They don't ring a bell but they should
Its repertoire of celebrity chefs, the recent openings of high-profile restaurants with Enigma at the forefront or the growing number of culinary curious around the world who travel to Barcelona in search of new experiences, have turned Ciudad Condal into a destination where you can eat very well and do so, moreover, in many premises blessed by critics and public.
But far from the tedious waiting lists and the clamor that we find in the most popular tourist places, there is -oh yes- a more than interesting series of unknown restaurants Away from the crowds and pretense.
With simplicity as a maxim and good cuisine as a flag, these are some of the least known restaurants in Barcelona, only visited by a handful of locals, regular customers and a clueless tourist who, if he tries, repeats.
Nostalgia?
DISCOVERED DO LUSITANO
Located on a street where nothing ever happens, the Descobertas do Lusitano restaurant _(calle Llull, 169; 933 48 72 27) _, is the paradise of Portuguese expatriates residing in Barcelona . Like any authentic Portuguese restaurant, the portions are gigantic and the treatment of the cod is nothing short of transcendental. You have to order, in addition to traditional dishes such as the famous fish, its variety of petiscos as a starter as well as your cheese board and homemade pâtés brought from the neighboring Portuguese country.
It's not hard to get a table during the week at this Portuguese restaurant, which is an entire institution in the neighborhood of Poble Nou , but things change on Fridays and Saturdays when the most recognizable dishes of Portuguese gastronomy are sometimes served to the rhythm of live fados. It is the sum of the experience.
A piece of Portugal in Barcelona
THE THREE WHYS
In Els Tres Porquets _(Rambla del Poblenou, 165; 933 00 87 50) _ you can eat very well or do it in a sublime way if you choose to taste their sobrassada croquettes or its old cow tartare.
This picturesque and somewhat uncomfortable place enjoys excellent health due to its praiseworthy adaptation, season after season, to the market products and the culinary ethics of your kitchen team. Located in the Sant Marti neighborhood , Els Tres Porquets is the recognized heritage of the children of the owners of Can Pineda, one of the most renowned historical gastronomic temples in Barcelona.
And although a priori, and seen from the outside, nobody would give a penny for this restaurant, once inside things change. In addition to a very complete wine list, in the restaurant there is always a blackboard full of seasonal dishes , and even of the day, which serves as a menu made up of an increasingly unstoppable trend of traditional gastronomy with more modern touches. And if excellence in the kitchen is the sum of small details , in The Tres Porquets they embroider it thanks to their rich bread from the 'Baluarte' bakery or traditional dishes such as Duck magret cannelloni with foie cream.
Salivating in 3, 2, 1...
SHALIMAR
We now cross the city to sit at the table of **one of the most authentic Indian restaurants in Barcelona: Shalimar ** _(Carrer del Carme, 71; 933 29 34 96) _.
It is in the heart of the Raval neighborhood that we find this unassuming restaurant where one has to check the bill at the end of the meal because thinks that they have left a dish to collect . But no, surely they have not been wrong; here you eat so cheap, but it is that in addition you eat wonderfully.
Tasty and authentic are two of the adjectives that always accompany any dish on Shalimar's extensive menu, where spicy lovers can also enjoy Indian cuisine "without Europeanization", and the more restrained choose to order it "without".
His cheese naan (bread cake made with wheat flour and cooked in a tandoori oven) is one of those that make us travel to the Taj Mahal without having to move from the table, not to mention their vegetable pakora (fried patties in chickpea flour) or the plate, be careful because the portions are not small at all , of chicken Shalimar , seasoned with numerous spices that add color and flavor to a unique dish, like the restaurant itself.
BAR PASTRAMI
The kings of the unknown cuisine with smoke finally have their first street-level establishment in Barcelona, the Pastrami bar (Consell de Cent, 159; +34 639 310 671).
A small place in the purest street food style where you can find its sublime pastrami sandwich (€7), for which all of Barcelona will sigh after reading this article.
And although this is the richest of all, the concise but well-cared selection of sandwiches also includes smoked mackerel or dishes such as pickles with dill and other culinary options always linked to smoke.
But this place also hides another surprise beyond the delicious smoked flavor of its pastrami, because behind the door of a cold room is Paradiso , one of the most renowned clandestine cocktail bars in Barcelona. Here, Giacomo Gianotti shake the shaker with professional vigor to bring to life rich creations that are not made with smoke, but are delicious.
See you at Pastrami bar