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.

MADRID, SPAIN HanSo Cafe

On our last morning in Madrid, we went for a nice big breakfast before catching the bullet train to Barcelona.

Robert and Tiffany chose the HanSo Cafe, a seven-minute walk from our rental at the Gran View Apartments on Gran Via.

The coffee menu was huge. In the picture from left to right, it was Thanh's an oatmilk caramel macchiato, Phil's cortado with a cute heart, Robert's red velvet latte with an amazing flying horse, and Tiffany's pour over. The latte art on Robert's red velvet latte blew us away. This was the best latte art we had on this trip (or any other trip.)

The food menu was so appetizing. Tiffany and Robert shared a salmon and cream cheese bagel, and a yogurt & granola bowl. Thanh and Phil shared a chocolate croissant and a B.L.A.T. sandwich (bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato, basil, mayo.)

Everything was so delicious, it turned out that we savored our meal a bit too slowly. Half of us ended up missing the train to Barcelona by just a couple minutes (each couple had to take a separate Uber to the train station because of luggage and we did not account for the morning traffic.) Fortunately, there were hourly trains going from Madrid to Barcelona, so we caught up easily at the apartment rental in Barcelona.

HanSo Cafe

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. Everything was delicious. Breakfast food especially was amazing. The coffee drinks were good (if you like them sweet.)

SEVILLE, SPAIN El Pasaje Tapas Bar

After a self-guided walking tour of Seville, we wanted to grab an early dinner before catching the train back to Madrid.

Robert and Tiffany found a tapas bar right around the corner from the Catedral de Sevilla, El Pasaje Tapas. It was early enough that it was not crowded.

We were excited to order several small plates, ranging from burrata to a caprese salad, a tuna tartar, small grilled squid (obviously our favorite dish as we ordered this everywhere we went), a mushroom risotto, and three different desserts.

El Pasaje Tapas

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. We were surprised to find such amazing food at such a good price in a touristy part of Seville. It came out to be about 23 euros per person, what an incredible deal. We enjoyed this very much and would definitely be back if we are in Seville.

SEVILLE, SPAIN Delatribu Specialty Coffee

Coffee break was at Delatribu Specialty Coffee, a carry-out shop. It was hot, so Robert and Tiffany got some cold brew, while Phil stuck with a cortado.

Delatribu Specialty Coffee

RECOMMENDATIONS: Good.

SEVILLE, SPAIN Mercado de Triana

We arrived to Seville by train from Cordoba. It was a short train ride, and from the train station, we took an Uber to the Plaza de Espana.

It was a short 30-minute scenic walk from the Plaza de Espana to the Mercado de Triana, along the river.

The European food halls were always a highlight on our food journey, and this market place did not disappoint.

We snacked on fresh strawberries and blueberries from the fruit stall, and grabbed a table at the Jose Luis Romero Jamoneria stall.

We decided on a light lunch, with an order of fresh raw oysters, and a tasting of three Jose Luis Romero selection. Our server explained the selections from increasing cost: Joselito Gran Reserva, 50% Iberian 50% Vietnamese origin; Jamon Bellota D.O., 100% Iberian; Jamon Bellota Sierra Mayor, acorn-fed 100% Iberian purebred pig shoulders.

Jose Luis Romero Jamoneria stall at the Mercado de Triana

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. The oysters were delicious, but the ham was amazing. We started with the 50-50 Iberian-Vietnamese ham, and loved the soft and delicate flavor of the ham that almost melts in your mouth. The next two selections of the Bellota had a stronger after-taste that grew on us, and a more firm texture than the first selection. As we went back and forth between the three selections, it took us a little while to finally decide that the most expensive cut was the best tasting. We all agreed that had we not have tasted them side-by-side, we would have been very happy with any of the selections.

CORDOBA, SPAIN El Estribo

We had breakfast on our last morning in Cordoba at El Estribo, conveniently located by the train station. 

Sam recommended the Tostada Del Estribo (toast with chopped tomato and chopped Iberian ham and olive oil), and warned to share one order per couple.

RECOMMENDATIONS: A solid recommendation from Sam. A nice simple breakfast before the train ride back to Madrid. It was very cheap, and the convenience of being near the train station is also great.

