The most touristic street in Barcelona is full of bars but only experienced people can distinguish the high quality ones from the ‘guiri’ traps.
La Rambla without bars is like Barcelona without the Sagrada Familia. It cannot happen. It’s easy to jump from terrace to terrace without stepping on the ground (good weather advantages). Supply is overwhelming and if you don’t know the area, it is dangerously easy to fall into one of those bars where you almost have to sell a kidney to pay for a bottle of water. That’s why we have compiled a list of some bars in La Rambla where at least two of the three elements of the starving stomach’s Holy Trinity are accomplished: good, nice and cheap.
Pinotxo Bar
Address: Mercat de la Boqueria, Carrer la Rambla, 89
Average price: € 13
Don’t confuse it with the Italian chain, please. It’s one of those mandatory stops for the foodies that visit La Boqueria searching for fresh and authentic flavors. It’s also one of the few places in the market that have not taken advantage of tourism to get rich by reducing its menu quality and increasing its prices. Maybe that’s why its owner, Juanito Bayén, is always surrounded by a considerable crowd of curious people, eager to find out how Barcelona’s history tastes. You should try the capi pota or knives and cockles.
La Bodegueta
Address: Rambla de Catalunya, 100
Average price: € 20
It has remained in the same spot since the forties, so it can boast of being one of the most classic tapas bars in Barcelona. You’ve walked by its terrace thousands of times-those blue chairs can be recognized anywhere-. It’s specialized in wines and vermouths but not accompanying them with some Iberian tapas or bravas would be a crime.
CervecerÃa Catalana
Address: Rambla de Catalunya, 11
Average price: € 13
Always crammed. But if you can, try getting to the counter because tapping there is a pleasure. Its name explains what is expected. There are beers, tapas and montaditos. They’re not cheap but if it is reviewed in blogs, newspapers and guides, it’s for a reason. Don’t get out of there without trying the huevos cabreados or the entrecote beef with mustard.
Centro Galego de Barcelona
Address: Rambla Caputxins, 35 – 37
Average price: € 20
Galicia is more than a thousand kilometers away from Barcelona… And so are its octopus, empanadas and Estrella Galicia beers, one of the Spanish top ones. 120 years ago, some gentlemen who suffered from being far away from these delicacies established an oasis to honor their land on the Rambla and, since then, it has become one of the most lively regional houses in Barcelona. Every day there are menu and Galician specialties like churrasco, octopus “á feira”, seafood and, every Sunday, the traditional stew.
Irati Basque Taverna
Address: Calle CardenalCasanas, 17
Average price: € 30
From Galicia we travel to the Basque Country. Catalonian gastronomy is great but the north is the north. Irati was the first bar in popularizing Donostian pintxo in Barcelona twenty years ago. Since then, dozens of establishments have copied their premise, a mix of creativity and loyalty to traditional receipts. Not a good place to eat until full because of its prices, although you can afford it.
Taller de tapas
Address: Rambla Catalunya 49-51
Average price: 17 €
It sounds familiar to you, isn’t it? Sure. It appears in  Woody Allen‘s Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Tapas are a classic but a quality supply combined with a friendly staff have led Taller de Tapas to have six locations in Barcelona. It’s a place to feel like home and to eat rice with artichokes or broken eggs as if they were cooked by your grandmother.
