Restaurant Can Culleretes

A true gem of local cuisine and culture! When we first arrived at our hotel, the receptionist kindly recommended this restaurant — and from our very first visit, we were hooked. Although we coincidentally came across a few of their closing days, we made sure never to miss a meal here whenever they were open. The food is absolutely delicious, hearty, and of outstanding quality. To truly understand a region’s culture, you need to taste its traditional cuisine — and this place genuinely does justice to the flavors and spirit of its heritage. Every dish feels lovingly homemade, and I sincerely thank the chef for that. The restaurant exudes the warmth of a family-run place; the entire team works with sincerity and welcomes guests with a smile, even during busy hours. Beyond the food and service, the space itself is charming — beautifully preserved in its original style. It’s like stepping into a living museum, with photos of famous visitors, signed pictures, and antique furnishings that give the place a unique historical character. If you’d prefer not to wait in line, I highly recommend making a reservation by phone in advance. The food tends to sell out quickly — which is no surprise! This is a must-visit if you’re looking for: • Amazing food • Friendly and warm service • A truly authentic and memorable atmosphere

Our overall experience was fair, likely because Spanish food tends to have stronger flavors. However, what earns this restaurant three stars is that, despite being located near a market and having access to fresh seafood, the seafood dishes we ordered were not as fresh as those we’ve had at other restaurants. If you’re looking for authentic Catalan cuisine with meat-centric dishes, I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

Dining at Can Culleretes was like stepping into a piece of Barcelona’s history. The ambiance is warm and full of old-world charm, and the food is absolutely delicious. We had perfectly cooked mussels, seafood paella, and lechon. Every dish was rich in authentic Catalan flavor. I highly recommend this place.

This place is highly recommended and is apparently one of the oldest restaurants in the city. The restaurant is charming and beautiful. While service was a little slow, the quality of the food more than made up for it. Everything we ordered was excellent, cooked well with quality ingredients. Favourite dish was probably their canelones, but I think it would be hard to order badly

A restaurant with over 200 years of history, and the atmosphere inside is amazing. Although I had to wait in line for a long time, it was totally worth it. The food was delicious, and I really love places with a rich history. It’s full of warmth and character.

Highly recommend. Great food. Long wait for a walk-in though. Recommend to make reservations. Great garlic shrimp and really love the iberico Ham!

Really really nice traditional Catalonian restaurant right in the middle of tourist town. A block away, people are hawking two-liter margaritas and full English breakfasts. However, this place seems utterly unchanged in eons. And really affordable for the quality. White tablecloths, attentive service, fresh bread, very crispy croquetas. I had an inexpensive bottle of Priorat which was great, and a slow roasted suckling lamb shoulder/leg served with roasted potatoes and tomatoes, and caramelized onions. Way too much for one person, but by golly, I ate every morsel. Realistically, two people would have been perfectly satisfied with this portion. My family isn't from this exact part of the country, but this meal reminded me of things my grandparents would have put on the table when I was young. Other people's meals also looked great.

One of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona. Food was quite good and came out with good timing, service was slightly patchy and could have been more consistent. Overall a nice meal in a classic, relaxing room.

Without doubt the best meal I had in Barcelona, you will need a reservation. Food is hearty and service is good. Highly recommended.

Foods is so good but service is horrible the young black girl waitress came and ask me what I like to drink, I ask for bottle of water than she said just water. Never came back to my table for after my meal than I ask another waitress for bottle of water.. sadly

Service and ambiance are the charm here. We arrived about 10 mins prior to open with no reservation. Only two of us so they could accommodate bother wise highly recommend reserving ahead of time. "Mama" served us. (Maybe they are all mama?" Lots of grandmas walking around serving and taking orders. Food was just ok, although we just got an app tasting menu. Would order an entree off the main menu if I ever make it back.

We heard this was the oldest restaurant in Barcelona. We ordered from the prix fix menu. It's a good portion of food that did not disappoint! The spinach cannelloni and the Catalan creme were the best parts along with the red sangria. Biggest plus was the price which was $18 per person.

