Fri 9 Nov 2007
EATING INSIDE –OR BY– THE BOQUERÍA MARKET
Posted by Patricia O'Riunda under City zones , Not so expensive , Raval , Recommended , Restaurants , food , shoppingNo Comments
Most visitors in Barcelona do probably go into the Boquería market, at the Ramblas, to enjoy the beautifully laid stalls: fruit, vegetables and all kinds of eatable products however rare. But maybe not so many do stay at the market to have a bite. You should. The Boquería market -in and around- is a great place for lunch in Barcelona. First thing, you have the guarantee that products are fresh, and second, there are very good cooks around. The eating stalls, were always there, but for many years, only the market workers and some night-life crowd went there. Now they’re full. The local style is to get there and ask (or read on the board): “What is it today?” Each day a number of dishes are cooked, depending on the season and the market’s supply. The kitchen is there, at view, across the bar, all in a reduced space. Miraculously, the barmen manage not to bump into each other at rush hour. If you go at Spanish lunch time (14.30 – 15.00), you’ll probably have to wait, just tell the barman and he’ll set your turn. The star dishes are grills: fish, meats, vegetables…
We’ll try now to explain the location of some of the eating stalls in and around the market: our directions take a viewpoint as if we were entering the Boquería from the Ramblas entrance, taking the central aisle as the axis. Just before entering into the market, on the right, there is the historic Pinocho—probably the oldest, the most publicized and even literary of all— its owner, nicknamed Pinocho (guess why) has become, after 40 years there, a living icon of the market. If you turn left once you are in, and go right to the end of the side aisles (where the columns are) you’ll get to the Universal, one of our favorites, served by friendly barmen and with an excellent quality, always full though. Right next to it there are some charming restaurants with tables under the 1866 porticoes. They serve mostly fish grills. The Petit is small, and it serves delicious fish, shellfish and tapas. The Cochinillo Loco also has big mixed platters.
Back to the central aisle, let’s now go to the very bottom end of the market: right on the plaza de la Garduña, is the restaurant Garduña, a classic with tables outside, which offers lunchtime menus and Catalan cuisine. Still at the bottom end, inside the market, there are two more eating stalls with excellent food: bar Central, right in the middle, and bar Boquería, a little to the right with a bar all round it. Everything fresh and grilled in front of the customer.
THE TAKEAWAYS
Other interesting aspect of the Boquería are the takeaways: Most of them are also at the bottom end of the market –near plaza de la Garduña—and they are a very good option to eat cheap and tasty: The Masitta is a small Korean food stall: They have excellent chapché and other specialties -Chinese and Japanese too- all cooked with care and good taste and they also sell Asian cooking products. The pizzas sold by Mario and Bruno at Eslice –behind the fish area, to the right—are renown: A thin crusty pastry made fresh everyday, and the fresh market products for toppings ensure the reputation; the good looks of Bruno and friendliness of Mario, –as Bruno himself said– make the rest”. At the very bottom, on the right is the Organic: organic vegetarian takeaway, with a wide variety of ready meals: burritos, lasagnas, filled egg plant, rice, rolls, juices…. All very tempting and reasonably priced. If you feel like having some fruit, you can buy a fruit box at the stalls at the entrance, or a fruit juice at the Rincón Latino, on the very right, almost on the plaza Sant Galdric, where they also have Peruvian specialties, like ceviche.
RIGHT BY THE MARKET
Back to the bars and restaurants chapter….In the little secluded square of Sant Galdric, on the right side of the Boquería, where some peasants put up their stalls to sell their vegetables in the morning, there are a couple of nice bars. The friendly Papitu, with some tables on the square is a perfect place for a Spanish “aperitivo”: a great choice of tasty tapas –from Argentinean empanadas to marinated anchovies– and a wine or a beer. Next to it there is French restaurant with a lunch time menu and French products on sale.
The plaza de la Garduña is actually an ugly parking lot, but in some way this ugliness preserves both the tranquility of the place and the shabby glamorous charm of the Raval. In this area there are some restaurants wich are utterly Raval: A wide attractive terrace with tables is shared by the Ra and the Rita Rouge. Both with a lunchtime menu. The Ra has made a name with its international cuisine with an exotic touch and always options for veggies. Go inside to see the kitsch mural with a Hindu goddess. Round the corner is another historic of the district: the small Iposa, friendly and with some tables on the Dr. Fleming square, they have a convenient lunch time formula: one dish to choose, plus drink and coffee. A varied and refined cuisine, honors their French and Argentinean owners.
