Restaurant Sotavent, Club Natació Badalona - Badalona

Club Natació Badalona

Paella is a delicious Spanish dish that many consider the national dish of Spain. However, in reality it is closer to being the "national dish" of Valencia from where it originates. Paella is a rice dish similar in many was to the Italian risotto. Paella is served in big frying pans and they come in many versions. The most commonly encountered paellas are made with various meats, seafood or even mixtures of seafood and meat. However, there are many different regional paella specialties that you will encounter when travelling in Catalunya and Spain. The trick with paella is to find a restaurant that is good at preparing it. Just imagine the consequences of bad sea food paella. You really don’t want to go there.

The waiter at Restaurant Sotavent serving our paella.

There are several places in and around Barcelona that will serve a decent paella. However, for the ultimate big city paella experience we have a secret favourite spot that we are going to reveal. In a previous post we were comparing the beach in Barcelona to the beach in Badalona. Well now you have another good reason to go on a trip to the beach in Badalona: Restaurant Sotavent located in Club Natació Badalona. This is a fantastic spot with an amazing view and very good paella at a reasonable price. The restaurant is placed right on the beach just around the corner from the train station so it’s easy to find.

Enter Club Natació Badalona from the land side and go to the first floor where the restaurant is situated. We normally come here for lunch and on a sunny day it is highly recommended to get a table outside so you can enjoy the amazing view of the beach and Barcelona down the coast. They make a fantastic paella marinera (seafood paella) that is highly recommended.

Paella marinera. Bon profit!

Remember to keep an eye out for their menu deals. On certain days of the week a three course menu with a bottle of wine is available for about 13 Euros per person. Also this is one of the best spots we know of to have chipirones (fried baby squid) which is a fantastic snack or starter in combination with a salad. If rice isn't your thing you could consider having a so called fideuà which basically is the noodle equivalent of paella. Bon Profit. DC!

Pa amb tomàquet

Pa amb tomàquet (literally translated as “Bread with Tomato”) represents one of the most traditional and simple Catalan recipes. The best way to prepare it, it is to get some nice bread (not the black Danish stuff ;) and toast it a bit. Then, you should rub some garlic and tomato on top. Finally, it’s seasoned with olive oil and salt.

Pa amb tomàquet can be eaten alone but usually it’s served with some sort of sausage (“embotits” in Catalan) like fuet and xoriço or ham, cheese or anything that fits your taste. This is basically how Catalans prepare a sandwich. Our favorite combo is ham with brie…mmmmhhhh !!!!!!. This dish can be “cooked” for breakfast, lunch or dinner or anytime you feel like a snack ;) DC!