BARCELONA, SPAIN Dalston Coffee

Today was our last day in Barcelona. We would catch a train in late afternoon from Barcelona to Perpignan, a small town just on the France side of the Spain-France border. Then from Perpignan, we would take the sleeper train from Perpignan to Paris Gare d'Austerlitz, arriving around 6am the next morning.

We went for a late morning coffee at Dalston Coffee. We had plans to eat at the Mercat de la Boqueria after coffee for an early lunch.

Dalston Coffee

RECOMMENDATIONS: Decent coffee, but did not stand out.

BARCELONA, SPAIN The Holy Cookie

After dinner, Robert proposed a couple options for dessert. One was pastries and one was cookies. We chose cookies.

We decided to walk to the Holy Cookie,  even though it was a 30-minute walk from our apartment rental, so we could walk off dinner.

The shop opened pretty late (until 10PM) and was located in a pretty quiet neighborhood. We were the only people there.

We intended to only buy a couple of cookies to share, but the girl convinced us to buy four cookies so they can fit into a box. We took an Uber home so we can share and dig into our cookies.

Once back at the apartment, we cut up the cookies nicely. Thanh and Tiffany could not finish their shares. The cookies were too sweet. We saved them for the next day's breakfast, but could not eat them the next morning either.

The Holy Cookie

RECOMMENDATIONS: Skip this. We still laugh at ourselves for walking 30 minutes to bad cookies.

BARCELONA, SPAIN La Gallega Tobogán

After spending the day at the Parc Güell, we were ready for a nice dinner. We chose La Gallega Tobogán at the Plaça Reial for its proximity to our apartment rental, and picked an outdoor table to people watch.

We were famished, and ordered several starter dishes and main entrées. We intended to save room for dessert afterwards, as Robert had a couple of dessert places in mind for us to choose from.

La Gallega Tobogán

RECOMMENDATIONS: Average. The food was good, but did not stand out. The proximity to where we stayed was the main reason we picked this.

BARCELONA, SPAIN Kafenion Specialty Coffee

After a lot of walking in the Parc Güell, we stopped for a coffee break at the Kafenion Specialty Coffee. 

The menu looked very interesting, and we ordered several coffees, hot and cold. The latte art was not very good.

Kafenion Specialty Coffee

RECOMMENDATIONS: Average. Drinks were pretty good, but did not stand out. Latte art was sub-par.

BARCELONA, SPAIN Güelly Sandwichpark

We took our time on this drizzling morning to go to Parc Güell, having not purchased entrance tickets ahead of time.

We had lunch at Güelly Sandwichpark, located near a side entrance of the park. The sandwiches were simple and cheap, perfect for a simple lunch at the park.

As we checked for tickets to the park, we noticed that they were timed tickets and the earliest available time to purchase for that day was 4pm. This did not feel like a good use of our time since it was only 1pm and we did not want to wait 3 hours outside the park. Luckily, we went to the park entrance to get more information, and learned that the park would let us in as long as we could show tickets for that day, no matter what time our tickets said.

We purchased our tickets and spent the afternoon exploring the park.

Güelly Sandwichpark

RECOMMENDATIONS: A good sandwich place if you want some simple lunch near Parc Güell. 

BARCELONA, SPAIN Be Chocolat

Still full from Teoric tasting menu at lunch, we decided to have ice cream for dinner at Be Chocolat, very close to our apartment rental. 

Robert and Tiffany shared one ice cream bar, while Phil and Thanh each got their own, as they could not agree on the same flavor. This was most unfortunate, as the ice cream was so rich and creamy that Thanh struggled to finish her ice cream bar and needed help.

Be Chocolat ice cream bars

RECOMMENDATIONS: Ice cream bars are very rich and creamy, so sharing one for two people would be what I recommend (lesson learned the hard way.) The shop also sells chocolate bars, and we bought some dark chocolate that is very smooth and excellent.

BARCELONA, SPAIN BLACKBIRD Coffee Corner

We stopped for a coffee break at BLACKBIRD Coffee Corner, very close to la Sagrada Familia.

