My Best of Barcelona

After six years in Barcelona, here's my list of the best places and things to do (Nerd Edition).

You don’t live somewhere without developing a taste and sense for the local businesses. So, after six years living in Barcelona, here are my top picks for places to eat and drink in Barcelona.

A quick aside, life in Barcelona got incredibly comfortable (and lazy) in the past years: I grew fond of Deliveroo, a high quality take out service, which shows you recommended places close to your location. You can order anything from Brunch favourites to margaritas. Another lifesaver was Ulabox. I had fresh groceries delivered to my door, even while living in a barrio (neighbourhood) with barely any supermarkets around. There’s Amazon Prime Now to get you pretty much anything delivered within the hour.

View from the German Embassy in Barcelona

Now, back to the main event. There are a few places which deserve to be listed here. If you’re around, check them out and let me know what you think. These are definitely my favourites of the city (random order, no numbers, as I can’t really pick the best of my best):

BarcelonaJS an unconcenvial “Best Of”-list item, but as a tech fellow, the best tech event of the city deserves to be on this list. In the past years, BarcelonaJS helped to attract lots of talent to the city to speak or attend the event and sometimes stay in the city for a longer period of time. Check out their website for regular events or ping them if you’re in town and want to meet fellow JavaScript enthusiasts.
El Diset, a wine and cocktail bar in the center of El Born with a great atmosphere, friendly staff and the best wines of Catalunya, with an ever-changing menu. Their tapas are fantastic, most of them are served on or with “glass bread”. You should definitely try the Guacamole with a good red.
Reebok Crossfit Barcelona is the best place to get and stay fit. I’ve been there 2–3 times per week to get an amazing workout and keep my body healthy.
BlackLab Brewery is a matter of taste. For some, it’s the best beer in the world, for others, not so much but there will always be one brew that you truely like. I cherish Blacklab for the opportunity to enjoy fresh air on their large terrace (there’s not many bars with terraces in the city centre), have a pint of good beer and enjoy a good chat with friends. Just don’t bring a backpack or anything that you’ll need to keep an eye on. Pro-tip: within the past years I tried the food numerous times, they haven’t gotten it right for some reason. Go to BRO (see below) before or after to get a good burger.
Paco Meralgo is an experimental tapas restaurant in Eixample. They offer delicious seafood and the best Steak Tartar and “dados de solomillo a la pimienta negra” (chunks of black pepper beef fillet) you can get in the city.
Old Fashioned. I was lucky enough to visit this bar just a few weeks after they opened back then. Within a year, they got featured in some major blogs and it got very crowded in there, as it’s a tiny bar near Passeig de Gracia / Diagonal. They have exceptional cocktails that come with sophisticated flair. It’s about 15 minutes from Paco Meralgo. These two make a pretty impressive Dinner and Drinks date.
BRO (Barceloneta) is a simple and delicious burger joint. Nothing fancy, just a good bun, meat, bacon and salad for a decent price. My favourite before or after craft beer in BlackLab.
El Magnifico was my favourite store to buy coffee beans. They have a wide range of flavours (and prices) and special coffee beans for Aeropress, Chemex and filter coffee machines. You can check out the tasting notes, or try a cup for yourself before you buy a bag.
Satan’s Coffee Corner in Gotic is a nice place to enjoy a great coffee and work (offline) or meet people. It is now quite famous with the tourists, but the coffee and doughnuts they offer are totally worth it. Also, they have scones!
Oktoberfest is a yearly event, nowadays held in La Fira Montjuïc. They serve different kinds of Paulaner from tap in decent sized glasses (1L). Every year there’s a huge queue in front of the venue, which you can skip by making a free(!) table reservation. If you have the reservation, walk directly to the entrance and have a good time, German style.