Koy Shunka in Barcelona is claimed to be one of the best Japanese restaurants outside of Japan.
I must admit expectations were high upon entering as pretty much every Chef in Spain talks about this restaurant, but without a shadow of a doubt it surpassed what I expected! With the kitchen being the center stage from the moment you walked in you could not help feel a part of the theatrics….All of the Chefs were laughing and interacting with all of the guests seated around the bar seating and the edges of the kitchen. More here
Photos of a stall selling the delicacies of bull’s penises and testicles (criadillas in Spanish, turmes in Catalan)at La Boqueria market. I’ve had the latter on several occasions. They are not unpleasant.
Barcelona is the only non-French city to receive the prestigious Gourmande award. The city is home to some 10,000 restaurants and nine Michelin stars. In this brief interview in The Guardian, Ferran Adrià recommends his favourite places to eat.
“There are a great deal of mediocre restaurants selling exceptionally mediocre food especially in the tourist belt around the Ramblas. Avoid it. But elsewhere in Barcelona is good because there are new places opening up all the time and there’s loads of enthusiasm there.” Read in The Guardian
I had an enjoyable dinner last night in Khan Kaffrun which specialises in authentic Syrian and Lebanese food with a hint of Greece thrown in. The restaurant is run by a very friendly Lebanese family, and is cheap, cheerful and very good quality, not an easy combination to find in Barcelona. Dishes include standard Arabic fare including humous, mutabal, labné, fatush (Lebanese salad), and cheese and meat arayes, and Greek mousaka. Highly recommended.
Price: 10-20 euros
Address:
Carrer del Torrent de Les Flors, 39, Gràcia. Metro Joanic
Good bread used to be hard to across in Barcelona but in recent years things have improved significantly with a plethora of artesan, eco and tradional bakeries opening up.
03. Barcelona-Reykjavic Doctor Dou, 12 i Astúries, 20. Telf.: 93 302 09 21
02. Baluard Baluard, 38-40. Telf.: 93 221 12 08
And the winner:
01 Turris Aribau, 158. Telf.: 93 217 96 06
Per als amants del bon pa, entrar a Turris és la perdició absoluta. Només posar-hi els peus, la vista salta d’un producte a l’altre sense acabar-se de decidir entre la vintena de pans que s’hi poden trobar i les glàndules salivals del panarra comencen a actuar de manera automàtica. I és que la qualitat guia en Xavier Barriga, fi ll de forners badalonins que va voltar món abans d’instal·lar-se a l’Eixample barceloní ara fa poc més d’un any. L’èxit del seu negoci ha estat absolutament aclaparador gràcies a uns pans fets amb tot l’amor on tots els elements apareixen en perfecta harmonia. Un dels productes més venuts de la casa és el Turris, un pa de crosta gruixuda i molla humida, fresca i un punt àcida que remet directament als pans “d’abans”, fins i tot si el record és molt llunyà o ja inexistent. Si compreu un pa Turris, us costarà 5,20 euros/kg.
La Miranda Del Museo is my favourite rooftop bar-restaurant in Barcelona. It is located between Barceloneta and the Gothic Quarter in the Palau de Mar, the only building which still survives from Barcelona’s Old Port. The first three floors of the building are taken up by the Museu de Historia de Catalunya. Take the lift up to the fourth floor. Superb views of Barcelona harbour, Montjuic and Tibidabo.
Mediterranean cusine specialised in seafood. A reasonably-priced lunch menu is available during the week. Cafeteria service is also offered during museum hours. A great place to admire the city with a coffee.
Details
Address: Plaza Pau Vila, 3
4th Floor, Attic
08039 Barcelona
There was something strange down there in the water. I was walking the GR 5 from Sant Celoni to Montseny village, and had just spotted a grape hyacinth. There’d been violets and speedwell along the way, but this was the first real spring bloom of the year. I went up to have a look at the [...]
One of many people's favourite piece of public art in Barcelona is The Cat by Fernando Botero. The cat has moved several times around the city, but seems finally to have decided to settle down here in the Raval del Raval. It was originally bought by the council in 1987. I love watching people interact with it. Children like to (try to) climb it. Old men like to slap it. There's another sculpture of a horse by Botero at the airport.
As far as im concerned the best Italian restaurant in Barcelona is Bella Napoli in Carrer Magarit, Poble Sec. The place attracts large numbers of Italian ex-pats served by occassionally infuriating Marx-brother-style waiters who delight in playing tricks on the punters. Superb pizzas and antipasta. Booking at the weekend is advisable.
Koy Shunka in Barcelona is claimed to be one of the best Japanese restaurants outside of Japan.
I must admit expectations were high upon entering as pretty much every Chef in Spain talks about this restaurant, but without a shadow of a doubt it surpassed what I expected! With the kitchen being the center stage from the moment you walked in you could not help feel a part of the theatrics....All of the Chefs were laughing and interacting with all of the guests seated around the bar seating and the edges of the kitchen. More here
Barcelona briefs
Barcelona's urban heat island March 11, 2010 Barcelona’s urban heat island effect causes markedly higher temperatures in the city than the surrounding rural areas. The difference is most pronounced at night during anticyclonic conditions in the winter with temperatures as much as 6.9ºC lower. There heat is channeled along corridors of flats, and there a mere 200 hectares of green areas in the city, though the city’s 100,000 street trees have a mitigating effect. The heat island is most noted in the Eixample. The Besós River functions as a corridor bringing in cold air to the coast. More details in Catala
Books in English set in Barcelona March 8, 2010 The Oh Barcelona site has a short but good round-up of the books in English set in Barcelona. Montalbán, Mendoza, Ruiz Zafon, Tóibín, Hughes, etc. More here
Where is Columbus pointing to? March 4, 2010
Not America that’s for sure. The Barcelonautes blog claims to have the answer: La Platja de Sa Calobra in Mallorca. After that it’s Algiers, the Sahara desert and the length of Africa.
Spanish flu in Barcelona February 15, 2010 Spanish flu killed 1554 people in Barcelona in the terrible outbreak between 1918 and 1919. 370 people died in a single day in the city on 21st 1918.
![[Colom.jpg]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mO07g9kbB7Q/S40rAjuBfKI/AAAAAAAAAL4/Vq5FvFMUssc/s1600/Colom.jpg)
Not America that’s for sure. The 
The Fundació Antoni Tàpies opened its doors this week after being closed for reforms for several years.