Pa amb tomàquet
Toasted bread rubbed with ripe tomato, olive oil and salt. It comes with almost every Catalan meal and goes with ham, cheese or anchovies.
Barcelona
What to eat in Barcelona
- Pa amb tomàquet
- Botifarra amb mongetes
- Fideuà
- Calçots
Data checked on October 4, 2026
Botifarra amb mongetes
A grilled Catalan pork sausage served over white beans. It is a plain, filling lunch dish and often appears on the set weekday menu.
Fideuà
Short noodles cooked in fish stock in a wide pan, in the way of paella, and served with seafood and aioli. Coastal restaurants, especially around Barceloneta, serve it at lunch.
Calçots
Big spring onions grilled over fire and dipped in romesco sauce, eaten with a bib and your hands. The season runs from about late winter into spring.
Crema catalana
A cold custard flavoured with citrus and cinnamon, topped with burnt sugar. It is the standard way to end a Catalan meal.
Vermut
Vermouth poured over ice with an olive and a slice of orange, drunk before lunch with olives and chips. Weekend midday is the traditional time.
Every itinerary on this site keeps a lunch break after 12:30, so there is room for a proper meal in the middle of the day.
What a meal costs
- Meal in an inexpensive restaurant
- €16
- Three courses for two, mid-range restaurant
- €60
- Coffee
- €2.92
Besides the sights
- Vermut hour in GràciaSit on a terrace on Plaça del Sol or Plaça de la Virreina before lunch with a vermouth and something salty. Gràcia fills up around midday at weekends.
- Sunset at the Bunkers del CarmelA hilltop in the Carmel district with remains of Civil War anti-aircraft batteries and wide views over the city and the sea. Bring water and arrive before the light goes.
- Font Màgica of MontjuïcA large fountain at the foot of Montjuïc with evening shows of water, light and music. It does not run every night, so check the city schedule first.
- Cycle the seafrontA flat path runs along the beaches from Barceloneta up the coast past Poblenou. Rent a bike for a few hours and ride early or late in summer.
- Sunday at the Sant Antoni marketOn Sunday mornings the area around the Sant Antoni market fills with stalls of old books, comics, stamps and collectables. It is a local ritual and a change from the tourist streets.
Markets in the stop base