Barcelona

[Scuba Steve]

Good morning chaps,
Next weekend I am off to Barcelona for a few days. Do any of you seasoned travelers, Ex pats or locals have any recommendations for food, beer or shaving paraphernalia, not necessarily in that order.
Any recommendations / suggestions would be gratefully received.

 

[halvor]

Tapas: Booking in advance at Cal Pep will give you a table in an inner room rather than having to wait in line to be seated at the bar (which admittedly is part of the deal and the charm..) Used to be the best tapas place at least, though I haven't been there in three years. Our Queen had been there the night before I was there last, which should speak to the quality of the place.

Enjoy!

 

[Alancrab]

There is a shop GANIVETERIA ROCA just off Las Ramblas that has a selection of shaving stuff amongst their knives and cooking gear.

 

[ben139]

If you're off on a sightseeing break, I'd recommend booking the tourist stuff online in advance so you don't have to wait in queues for hours. For food, just eat somewhere away from all the tourist spots, it'll be far better quality/value

 

[Scuba Steve]

Thanks chaps and in particular @halvor @Alancrab and @ben139.
Had a great weekend. Barcelona was absolutely lovely, although extremely busy due to the La Mercé festival. I shall go one further, the place was rammed.
You cannot possibly do Barcelona in a weekend, having never been there before I got around most of the sights without spending a great deal of time at any one of them.
To my surprise I did however find some absolutely cracking beer haunts. If anyone is into real ale, craft beer and microbrewery pubs this place is a gem.
Below is list of the better establishments that I managed to visit.
This I think is the tip of the iceberg as there are many more that I did not get to due to locations and itinerary.
Garage Beer Co.
Address: Garage Beer Co, Carrer del Consell de Cent, 261, 08011
Brewdog
Address: Brewdog BCN, Carrer de Casanova, 69, 08011 Barcelona
Belchica
Address: Belchica Bar, Carrer de Villarroel, 60, 08011 Barcelona
Biercab
Address: Biercab, Carrer Muntaner, 55, 08011 Barcelona, Spain
Kælderkold
Address: Kælderkold, Carrer del Cardenal Casañas, 7, 08002 Barcelona
NaparBCN
Address: Carrer de la Diputació, 219, 08011 Barcelona

 

[halvor]

Happy to hear you had a good time! Imagine they had a few Danish brews at Kælderkold

 

[Scuba Steve]

I can’t really say that the bar has a Danish feel about it. Having not spent a great deal time in Danish bars (with the exception of a workshop visit to Esbjerg whilst at university a very long time ago). At that time my understanding was that the only drink served up at any bar in Denmark was Carlsburg!!!!!!!!!
On my visit there was also not a noticeable Danish contingent of beers on tap. It has 15 taps and bulging bottle fridges. It is centrally located just off Las Ramblas. It is essentially a long, narrow bar and attracts local beer aficionados, who come to seek out new beers and sample some of the best from across Europe and beyond.
Whilst I was enjoying a glass of Cyclops Epsilon IPA @ 5.7% and chatting to the barman I discovered that the owners of Kælderkold have opened a sister bar in Raval called Ølgod. It is a much bigger bar with 30 taps, has more space, as well as a larger menu selection. Maybe one to visit in the future.

 

[ben139]

Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself! Barcelona is a lovely city, with so much to see - I did 3 days there and there's definitely more to go back to. Bring on next summer