Restaurant and Overnight in Barcelona June 2010

[jilly bean]

Hello friends,

2 couples are looking for some info on where to eat / stay for one Friday night in Barcelona, before we head north the next day to the Girona area.

We are Canadian, middle age (how hate to admit that) 45-55 and all of us like to get out & have a good time. Walk around, eat, drink and be merry. We would probably prefer something casual / neighbourhood / local feel vs fancy / big hotel. We'd like to be able to walk from our accommodation to the restaurant and perhaps check out some age appropriate nightlife after (no techno clubs, please). We all love live music.

I have done some preliminary research and there are so many options / areas to consider.

Question: Based on the rather geneal info above, if you were us and had one night in Barcelona, where would you stay / dine?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. General areas / dining options or specific restaurants and I'll work on finding accomodation close by.

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to respond! It will be truely appreciated.

[rrems]

The Hotel Banys Orientals in El Born (a fun, trendy, and convenient area) is a great place to stay, and also has a restaurant, Senyor Parellada, that is inexpensive and fun, with good food. There are also great tapas bars all around it.

[Parigi]

I second Banys Oriental, wonderful, inexpensive, excellently located.

[PBSF]

If I have only one evening in Barcelona, I would definitely spend it in El Born. Agree with the above posters that is the lively, easy going, centrally located area with a wonderful mixture of tourists, natives, young to the elderly . There is some trendiness to the neighborhood, therefore, many places serve Spanish/Catalan food with international influences. There are also some good traditional tapas/pinxtos places in the neighborhood. The drawback is that there aren't many good options for traditional Catalan sit down dining. The above mentioned Senyor Parellada has wonderful atmosphere, comfortable, lots of people watching, a large traditional menu and very moderate price but the food can be hit or miss. But all in all it is a nice way to spend an evening dinner without spending too much but make sure to reserve in the main street floor dining room as the upstair alcove is dark and bland. For better food and a little more expensive is Cuina Santa Caterina near the mercado of the same name. A very good yet moderate place for seafood is La Paradeta. It is more of a fun and rustic place rather than sit down service. Pick the seafood from the iced selection to be cooked fried, saute or a la plancha, some sauces, pay for your drinks and take a table. Food will be deliver when cooked. It is a good way to eat some excellent seafood without breaking the bank. Spanish dinner hours doesn't start until 9pm or later, therefore, I would stop off before to one or two places for a bit of tapas or pintxos: Sagrada will be packed in June with everyone outside munching on pinxtos and better still is the nearby Euskal Etxea. La Vinya del Senyor would be a great place to sit outdoor with a glass of wine (great wine list) and some simple tapas. If one is looking for something of a 'old Barceloona atmosphere', cross via Laietana into the lower Bari Gotic. On c/Merce and Ample: head for Bar Celta for octopus and other good seafood tapas or the many Asturia cider places for cider, charcuterie and cheeses. Before all that, I would definitely make a fast trip to the the Eixample to get at least a glimpse of the Modernista architecture on the Pg de Gracia.