Centrally located- not far from La Rambla. Good local food. Great atmosphere. Reasonably priced.

We came here to experience a really old restaurant in Barcelona. We made reservations and got seated right away as we entered. The restaurant was huge and it got really crowded really soon. Many people had reservations. We seeked some help to order since we didn't know if the quantity would be large. They told us to order a few items which we thought were quite a bit in the end, and we couldn't finish. The food was decently tasty. I did not find it exceptional like some of the other places I tried but it's still worth coming here for the experience. The service was a bit slow which is understandable as they were super packed right after they opened. But they got to us in good enough time. We ordered the lamb chops, paella and salmon. The salmon was just fried and I was expecting more than that. I would try some other items next time.

We went for lunch right at 1:30 when they opened. Though we did have a reservation, it wouldn't have been necessary right at 1:30. A half hour later, one would have been essential, this being a Saturday. Because of the most reasonable menu prices, we mistakenly thought the portions might be on the smallish side. My wife's suckling pig and my paella would each have fed two normal people. Thinking they might be smaller, we also ordered a side of green peas and ham, which was large enough to be a side for four. To make the meal absolutely gluttonous, she started with a bowl of gazpacho and I started with a salad that featured large slices of foie gras pate. My wife says the roast suckling pig was delicious and could only have been made better by having a little sale on the crispy skin. My paella was marvelous save for a bit too much salt in the rice (at least for me - I think folks in New Orleans would have thought it was perfect). In the paella, the seafood, chicken and ham were just perfect. Service was quick, efficient, and personable. Ambience is excellent - not too lively, but definitely not staid. In all, a truly excellent lunch!

I really wanted to like this place since it's one of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona. But I found it to be just ok. Not impressive, but not bad either. Food-wise. Service/Ambiance-wise, it was quite lovely. I don't regret coming, I thought it was pretty worth seeing how old it is. But I'm not sure if I'd come back again. Food: Goat Cheese Salad and Quince with Honey Sauce Nice and refreshing~ missing that goat cheese. Shrimps with Garlic & Chili I love the shrimps actually. It was cooked nicely, but the flavor wasn't enough. It was definitely not spicy and generally bland. Paella Especial (Fish & Meat) I was hoping for socarrat you know? Like the crispiness at the bottom of the pan. But it was really wet and soggy.

A wonderful place for Catalan cuisine. Wine served with every meal. Service is efficient and food is tasty and filling. Many locals and tourists visit so be prepared for some crowds. If you are in Barcelona, a must try.

This is one of the oldest restaurant in Barcelona. It's easy to find near the famous La Rambla. When you walk in, it's big inside with lots of photos from famous people and beautiful tile work around the walls. The service was very friendly. I didn't have a reservation but for two it's probably easier to fit us than a larger group. The price is decent. For traditional Nd authentic Catalan food, this is the place to be. I was very satisfied with our meal. We had some rose wine, half carafe which was only about EUR4.80. We ordered a few tapas to share. For me, I appreciate quality over quantity. It may seemed like not a lot of food, but we were stuffed after 3 tapas. The baby squid had the perfect grilled taste, tender and their olive oil with sea salt was amazing. The scrambled egg with shrimp and asparagus was very light, fluffy, soft Nd perfectly seasoned. Finally, the Catalan pork sausage with white beans were very tasty and delicious. All in all, our bill was less than EUR50. Will be back again before we fly home to the US!

This place was incredible. We had the Catalonian Spinach and the Grilled Baby Octopus for starters, and it was PHENOMENAL!!!!!! I've never had spinach like this in my life!!! It's a must try. The Baby Octopus was also incredible, so tender, so delicious. For entrees we ordered the Catalonian Sausage and the Paella. The Catalonian Sausage was delightfully comforting, really delicious. The Paella was honestly just alright. Much better than the terrible salty disgrace we had at the tourist areas of Madrid, but still, it was overcooked...wouldn't order it again. TBH I don't think this is the place for Paella so maybe that was our bad. Just FYI we were four people and this was plenty of food. Service was good and the house wine was great! Excellent prices as well :) can't wait to come back!!!!

