Plaça de Catalunya than the other branch and smaller too.
I sat in the terrace area and got quick & efficient service (contrary to the bigger branch where service was very slow).

Prices have gone up a bit so be aware of hoe much you order. I had 6 pinchos and a big glass of sanria for 20.50 euros (of which the sangria was 5.90 euros).

The pinchos were between 1.95 and 2.95 each.

Favorite Dish: All pinchos are very good.

We sat at the bar where in the past I had found was the best way to get served quickly. No more!

There were 2 members of staff behind that oval-shaped bar: 1 guy doing not much apart from chatting with the cook at the back, and one harassed woman doing her best to cope and failing badly.

The cold pintxos we had chosen were literally in front of our eyes but it took more than 20 mins for her to actually grab them & give them to us: shocking! I guess it would help if her lazy colleague actually did something other than chat & drink coffee at the back!

The actual food is lovely, shame about the service or lack thereof.

Favorite Dish: I love everything but the cider is very zingy, which may not be to everyone's taste.

Craving real tapas in pintxos (small portions), or the tasty and flavourful canapes? Head down to Passeig de Gracia near Placa Catalunya and you will find this restaurant, at the ground floor or a Modernist building. It's a Basque bar complete with various drinks you could think of with kegs and the whole works.

The restaurant area gives you a cosy Spanish feel, with Spanish paintings and black and white photos decorating the wall. But wait till you see the menu. Tapas galore! Everything is so inventive, you would want to try every single choice on the menu!

Favorite Dish: Pintxos, they are really good! There are over 40 canapes to choose from, 51 to be exact. I suggest you go on an empty stomach with your friends or special someone, and try various items on the menu. Trust me, every choice is a delight to the palate.

Not really local from Barcelona but also very popular with the locals. They have a place-mat with pictures so you know what you order and you are going to eat.
In the evening it get very crowded and people queue to get seats at the tables. When I came alone I always got a seat at the bar.
There is also a restaurant at Passeig de Gràcia, 58.

Favorite Dish: Everything ;-)

Txapela is the place where I would always take visitors who wanted to have good food but still stay in the touristy parts of the city. Informed visitors to Barcelona know that tapas are not a specialty of the Catalans and that any establishment claiming to offer "Catalan tapas" is a blatant liar. That's what's so great about Txapela: it doesn't even try to be Barcelona-esque and prefers to offer its clientele a taste of the home of some of the greatest tapa inventors, Euskadi. Everything at Txapela is Basque themed, and the food is great. There are no set courses here: you simply sit at a table, order a glass/carafe/bottle of cider or wine and the tell your server which tasty morsels you want and how many. You needn't order all at once and the selection is made easy by the handy placemat with numbered pictures of the offerings. Most of the tapas come on toasted slices of baguette (things like sagardoa/cider sausage, melted brie, anchovies, sardines, octopus, eel, morcilla/black sausage) but some are also served à la skewer (shrimp and barbecued pork).

If you plan to come on the weekend, either come early or be prepared to wait, as there is always a line up Thursday through Saturday. Sometimes even in winter, even for the tables outdoors.

Favorite Dish: They're all so tasty!!! Nevertheless, my favourites include the sagardoak, which are flavourful little sausages that really go with cider, the melted brie, the morcilla (it sounds gross, but turns out to be quite tasty) and the anchovies. The skewered shrimp are good, but beware the excess of garlic sauce!

Fun to order +- 10 different small Tapaz (see complete list here-under!!)
Not stomach filling when you're real hungry! We sat above with loads of Chinese tourists :)