Robert and Tiffany got a pour over, while Phil got a cortada.

BLACKBIRD Coffee Corner

RECOMMENDATIONS: Average, did not stand out.

BARCELONA, SPAIN Teoric Taverna Gastronomica

 Robert and Tiffany were excited they were able to make reservations at Teoric Taverna for lunch a couple days beforehand.

Their tasting menu comes in a "long" menu (around 65 euros) and a "short" menu (around 50 euros), with about 12 to 14 courses. The restaurant uses local and organic sourcing for their ingredients, are are known for the best tasting menu and excellent value in Barcelona.

We found the service to be attentive, and the food to be excellent. The dishes showcased the chef's creativity in the unexpected combination of ingredients into something delicious.

Teoric Taverna Tasting Menu

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. We rank Teoric as the #2 best tasting menu of the trip (after Kei, the three-Michelin star restaurant in Paris). We find it to be a great deal for the experience. You should go out of your way to book a reservation here.

BARCELONA, SPAIN Nomad Specialty Coffee

Nomad Specialty Coffee was conveniently located within walking distance of our Barcelona apartment rental, and had very high internet reviews. We were excited to try their coffee.

The shop was small, with about 5 to 6 counter seatings, and a couple of benches by the wall. However, we were able to find seatings both times we went, allowing us to slowly savor our coffee each time.

On the first visit, Tiffany ordered a pour-over with the Colombia Mango beans, and was very impressed with the subtle mango flavor. Robert and Phil ordered the Ethiopian espresso and really enjoyed it. Thanh ordered a cappuccino with beans from Peru, with a chocolate and hazelnut flavor. It was perfect, with a nutty and chocolatey hint and natural sweetness. 

Nomad Visit Day 1

On the second visit, Thanh stopped by a little bakery and bought a mini pain de raisin to go with her cappuccino. Sadly she did not document the name of the bakery, because the pain de raisin was of the perfect size and sweetness and freshness to pair with the perfect cappuccino.

Nomad Visit Day 2

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. Of the 3 1/2 days spent in Barcelona, we came to Nomad twice, that was how much we liked it. Robert and Tiffany bought a bag of the Colombia Mango beans to bring home for their pour-over, as they enjoyed the subtle mango so much at Nomad.

We rank Nomad the #2 best coffee of our entire Spain/France trip. A must go if you are a coffee lover.

BARCELONA, SPAIN Mercat de Santa Caterina

On our way to Nomad Coffee this morning, we walked by the Mercat de Santa Caterina. This market was built on the former site of the Convent of Santa Caterina. Part of the archaeological remains has been preserved and is visible from a public platform.

Archeological remains of the Convent of Santa Caterina

The roof of the market place was very beautiful, consisting of colorful hexagons that covered a warped surface formed by wood vaults that rested on steel beams.

Roof of the Mercat de Santa Caterina

As always, we enjoyed visiting market places in every city we went. We bought some fresh fruits to snack on. The strawberries were especially fresh and juicy as they were in season.

Mercat de Santa Caterina

RECOMMENDATIONS: Stop by if you are in the area. The market area was smaller than the Mercado de la Boqueria, but the archaeological remains of the old convent were very interesting to see.

BARCELONA, SPAIN Tapeo del Born

For our first dinner in Barcelona, Thanh made reservations at Tapeo del Born, a tapas restaurant we have been to on our previous visit three years ago. It was one of our favorite tapas restaurant, so we wanted to repeat the experience with Robert and Tiffany.

The restaurant was full, just as it was three years ago, and we were happy to have reservations. We sat back and let Robert and Tiffany get their picks from the menu. We ended up with a few of what we picked from three years ago, and new items that we happily tried. The only request Thanh had was that for dessert, each couple should order their own Crema Catalana, as the memory of it was so sweet Thanh wanted more than a quarter of it for herself.

Tapeo del Born

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended even three years later. Amazing tapas food, so much that Robert and Tiffany felt the pressure to find a tapas place to top this so that we do not leave Barcelona with a top pick that was a repeat. Stay tune for this.