First, the food is excellent. The chicken and potatoes is among the best I've had. We also had the bacalao, which was done wonderfully in a tomato sauce with white beans. And the deserts are unique and delicious (whiskey ice cream cake was a standout). Overall, the food was wonderful. I'd give it a 5 star rating based on the food alone, but the service is very un-Spanish. They really need to relax. The wait staff seemed a bit hurried and moody. Maybe they didn't want to be open during the Feast of the Assumption? Who knows? We literally had a guy hovering over our table that grabbed our plates within seconds of finishing each dish. He was just watching us eat the whole time. It was strange. I really loved the food and wanted to go back. But it felt a little weird in there, so that was our only visit.

I love the old charm and history this restaurant has for being one of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona. Make sure you make a reservation on line, it's easier than waiting and they seat you right away even if you're early. We went with a group of 4 and started with a bottle of Tempranillo, the baby grilled squid, anchovies, olives, and steamed mussels and clams. All fantastic and well done. Starting out on light seafood let us indulge in suckling pig and wild boar stew. You must order the suckling pig, suggested by locals that this is the dish they are known for. It was so juicy, tender, falling off the bone, with super crispy skin. The wild boar was good too, they have been making this same dish since 1786! The staff was helpful and very nice, although a bit of a language barrier, but they did the best they could to be as informative. After our dinner we finished with aperitifs, 10 year old brandy and Montserrat liqueurs. All in all was an amazing experience and great food!

Stumbled upon what turned out to be a restaurant that's been here since 1786! Behind unassuming and frankly a little off putting bubbled glass doors you'll find a traditional space, no music, no modem decor, just the epitome of a mom and pap shop that's been here literally forever. Barely any English spoken, which was a breathe of fresh air after several hours roaming around tourist laden streets feeling as if I'd never left London! Delicious! Though I'm still not the biggest fan of prawns/crayfish in the shell- as I always tear them into nothing and find myself just eating bits. Not appealing. To add insult to injury, I saw a man do this entirely with his cutlery like a boss. Rice was cooked to perfection and was creamy with just the right hit of salt. A fresh squeeze of lemon wouldn't have been missed! I saw some amazing roasted meats leaving the kitchen, so perhaps on my next visit there will be some different choices made!

A good restaurant serving traditional Catalonian cuisine. My meal started off with a simple salad that was tasty and fresh. For my main entrée, I had a roasted chicken that was cooked very well and had some great flavor. It arrived with French fries, which wasn't that unique, but still was fine with the chicken. Overall the value is great and service was very good. The décor is a bit kitchy, yet traditional with plenty of room for diners. It's the oldest restaurant in Barcelona and the second oldest restaurant in Spain so it's definitely worth a visit.

Easily one of the best restaurants I've tried in Spain. I was starting to get a bit tired of tapas so we looked around for something different and found Can Culleretes and its Catalonian cuisine. We made sure to arrive within minutes of opening (9pm) and got prime seats in the middle of the floor. We really liked the atmosphere of the clientele and the design of the interior. We ordered the steamed mussels and clams as appetizer and it was excellent! The meat of the shellfish was SO tender and there was none of that gritty sand you may find in (lesser) seafood restaurants. I had to hold myself back from eating all of it so that I would have room for my entree.. and that my boyfriend would be able to eat some :) We also shared a small bowl of veal stew with wild mushrooms which was good and comforting. For our entrees, we ordered the suckling pig and the lamb. I don't remember what the lamb was called and there were multiple lamb dishes, but I do remember that we got the priciest one. And they were both INCREDIBLE. The meats were extremely tender and barely needed the push of the knife. The dishes really brought out the two meats' different textures and flavors, and we savored each bite. The lamb came with a mixture of potatoes and tomatoes, and the pork with pine nuts and different types of olives/peppers. And of course, we had a red wine that was recommended from our server. It was good, but I think it was a bit forgotten due to the food. I'm so glad we had a chance to try Catalonian cuisine -- I want some more!!

