For a Fancy Meal
Brugarol
A tiny restaurant with just a handful of tables, combining Japanese techniques with ingredients sourced largely from the Brugarol estate in the Empordà.
The experience is much more intimate and elaborate than most places on this list, so I’d save this one for when you want to make dinner the main event. Booking ahead is essential. Read my review here.
Carrer de Salomó ben Adret, 10 (Gothic Quarter).
Koy Shunka
One of Barcelona’s best-known Japanese restaurants and a Michelin-starred option for a proper splurge.
The tasting menus combine Japanese technique with excellent Mediterranean ingredients, and the counter seats let you watch much of the preparation as it happens.
Carrer d’en Copons, 7 (Gothic Quarter).
Tapas, Wine & Something Casual
Espai Quera
One of the most unusual places on this list. Libreria Quera has been selling books about mountains, travel and expeditions on Carrer Petritxol for more than a century, and hidden behind the bookshop is Espai Quera.
You can sit down for wine and small plates surrounded by books, which makes it a very different stop from your typical Gothic Quarter tapas bar.
Carrer de Petritxol, 2 (Gothic Quarter).
Tiberi Kiosk
One of the newest additions to the neighborhood, located inside the Museu Frederic Marès right beside Barcelona Cathedral.
The focus is on local produce and casual food and drinks, and the courtyard setting makes it a particularly convenient stop if you’re sightseeing around the Cathedral.
Plaça de Sant Iu, 5 (Gothic Quarter).
Llibreria Sant Jordi
A historic bookshop on Carrer Ferran that almost disappeared, but thankfully reopened with its original character intact. The beautiful old shelving and other heritage details have been preserved, and at the back there’s now a small space for seasonal dishes, cheeses, charcuterie and Catalan wines.
It’s a lovely stop if you like places where food and culture overlap, and the fact that you can browse books first and then sit down for something to eat makes it feel very different from most places in the Gothic Quarter.
Carrer de Ferran, 41 (Gothic Quarter).