CORDOBA, SPAIN El Churrasco

Dinner in Cordoba was at a steakhouse, El Churrasco.

We shared a couple steaks, with sides as potatoes, salad, and grilled mushrooms. 

El Churrasco steakhouse

RECOMMENDATIONS: Not a memorable meal. Pretty average.

CORDOBA, SPAIN Casa Rubio Bar

For our second lunch, we stopped at Casa Rubio Bar, driven by hunger and intrigued by the Michelin sign on their door. After checking out their menu, we decided to grab an outdoor table for five.

Sam had some specific Cordoba dishes in mind, and she was very excited about the cold cream soup of tomato from the Cordoba area.

We ordered several tapas to share, including croquettes, oxtail stew, rolls of pork loin.

Casa Rubio Bar

RECOMMENDATIONS: Everything was good, not exceptional. The oxtail stew was surprisingly good. Some of us enjoyed the pork loin rolls more than others. The cold soups were good, and so was the fresh tomato tuna salad.

CORDOBA, SPAIN Arabiga Specialty Coffee

The after-lunch coffee break was at Arabiga Specialty Coffee. Next door to Arabiga was a Pasteis de Nata shop called Arte+Nata. 

That sounded like a lovely combination. Both these shops were carry-out only, so we got our cappuccino and pasta de nata to go.

Arabiga Coffee and Arte+Nata Pasteis de Nata

RECOMMENDATIONS: The coffee was solid. The interaction with the shop owner at Arte+Nata was a bit awkward, with the shop owner lecturing Thanh when she tried to take a picture of him grabbing a pasta de nata that she ordered. Overall, an average experience.

CORDOBA, SPAIN Mercado Victoria

We were very lucky to catch the tail end of the Cordoba Patio Festival of 2025. The festival runs in parallel with a competition of Courtyards and Crosses, where the owners decorate their houses with many flowers planted in beds and pots. During the festival, the homeowners open up their patios to visitors, and the winners of the prestigious awards for various categories had the longest lines.

We took the 9:35am train from Madrid, arriving in Cordoba at 11:22am. We immediately walked to the Mercado Victoria for a lunch break.

The Ibericos stand with products from the Pedroches Valley by BEHER stood out to us. We first ordered an Iberian ham baguette. It was so good that we followed up with a plate of Iberian ham for snacking.

Iberian ham is sourced from pigs that are 100% acorn-fed, farmed in Los Pedroches and raised in Cordoba. The curing process is done exclusively in Guijuelo, Salamanca, for over 100 years.

Mercado Victoria: Ibericos stand

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. The Iberian ham baguette was the best baguette we had on this trip: the baguette perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. We picked the best quality Iberian cut and what a heavenly combination it was.

MADRID, SPAIN Valor Chocolatier

We left room for some churros finally, because this was on our bucket list of things for Rob and Tiff to try in Madrid.

On our last visit to Madrid, we went to the famous Chocolatier San Ginés, but we remembered not being so impressed with the chocolate dip.

This time, we did a little bit of research, and decided to check out Valor Chocolatier. We were drawn to the fact that Valor offered a wide range from white chocolate to milk chocolate to 70% dark chocolate, even chocolate with hazelnut, to go with their churros.

Phil and Thanh went for the 70% dark chocolate while Rob and Tiff went for the traditional chocolate drink, served thick and hot. The churros came out piping hot and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The combination was heavenly!

Valor churros and chocolate

RECOMMENDATIONS: We highly recommend Valor for the best churros in Madrid, over the overly-hyped San Ginés. The best part was that they closed very late, so there are plenty of time to go for an after-dinner dessert.

MADRID, SPAIN Takos Al Pastor

 Sam asked if we were willing to wait in line for good food, and of course we were! We were not that hungry yet, so we lined up at the end of a long line at Takos Al Pastor. 

By the time we got to the front of the line, our appetite had kicked up, and we were ready for some amazing tacos.

Sam treated us all to dinner, which made the food even better! The spicy green sauce was a great accompaniment to the tacos we picked.

Takos Al Pastor

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. Great tasting and cheap is a win-win combination. The line moves pretty fast, and the food comes out fast. Really good salsa to go with the tacos. Sam gets our approval on this recommendation.