Had the spinach cannelloni and it was yummmm! Very rich and cheesy. Also had the classic rice dish which is similar to paella except watery. Only got that because no paella at that time. Took a while to order due to our lack of Spanish... But we got it done. All the food around us looked amazing. And we'd wished we had asked for the English menu! Lol This place was hopping. They totally deserve 5 stars with 228 years in biz and still packing them in.

This place is pretty cute. We got the recommendation from a Barcelona guide book which touted this restaurant as the oldest in Barcelona so of course we had to try it. We tried the calamari, roasted peppers and paella and finished our meal with crema catalana. The food was good, not the best we've had in the city but we would probably go back again just for the experience.

This restaurant needs more good reviews on yelp! I went here for lunch with my family during our short visit to Barcelona. My sister saw this restaurant in a guide book and we decided to go. Best recommendation so far! The restaurant looks old (I mean the sign does say1786) and decor seems like it's from the early 1900s. And majority of the guests at the restaurants seemed like they were in the 70s. BUT. There really is a reason why the local elderly goes and how they stayed opened for centuries. Their food is great. Seafood dishes is a must and their pork dish in their lunch menu was awesome. It seems like a favorite for the locals. I would definitely recommend this restaurant! (For lunch at least)

One of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona serving traditional catalan cuisine. The restaurant gives you an ambience that brings you back to the past with the old tiles and super old historic pictures hanging on the walls. The interior is huge but they get filled up quickly by lunch time- recommended to book in advance a day before or so! To start, we had the scrambled eggs cooked with asparagus and prawns, a veal stew with mushrooms and cod fish croquettes. We end up liking the veal stew most as the meat was tender and served in a rich dark brown sauce. We've ordered the paella for our mains and it was better than expected- covered with assorted seafood (mussels, langoustine and prawns) and meat. The portion was just nice for two person and they're super generous with the seafood! This place is definitely a good place for people who wants a change from the usual tapas restaurants! They're definitely great for its price!

A taste of Catalan! After wandering for hours through tourist area's we ended up asking a local where to eat. They suggested this place. You instantly know its a local place as soon as you walk in a dark alley with an entrance below a very inconspicuous sign. They spoke great english and were able to assist us with ease. The prefix meal was probably the way to go as it included everything you would want in 3 choices. The paella was a bit mushy and the sangria was ridiculously strong, but this is just the way the local like it!

good service, sensitive to language goat cheeses are awesome wherever they appear meats are fatty...lamb, roast pig, duck salads are best with goat cheese, walnuts or prawns with whatever triple caramels make good finish price value meets about 3.5...the disappointments were the fatty meats good choice of wines, but limited beers, and those are "weak". We disagree with Flash Gordon, there are better places. Easy to find and clean.

I don't know how you get cross contamination with peas. But somehow they did it. People with nut allergies BEWARE!

This is a FANTASTIC example of Catalonian cuisine. The people here were incredibly incredibly friendly, and showed so much hospitality to a newcomer. This place was recommended by some locals, it's a place where the locals go out to eat and we were one of the few English speaking people in the restaurant. It's also very old, and has great character... it's an all around fave. Definitely recommended for a real Catalonian experience.

Fantastic restaurant serving interesting, traditional Catalan food. Most of the other places I got to in Barcelona were of the tapas variety and had mostly all the same dishes. I'm no expert but many of the dishes on the menu looked quite authentic to me (e.g. Catalan spinach with raisins, pine nuts, and ham; Catalan-style cannelloni; roast duck with prunes) and some other unique dishes that may or may not be Catalan, such as smoked salmon and kiwi salad (which was fantastic), and whiskey tart. The price was great for the amount of food we got. All four of us thoroughly enjoyed everything they put in front of us, including wine and dessert. The waitress were all older women and the place is quite old, making it feel kind of like eating at grandmas house - +1 for decor :)

Cute cozy place. It's a mom-and-pop type of restaurant. Servers were very attentive. Prices were good and food was wonderful!

ok so we get to Can Cullerestes before 9pm and the door is locked! You enter thru a narrow alley and the wait is worth it. Great sausage and beans. Get the liter of house wine no label no fancy talk , just red wine. Great deal! Grilled Salmon was nice and of course Paella. Wonderful experience!

