First Night in Barcelona

Our first dinner in Barcelona was at Tapaç 24, recommended as a go-to spot in our Ramos guide.   This is the tapas place run by chef Carles Abellan, who trained with Ferran Adria at El Bulli.  Abellan runs an even better known restaurant called Commerç 24, where he puts his molecular gastronomy training to work.   But getting a table there requires advance reservations, especially during high tourist season.  We tried, but they were booked.  Another to-do for our return trip.

Tapaç 24 is in the Eixample (eye-sham-plah) neighborhood in Barcelona, a few metro stops north of our apartment, or a 20 minute walk.  It was jammed when we arrived, but after a brief wait with a drink barside, we were able to get a table on the street.  We had our first serious rival for best tapas bar.   The tapas were a bit more inventive, like you might expect from the kitchen of an Adria-trained chef.  Had we been able to sit barside, or even inside, Tapaç 24 might have narrowly edged out Bodega Castañeda as best tapas bar.

patatas bravas

grilled squid

effect on tongue

On our way back to El Born we stopped by the cathedral, to see if we could figure out when masses were held on Sunday.  The cathedral is currently under renovation, so there are limited mass times.   We also strolled through the neighborhood a bit more, stopping by Tomo II, an artisenal gelateria and crepe shop, which, of course, we sampled.

crepe with gelato on top