Holy Grail or Grilled Sandwich? Tapas in Barcelona

[gallery link="file"] Barcelona is a city that gets written about so much that there is little that has escaped the guidebook author or magazine writer who drops in for a taste of the ‘real’ Barcelona. Whether it’s a bar, café, or anything associated with Ferran Adrià (at this stage, Ferran Adrià’s dishwasher could open a tapas bar and have tourists salivating), if it’s been written about in the guidebooks or magazines you’ll see people queued outside and studying up before attempting the ‘must-do’ experience they've been told they 'have' to do. Most of it is nonsense and the hype is out of control. And the over-hyped eateries are equally to blame for creating artificial experiences far removed from the authentic meals that made Barcelona's tapas bar scene so endearing in the first place. One of the worst offenders is Inopia Classic Bar, run by Ferran Adrià’s brother. It’s billed as a tapas bar, but I haven’t been to any tapas bars where there is a ‘doorman’ who takes your name but can’t really tell you when you’ll get seated “maybe one hour, maybe two”, he tells us, clearly agitated by the huge crowd gathered out front. When we finally get in (after he loses our place on the list the first time round), we’re crammed in next to the toilets before a sympathetic waitress reseats us. Some of the food looked good, but of course it was sold out by the time we tried to order it and the dishes we did manage to order were no better than a decent neighbourhood tapas bar. The ones we received that is. Ninety minutes after ordering, our patatas bravas still hadn’t arrived. But as I swung around in my chair to survey the scene, I saw a cook plating some up. The chef went over and grabbed a couple of pieces of potato and ate them hungrily. The plate wasn’t for us, obviously. And so we left. At Cal Pep, one of the first tapas places we ever went to in Barcelona some 12 years ago, the tourists now line up half an hour before opening, clutching their guidebooks and chatting excitedly. After the shutter is opened they’re each steered to a seat at the bar, where a place mat, plate and cutlery await. It’s no longer tapas, it’s a tapas show put on for tourists, just like a ‘flamenco show’. We asked a local shop owner on the same square what he made of the nightly circus, “publicity, just good publicity, the food was good there... 10-15 years ago.” Tapaç 24 is another place with a link to Ferran Adrià, with the owner Carles Abellan having worked for Adrià for many years. As a result, the hype over this place is crazy, but the food is just okay. We did enjoy Abellan’s Bar Velodromo, but it was mainly for the cava and oysters, and buzzy atmosphere, certainly not the very sloppy version of the celebrated ‘Bikini’ (a toasted ham and cheese sandwich with truffle paste). Curiously, people seem to have bought into the hype of Ferran Adrià, despite these places having nothing in common with the cuisine of Adrià’s at elBulli. Perhaps after travelling to Barcelona, and waiting in line for an hour or so (or even arriving before opening time – very un-Barcelona), people want to believe that they’re biting into some of that elBulli magic, rather than a croquette that’s exactly the same as the one a local is eating at the neighbourhood tapas bar next door, except it’s half the price and they’re not surrounded by salivating tourists on some sort of pilgrimage. Even a very ordinary bar on Las Ramblas – the last place you’ll head for a decent dish in this fine food city – has been lauded by no less a journal of record than The New York Times. Food scribbler Mark Bittman, an accomplice on perhaps the most-maligned cooking-cum-travel show ever to hit the airwaves, Spain – on the Road Again, lauds the ham sandwich (flauta d’ibèrico) at tacky Café Viena. Sure it tastes good, but it's nothing that can’t be had at a hundred places across Barcelona. Or buy buying some great ham at the markets and just eating eating it with your hands – the traditional way – you don't even need bread when the Jamón ibérico is so good! The New York Times even goes so far as to call Café Viena a restaurant, which it most certainly isn’t. It's little more than a Viennese-themed McDonalds with laminated signs and pictures of the food above the bar and on the walls. Over and over again during the last two weeks locals told us that Barcelona wasn’t really a tapas city anyway, unlike Madrid, Seville or San Sebastián where tapas-bar hopping is a ritual among locals. Although if you want to sample San Sebastián's Basque pintxos (as they call their h'ors d'oeuvres-style tapas there), try Taverna Basca Irati (Cardenal Casañas 17, Barri Gòtic), an old favourite of ours from many years ago that is still going strong. While it’s worth dropping into these places if you’re into food, what’s really special about the cuisine in Barcelona isn’t the tapas at all. It’s the ‘bistronomic’ restaurants – but more about those in the next post. Here’s a list of places we enjoyed having some 'little plates' at over the last two weeks. It’s by no means comprehensive, but unlike many guidebooks and magazine stories, we don’t write about anything unless we’ve experienced it. And we don’t buy into the hype. ADDRESSES & NOTES D.O. Vins i Platillos Creative, contemporary tapas in a tiny space in the heart of Gràcia. Plenty of Asian-inspired tapas, including tuna sashimi, salmon 'kebabs', and Thai-style prawns, alongside Catalan-influenced plates. Good fun and a predominately local crowd. Verdi 36, Gràcia Flash Flash Tortilleria Groovy, retro, black and white interior that wouldn’t need one thing changed to feature in an Austin Powers movie. Popular with local office workers, couples, and businessmen. Fresh tortillas and omelettes are the things to order here – the tortilla trufa negra (tortilla with black truffles and cheese) was to die for. Granada Del Penedès 25, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi Cuines de Santa Caterina A massive, buzzy place that's very stylish – shelves crammed with food supplies and a herb 'garden' at the back. The tapas isn’t amazing (apart from the Calamares Plancha we tried), but it’s still worth dropping into for the atmosphere. Don’t worry if you can’t get a table, we prefer the bar as it’s a place to eat and run for us. Mercat de Santa Caterina, Francesco Cambó, La Ribera Quimet i Quimet Miniscule but generally packed to the rafters, it strikes the right balance with decent tapas plates (we love the seafood), loads of atmosphere (floor-to-ceiling shelves of bottles, all for sale), friendly professional staff, and a mix of locals and visitors who know how to order and understand the local version of personal space. Poeta Cabanyes 25, Poble Sec, Tel: 934 423 142 Bar Velodromo A wonderful, atmospheric space in antique building with lofty ceilings and enormous windows. Many more locals here than we experienced at the other places, most partaking of the six sublime oysters and a bottle of cava for 18 euros deal. Muntaner 213, L’Eixample