I have mixed feelings about this place. Maybe we came on an "off" night or our expectations were too high [we heard and read rave reviews] but our dishes were all just a tad above mediocre. The paella was soggy and the rest of our food was rather bland. Nothing truly flavorful or memorable, unfortunately. The service however was stellar.

I ordered one of the set menu options and was happily surprised with every dish I received. I do not speak much Spanish, but our server was really helpful with helping us get our food. Wish I could go back here and eat that chicken just one more time. The whiskey ice cream cake was also incredible. Recommend for anyone in Barcelona.

Not a good experience. Totally overrated. Lamp chops only bones and fat. Service felt rushed.

A nice chance of pace fromTapas. The initial draw to the place was this restaurant has been in operation since the 1700's - they must be doing something right. The day of, I was a bit reluctant, having dined at a modern and well executed dining establishment the previous night. I was concerned that this place would be the exact opposite, traditional, dated cuisine, and a bit stuff. I'm glad I decided to stick with my initial hunch to try this place out. We got to the restaurant 5 minutes before opening, and although we had reservations, there was a long line of people waiting for the restaurant to open - a good sign I suppose, otherwise I was in good company with a bunch of patrons misguided to try this place out. I had the seafood special. Which was a combo of steamed, fried, and grilled seafood items. Generous portions, fresh seafood, accompanied with one of the better Sangrias that I had in Barcelona. Had I known that heading to Madrid my seafood options would drastically decline compared to the offerings in Barcelona, I would have even appreciated my meal more at the time.

While my husband and I were in Barcelona, we wanted to enjoy some traditional Catalan cuisine. We were told this was the spot. We arrived just before the doors opened for lunch and there was a line of people waiting to get in. A good sign, I suppose. It's a large restaurant, so we were seated almost immediately once the doors opened. The couple next to us quickly figured out we were tourists and engaged us in conversation. He was excited to see us in here because apparently this is where the locals go. Excellent. I wish we could have talked more, but my Spanish is not up to par. It was menu del dia time! Fish soup for me, canelones for my husband, and we went crazy and got veal stew and the pig trotter stew as the entree. Lots of wine to drink (of course). The first course was excellent. We should talk sometime about how much I love canelones. I'm thinking we went a little too experimental for the second course. The stews were both good but kind of similar to each other and pigs trotters are fattier than I thought. So the second course was good but not great. Dessert was chocolate cake for my husband and a whiskey tart for me. Both were quality, but I preferred the whiskey tart. Prices were very good, but the service was slow at times (particularly at the end, as our server disappeared for half an hour before we got our check). Definitely worth checking out. If I was to come back, I'd eat that fried calamari the couple next to us got. It looked awesome.

The restaurant has been churning out delicious seafood since the 1700's. What lured me here wasn't the history, but the yelp photos of garlic shrimp, seared squid and octopus. Come for the seafood, enjoy the history and don't forget to order dessert. The sangria is dangerous and we had great service- they are limited in English so be prepared to use your terrible Spanish!

Impressive food and service. Could have been a tourist trap... Authentic cuisine and genuine hospitality combined to make a classic experience. Gambas al ajillo, croquetas, jamon, catalan wine, delicious suckling pig with a snappy crunchy skin and velvety flavorful meat. Whole sole with classic almond sauce. Should have hit the desserts, but we had just gotten in and were fried from travel. When compared to other "oldest restaurants" Can Culleretes is a real winner.

We went there with a group of 10 of us that had been in Spain for 2 weeks and badly needed something other than tapas for dinner. Everything was excellent and this ended up being one of the best meals we had in Spain. They had real local foods with great flavours. Our group ordered a wide variety foods that were all good in their own way. Chicken, steak, pizza, mixed grill all got high reviews. the wild boar stew had incredible flavour but the meat was a bit dry and there was too little of it, House wine was very good. Note that it only opens for dinner at 9pm. There was a line outside when we got there so we were glad we had a reservation but it is a big place so they accommodated everyone. Highly recommended. Pricing was very reasonable. It came to under 25euros per person for us including lots of wine and dessert.

