Since I was blagging tips like crazy before we went (even having been before) I thought I’d ‘put something back’ 
So..
We got a FANTASTIC flat (thanks Geri
) on C/Carme, adjacent to the big market and damned central, although its proximity to a school (across the courtyard) led to me nearly exposing myself… wasn’t cheap (€600 for a week) but clean and well-fitted and just dead handy.
Glacier (Placa Reial) is as low-key and friendly as ever, my favourite bar for just having a beer etc.
Café Royale – just below Reail’s southwest corner – was like standing inside a brown leather handbag, all leather panelling and shades of brown. The music when we were there was fucking dire, but I’m assured that most nights it’s pretty good (think 100% Dynamite / Soul Jazz)
Dot was a weird and pokey little electro club just round the corner from Café Royale – dead small but interesting.
We went to El Salon for the first night’s meal, but this veritable institution shut down on the night we went. Great food (even if salt cod is fucking vile), shame it’s gone but the owners run Ginger as well.
Razzmatazz – out to the north east of the city – was a weird place. Fucking huge – 5000 capacity – with about 5 clubs strung together with walkways and the like. Like Fabric writ large. The main indie room was dire, the Loft – which had The Hacker and some other electro bods – was great. It was €25 for NYE, which included drinks and a tshirt, which isn’t bad for a place that size..
Salero – down at the bottom, port side of the Barri Gotic – was surprisingly fucking fantastic. The guide books gave it lukewarm reviews, but the good was absolutely incredible, and it had a lovely atmosphere and friendly staff. The pumpkin curry I had was possibly the finest dish I’ve ever eaten.
Taxidermista – still a bit staid, and a limited menu. Also, when leaving try not to get robbed ( )
The old heavy metal bar on Escudellers has been outdone by one almost exactly opposite called Playboys, which is officially the dirtiest and most tacky bar I’ve ever been in. Great fun for one drink..
The Ambos Mundos restaurant on Place Reail is touristy but actually not that bad, the paella is a bit production line but the rest is generally good quality and it’s a decent place to lunch and watch the world go by.
Bar Marsella was as reliably mental as ever. Full of utterly twatted Spaniards and Brits (one girl I was talking too literally fell backwards mid-sentence and landed on her head, afterwards blaming the absinth). But it’s at the very heart of the really dodgy part of Raval (at the foot of Robber’s St) and I got jacked when I got rushed by a bunch of kids. Managed to twat one and thought I’d got away with it, but they got my phone anyway.
Milk - right at the end of Passeig De Colom - is a lovely little bar, funky but not oppressively trendy or anything. and lots of cocktails with Milk in them.
Ra, at the top edge of the Mercato De Boqueria, is a great - if slightly pricey place to have breakfast and watch the market madness.
We found a great bar in a Lebanese area a couple of stops past Passeig De Gracia in the heart of the grid, buggered if I remember the time. The more time you have, the more you can just amble further and further out and find some great places.
It’s a BRILLIANT place to get engaged.
Street crime does if anything seem worse this time – Pie Eye’s robbery was fucking amazingly skilful, mine was just blatant and done with strength in numbers. I felt a bit dumb getting robbed on my 3rd visit, in an area I KNEW was dodgy,. But I wasn’t being a fool, they just didn’t give me a chance
So..
We got a FANTASTIC flat (thanks Geri
) on C/Carme, adjacent to the big market and damned central, although its proximity to a school (across the courtyard) led to me nearly exposing myself… wasn’t cheap (€600 for a week) but clean and well-fitted and just dead handy.Glacier (Placa Reial) is as low-key and friendly as ever, my favourite bar for just having a beer etc.
Café Royale – just below Reail’s southwest corner – was like standing inside a brown leather handbag, all leather panelling and shades of brown. The music when we were there was fucking dire, but I’m assured that most nights it’s pretty good (think 100% Dynamite / Soul Jazz)
Dot was a weird and pokey little electro club just round the corner from Café Royale – dead small but interesting.
We went to El Salon for the first night’s meal, but this veritable institution shut down on the night we went. Great food (even if salt cod is fucking vile), shame it’s gone but the owners run Ginger as well.
Razzmatazz – out to the north east of the city – was a weird place. Fucking huge – 5000 capacity – with about 5 clubs strung together with walkways and the like. Like Fabric writ large. The main indie room was dire, the Loft – which had The Hacker and some other electro bods – was great. It was €25 for NYE, which included drinks and a tshirt, which isn’t bad for a place that size..
Salero – down at the bottom, port side of the Barri Gotic – was surprisingly fucking fantastic. The guide books gave it lukewarm reviews, but the good was absolutely incredible, and it had a lovely atmosphere and friendly staff. The pumpkin curry I had was possibly the finest dish I’ve ever eaten.
Taxidermista – still a bit staid, and a limited menu. Also, when leaving try not to get robbed ( )
The old heavy metal bar on Escudellers has been outdone by one almost exactly opposite called Playboys, which is officially the dirtiest and most tacky bar I’ve ever been in. Great fun for one drink..
The Ambos Mundos restaurant on Place Reail is touristy but actually not that bad, the paella is a bit production line but the rest is generally good quality and it’s a decent place to lunch and watch the world go by.
Bar Marsella was as reliably mental as ever. Full of utterly twatted Spaniards and Brits (one girl I was talking too literally fell backwards mid-sentence and landed on her head, afterwards blaming the absinth). But it’s at the very heart of the really dodgy part of Raval (at the foot of Robber’s St) and I got jacked when I got rushed by a bunch of kids. Managed to twat one and thought I’d got away with it, but they got my phone anyway.
Milk - right at the end of Passeig De Colom - is a lovely little bar, funky but not oppressively trendy or anything. and lots of cocktails with Milk in them.
Ra, at the top edge of the Mercato De Boqueria, is a great - if slightly pricey place to have breakfast and watch the market madness.
We found a great bar in a Lebanese area a couple of stops past Passeig De Gracia in the heart of the grid, buggered if I remember the time. The more time you have, the more you can just amble further and further out and find some great places.
It’s a BRILLIANT place to get engaged.
Street crime does if anything seem worse this time – Pie Eye’s robbery was fucking amazingly skilful, mine was just blatant and done with strength in numbers. I felt a bit dumb getting robbed on my 3rd visit, in an area I KNEW was dodgy,. But I wasn’t being a fool, they just didn’t give me a chance
