Taberna Vasca Irati

The food is wonderful, the atmosphere's quite relaxed, and the wine is excellent. Last week I enjoyed Irati just as much as I did 6 years ago. I'll be back.

Though Catalunya is not known for tapas, this place is one of the best in Spain. It's standing room only, is very busy, and on my four trips there, I have only once seen another non-Spanish patron. When I visited last (in 2006), tapas were 1 euro each--a great deal.

The tapas here are fantastic. Stand at the bar and help yourself to freshly made tapas (mainly fish based). Service was great and a real find. Barcelona can have too many tourist-trap tapas places. This one is slightly off La Rambla and therefore avoids the masses. Well worth going to - and I also recommend the small restaurant at the back. The fish is fantastic as well as the mini desserts!

Taberna Irati is a trendy place close to La Rambla (30 metres) where you can eat very good Tapas. There aren't places to seat, so don't expect to rest! Each tapa comes on a slice of good bread and costs 1.60 euros. Beer is 2.10 but you also have some spanish wines to taste. Expect to pay 10 to 12 euros for 30 minutes of tasty pleasure. Don't miss it!

In a side street of "The Rambla" you can find this tapas heaven. All tapas are made with such care, which you can taste in every single one. Last year we discovered it through other fans and all year we thought about it, so much that we dicided to go again this year. Tip: watch out that you won't eat you fingers with your tapas ;-)

This is a lovely "pintxos" bar, very near La Ramblas. The word is Spanish, but the spelling is Basque, so it’s pronounced “pinchos”. The word is related to the English “pinch”. Pintxos are, rather than full dishes, just a pinch of this and a bit of that on a slice of bread to be had while drinking. We didn't eat in the restaurant at the back but stood at the bar and had tasty snacks on bread - savoury and sweet. All were delicious and very reasonable at 1.5 Euros each. The staff were delightful and even let my 76 year old Mum have a seat at the bar (everyone else had to stand!!). The bar tender warned us to be careful with our purses/bags so be warned!

You get great food for decent prices. Theer is a restaurant in the back but this is not what the bar is famous for. It is the "pinchos", little dishes which come on big plates and everybody picks them as he whishes, that make the bar the place to be. After you have eaten as much as you like, the little wooden sticks that stick inside each pincho are counted on your plate. Each is € 1,50. So you come out with a great lunch for less than € 10,- each. Go there and try it - we love it!