Very old (since 1786) restaurant serves catalan food. We ordered pork Berry and duck with spinach side dish. All food was great and servers are friendly.

An insult to Catalan cuisine, catering to tourists. We were ushered to the "tourist" area where we were served overcooked and limp vegetables (did the chef apprentice in England?) and fish with bones and too much salt. I'm sure this restaurant was good when Lorca came here, but it is resting on an ancient reputation--even older than the vegetables. Un insulto a la cocina catalán, que atienden a los turistas. Fuimos conducidos a la zona de "turista", donde nos sirvieron verduras cocidas y lacias (hizo lo aprendiz de chef en Inglaterra?) y pescado con huesos y demasiada sal. Estoy seguro de que este restaurante era bueno cuando Lorca llegó aquí, pero se está reclinando sobre una antigua reputación - más antigua que las verduras.

The quality of the food was subpar to its reputation. Maybe we ordered the wrong food but all the dishes were consistently unimpressing. Side note: I'm Italian and my standards are fairly high, yet for the price you deserve a better experience

Very traditional cuisine, not exactly what we expected (probably due to lack of research). Our waitress spoke no English, which is fine, but we wondered why one of the other 3 who did speak english was not switched to our table. The interior is very brightly lit, which makes it feel less fancy and intimate, and the decor is very dated (I guess it is the oldest restaurant in Barcelona...). This is the place to go if you are looking for basic, authentic, and affordable Catalan food. No real complaints, it was just not the experience we expected.

Great food. We came close to closing and while a bit rushed, the food was good. Strong sangria, good mixed seafood/meat paella. Would come back again but maybe earlier this time!!

To start, one could give this place 3.5 stars but definitely not 4. The best first, the ambiance is great. Small side street, old school interior, family run restaurant that is NOT one of the tourist traps that are on Las Ramblas. Unfortunately, the food does not keep up. The pan o tomato was prob the worst I had in 5 days in Barca. The paella was huge, but the seafood and chicken were very dry. The suckling pig was good, but not great. I really wanted to like this place and overall it was not a bad. Given the outstanding and often inexpensive places that can be found in Barcelona, it is unfortunately only average.

SEAFOOD LOVERS ALERT! This is the place for some REALLY good seafood at reasonable price. We were a party of 2 and each ordered the seafood platter at 30 euros a pop. WELL WORTH IT! Barcelona is known for seafood but they are not cheap. But at 60 euro (for 2 people) we got ALOT of varieties of seafood. The seafood platter actually came in 4 courses. First we had a very VERY sizable portion of steamed mussels and clams. Next came grilled shrimp scampi style. The shrimp was sizzling in a light broth and was very tender and crunchy. We used the bread to soak up every drop of the flavorful broth. LOL! Next came a fried battered plate of monkfish, shrimp, crayfish and calamari. Everything was good except I don't care much for the monkfish. The final course was a charred/grilled medley of LOBSTER tail, jumbo crayfish, prawns and baby squids. It was an awesome finale and everything has a nice smokey taste. We ordered 1 liter of sangria at 7,50 euro. By the time we finished, we were thoroughly enthralled by all the varieties and freshness of this awesome seafood platter! You must get this if you love seafood!!!!!

Off the beaten path. Fab service and extremely satisfying food! Wild boar stew for me and sausage and white beans for my companions.In addition we tried the spinach (everyone's fav)..as well as the shrimp -super yum there! Love the atmosphere on a rainy day!

This is a simple, classic, traditional restaurant. Best grilled baby calamari we've ever had. Perfectly grilled, lightly seasoned. The suckling pig, "lechon", was also tasty with nice crispy skin although the accompaniment of stewed plums and apricots was a little tired. I would recommend this restaurant and I would return.

