La Placa Reial
Barcelona, Spain
No reservations- get on line early!! It is worth the [possible] hour wait.
I stress here that I was here in late May 06, we sat at a long rectangular table, and I was sitting at one end. Basically, I don’t remember the names of my dishes, and I didn’t get any opinions from my dining companions at the other end of the table. I don’t even really know what they ate, but I have pictures of it. Also, I stress that I recall not enjoying my main dish that much, nor did my friend sitting directly to my right, but we both walked away happy with our meal and firmly of the mindset “We’d definitely come back.”
From my brief research on the internet of this restaurant, apparently it is French/Spanish/Catalon cuisine, run by students, which keeps the cost down significantly. As you will see, the plates are dished and present professionally, our service was pretty good, and our final bill came out to something like 20 Euros a person.
beef carpaccio; salmon tartare
the beef carpaccio wasn’t bad // the salmon was smooth and melted like butter in my mouth. I LOVED THIS DISH, though I didn’t like the hard bread that accompanied.
squid ink fideua with cuttlefish; a fish crepe, perhaps? (I wasn’t sitting near whomever ordered this dish)
the noodles/rice in this were a touch too hard // not sure
veal pastrami salad; veal kebabs
lamb shank; duck leg
not sure… more fideua?
seared salmon; seared tuna
she thought it was okay // my tuna was slightly overdone and dry, the tomato sauce didn’t really go well with everything else.
tiramisu; dessert catalon
was good but not the best i’ve ever had (remember, though, I’m a tiramisu fanatic) // this was really freaking good! like creme brulee but better, more stuff to it
actually, maybe this was the dessert catalon; bananas in a crepe with custard
both were really good as well.
Bear in mind, this meal consisted of 2 bottles of wine, like 6 bottles of agua (a few con gas, a few still), a bottle of champagne, 8 appetizers, 8 entrees, 4 desserts, and still came out to 20 Euros a person (maybe $30 American?).
Overall, I was satisfied and happy with our entire meal. Everyone was happy with the choice and most people thanked me for the suggestion (though it wasn’t me, it was my friend who’d gone last September and strongly recommended this place that made us choose this place).
Yvo says: This is the one place that stood out in Barcelona. We had quite a few delicious, decadent meals, but this one definitely stood out. For the price and the quality, you seriously cannot beat this place. The ambiance of sitting outside facing Placa Reial (which was disturbed a little by our waiter whispering to us to watch our bags- there was no railing setting us apart from the Placa, so presumably someone could run by and snatch our bags and keep running) as it grew dark was amazing; the placa had a fountain set in the center and pretty lights around the area cast a soft glow… it was simply amazing. So if you’re going to Barcelona, definitely 100% set aside one night to eat here. I cannot stress enough how much I think everyone who goes to Barcelona should try this place.
Mia says
This restaurant is a rather good option to try typical Catalonia food in a nice environment. I went there for lunch, and seated at the terrace they have in an alley at one side of the Placa Reial. They have room inside and upstairs too, but I found it nicer to seat outside, breath Barcelona air and watch the people go by… Most entrees were about 4 euros, and main dishes, about 6 euros.