MADRID, SPAIN Dabov Specialty Coffee

 Afternoon coffee break was at Dabov Specialty Coffee. 

Dabov Specialty Coffee

RECOMMENDATIONS: Solid, but not the best in Spain, and not the top three of our Spain/France trip.

MADRID, SPAIN Sukaldea Atotxa

 Lunch was tapas at Sukaldea Atotxa, located very close to the Parque de El Retiro.

We ordered six small plates to share. Our favorites were the grilled small squids and the broken eggs with Iberian. Our least favorite was the eggplants in tempura. Everything else was solid.

Sukaldea tapas

RECOMMENDATIONS: This was an excellent restaurant close to the park, making it both convenient and good. We love good tapas in Spain, and this fits the bill.

MADRID, SPAIN Wolføx Madrid Specialty Coffee Roasters

Brunch was at Wolføx Specialty Coffee this morning. Robert and Tiffany got some cold coffee drinks to cool down, while Phil and Thanh stuck to cappucino.

We also ordered chocolate croissant, a slice of carrot cake, and an Iberian ham toast.

Sam met us there to start our walk.

Wolfox Specialty Coffee

RECOMMENDATION: A charming little café, good coffee and good food. Cannot go wrong.

MADRID, SPAIN Sobrino de Botín

 Sobrino de Botín was known as the oldest restaurant in the world, with claims of being opened since 1725. 

Its signature dish was the roast suckling pig, and having had such amazing suckling pig in Portugal on the last trip, Phil and Thanh wanted Robert and Tiffany to sample suckling pig on this trip too. Sam was available to join us, so we made reservations a few months ahead of time for the five of us.

Restaurant Sobrino de Botin serving roast suckling pig

All five of us ordered the suckling pig, as we knew what we were here for. We were all very impressed with the suckling pig; the meat was well marinaded and tender, and the skin so crispy.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Although the price was on the high side (more expensive than what we paid for in Portugal), we found the suckling pig to be of high quality, very tender, low fat, and the skin crispy as can be. The sides were roasted potatoes, whereas in Portugal, the sides served were fries and salad. Thanh preferred the fries and salad sides over roasted potatoes, but overall, we would highly recommend to come here for the roast suckling pigs, and make reservations ahead of time, as the restaurant is very popular.

To be fair, we found Portugal to be much cheaper than the main European cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, so it was not surprising that the suckling pig in Portugal was cheaper too.

MADRID, SPAIN Arabay Specialty Coffee

We began our coffee journey of the trip, guided by Robert and Tiffany, with Arabay Specialty Coffee.

Only four months ago, Robert got us interested in making espresso drinks at home. We completely geeked out under his guidance, learning to extract that elusive perfect espresso shot, and practicing foaming milk and making latte art.

Now, we followed Robert and Tiffany to sample the best espresso that Spain and France had to offer.

Our first stop was Arabay, a cute little coffee roaster shop in Madrid.

Arabay Coffee

Phil ordered a cortado, Thanh tried a cafe bombon (too sweet, even for Thanh!), while Robert and Tiffany had filtered coffee.

We also found a Manteigara shop, selling Pasta de Natas, so we bought some to go with our coffee, for old time's sake. These pasta de natas were not as good as the same branded ones we had in Portugal.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Above average for most of us. Thanh ordered the wrong thing and did not like it.

MADRID, SPAIN La Sirena Verde

We landed early this morning and met Robert and Tiffany at the Gran Via apartment, where they have settled in since the night before. 

After we unpacked, we touched base with Sam to have her meet us for lunch. 

Robert picked a couple places for lunch: La Charca Taberna (an Asturian restaurant), and La Sirena Verde (a seafood restaurant.) We first walked to La Charca Taberna, but learned lunch didn't start for another hour (at 1pm.) 

We decided to walk around the Plaza de Espana for an hour, then headed to La Sirena Verde, located nearby.

La Sirena Verde, seafood restaurant

Our first meal in Madrid was decent, not the best. Overall, the dishes were a bit salty. The lamb chops were not as tender as we would have liked. We were happy to sample our first paella of the trip. This dish was the best of the four dishes we ordered.

RECOMMENDATIONS: There is no need to seek this restaurant out.