While in Barcelona, we were looking for an authentic and not too-expensive place to eat. All in all we spent a very nice dinner here, and I can definitely recommend it! The restaurant is not too big, and was almost filled at 21:30 on a tuesday night. We were lucky and got a table instantly, people arriving after us had to wait, but the turnover was pretty quick. We ordred a beer, which came in bottles, and variations of pate, which turned out to be three kinds of dips/paté with bread. It wasnt mind blowing, but it tasted nice and was served quickly. For main course we chose the wild bore stew, which was perfect!!! The mest was soft and nice and delicious! We also tried the spinach canneloni with codfish. I could not find a trace of the fish, but it was delicious nontheless. For the sweet tooth the menu contains a variety of deserts, which we did not try. The service is efficient and friendly enough, the price is affordable at under 20€ for beer and food incl starters. The restaurant was frequented modtly by spanish customers, which I see as a good sign, as it is nice to escape the herds of turists wandering up and down la rambla. So, as mentioned above, I am definitely recommending this restaurant!

For shame, fellow yelpers, for shame (hang your heads now)... I'd been off doing my own thing for my entire trip, and decided to give my last meal over to the Yelp gods: whoops. Yes, this is in El Raval, just off of Ramblas, so of course it will be touristy: I can stand that if it is a good meal. I got the shrimp with garlic (gambas con ajillos) to start, a midsize pitcher of sangria (as I couldn't go an entire trip to Spain without having any) and the roast suckling pig (Lechon: there is an accent in there but at this point I'm not going to figure out how to type it). Don't get me wrong, the food wasn't bad: it didn't make me sick or anything. But grossly overpriced, underprepared food that sullies the Barcelona restaurant scene by being rated so highly for the price point. At multiple menu del dias (menu of the day, best deals can be had a lunchtime in Barcelona), I got a much better meals, with much better wine, for less than half the price. The other reviewers were correct, the sangria is fortified and is a good deal if you are looking to tie one on. The shrimp were simple, and I suppose if I did not have the comparison points of my other meals in Spain it would have seemed good, but I've prepared better myself (think less flavored scampi: there were roasted cloves of garlic, some dried mild chili peppers, and a combination of white wine and oil), and the roast pork was tender, with crispy skin, with roasted macerated fruits (raisins, apricots, and plums). Some very simple steps would have made the pork a great winner: such as some salt and pepper on the skin: I'm not asking for much here, just a touch of seasoning... I know it is not traditional, but just because something is a tradition doesn't mean it is good. That is my overall impression of this place: simple food, done the way it was cooked during the Franco years and prior, not giving a damn about keeping up with the times in the least, even if they could easily improve the food without giving up any of their traditions. I know they don't have to because the tourists will keep coming, but I really wished they cared about the food more...

This place was a recommendation from a friend and we were not disappointed. It is a hole in the wall and is very crowded with tight, close seating. It is very noisy as well, but for some reason pleasant. We each ordered the lunch special which consisted of wine, soup or salad, main course, and dessert. Everything was delicious. The pig leg is very fatty, so I don't recommend that, but was tasty nonetheless.

I found this restaurant to be an utter disappointment. My partner and I were looking forward to some traditional Catalan food, and went here based on several recommendations. The restaurant is located on a narrow, charming street a couple of blocks off of La Rambla, and we were hopeful that would be enough to insulate it from the touristy cheeziness of many restaurants in the area. What we experienced was a drab tourist trap with unpleasant service, no atmosphere, and food that was an insult to Catalan cuisine. We started with a couple of small plates, shrimp (the one thing that was reasonably good), and peas with jamon which were dry and chalky. Then, my partner had the monkfish which was overcooked and distinctly fishy. I had the paella especial; dried out chunks of nondescript meat, overcooked and tasteless chunks of fish and greasy, oversalted rice all with a strong fishy oder and taste. Not even a reasonably decent bottle of wine could entirely eliminate the slightly queasy sense of having taken our stomaches to a place they didn't really want to go.

Established in 1786 and still in business. Not by chance. 1 minute off La Rambla hidden in the Gothic district it has great ambiance. The menu is Catalan food. Great quality. Good prices. And good service. A must try for anyone visiting Barcelona.