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The line-up at this traditional, boisterous tapas bar includes top-notch cured hams and sausages, truita de patates (potato omelette), fresh mariscs (shellfish) and an array of daily tapas specials, depending on what’s at the market. See Restaurants & Tapas Bars.

By day, the eye-catching tragaluz (skylight) showers light over the playful interior (designed by Barcelona’s favourite designer, Javier Mariscal); by night, you can dine under the stars. The menu tempts with Mediterranean cuisine, such as pasta with asparagus and fresh lobster. (Restaurants & Tapas Bars).

This palatial restaurant, perched high above the city on Tibidabo, dishes up the best in Castilian cuisine. Sizeable starters include pica pica , a tasty array of sausages, peppers and hams. The signature main dish is lechazo (young lamb) roasted in a wood-fired oven. See Restaurants & Tapas Bars.

A classy, water-front gem with an inviting outdoor terrace, Agua serves prime Mediterranean cuisine and fresh seafood, including a particularly excellent carpaccio de rapè (monkfish). Restaurants & Tapas Bars.

This cosy spot, with its wood-beamed ceilings, is the second oldest restaurant in Spain (dating from 1796). Photos of famous folks who have had their fill of the hearty Catalan cuisine line the walls. Try the goose with apples or the duck with prunes.

A funky, flower-filled oasis in El Raval, this juice-bar-café-restaurant is the place for organic, multi-cultural cuisine. Start your day with muesli or muffins and a fresh papaya or pear juice. The lunch and dinner menu might include Japanese tofu, Peruvian ceviche (raw seafood marinated in lemon) or a Cuban chicken and mango chutney dish. See Good-Value Eats.

The legendary haunt of Picasso and his cronies, this late 19th-century bar-restaurant once hosted many a pastis-fuelled night among the city’s bohemian crowd. Hearty Catalan and Mediterranean fare is enjoyed amid replicas of works by the artists who found inspiration here.

This comfortable, family-run restaurant serves some of the finest Catalan cuisine in the city. Fresh seafood is the highlight, with innovative platters of bacallà (salt cod), llenguado (sole) and gambes (prawns). See Good Value Eats.

A cheap, no-nonsense tapas bar in the uptown area of Sarrià. Every tapas-lover knows that the city’s best patates braves and patates amb alioli are found here. Ask for the doble mixta to sample both. See Restaurants & Tapas Bars

Settle in to a leatherette seat at this groovy 1960s retro diner and gorge on hefty truites (omelettes) with all manner of fillings, from chicken and bechamel to fried bread, cheese and tomato. For dessert, the adventurous dig into an array of sweet truites , including a fluffy omelette stuffed with chunks of fried, sweetened apples and drizzled in sweet syrup. See Restaurants & Tapas Bars.