Polleria Fontana - Gràcia, Barcelona

Polleria Fontana situated in Grácia is a place that you are unlikely to find by chance. And even if you should stumble across it it does not look like anything special except for the fact that is packed around Catalan dinner time. Polleria Fontana serves tapas the old school way so expect a greasy but delicious experience if you like these goodies just like us. I'm not a huge fan of the classic croquetes but I have to admit that the ones they serve here are really crunchy and tasty.

Also the Bomba de Barcoleneta is something you should check out. It is best described as a ball of mashed potatoes with minced meat in the center that has been on a quick trip in the deep fryer.

Basically, if you are into the classic fried tapas dishes this place is excellent and warmly recommended. However, if you are concerned about your waistline find another place. DC! 

Kibuka - Gràcia, Barcelona

For the first few days in Barcelona most visitors go into a Tapes frenzy but eventually most reach a Tapes saturation point. Fortunately, Barcelona has excellent restaurants and cafes serving everything you can dream off from across the globe. There are many Asian restaurants throughout the city and an absolute favourite of ours is Kibuka. There are three Kibuka places including Fast Kibuka (Take away only), Kibuka Sushi Bar & Drinks, and Kibuka Sushi Bar and Restaurant. Undoubtedly, all three places are excellent but thus far we have only been to the latter. Judging by the number of non-Catalans present Kibuka Sushi Bar & Restaurant must have been mentioned in a guide book somewhere. And believe us when we say it's popular with the locals and foreigners alike. If you arrive around normal Catalan dinner time (10 pm) be prepared to stand in line for a considerable time. Consequently we always have dinner here early by Catalan standards (around 8 - 9 pm) at which time the place is already three quarters full. They have an extensive menu covering classic sushi and hot dishes as well as a long range of modern sushi and hot dish creations. We have been working our way through the menu and the quality of everything is excellent but obviously some of the more experimental stuff will not be to every one's taste. Around 4-5 dishes is what we usually have. The kitchen has a bad habit of preparing everything you order at once and serving starters, mains etc in one go. So make sure to order a little at a time to make things a bit more relaxing and enjoyable. A menu in English is available on request. The menu is moderately priced and will not wreck your budget. DC!
UPDATE! Recently we discovered that Kibuka has an amazing lunch deal on week days. For approx. 13 Euros/person we got a soup, sushi, noodles, dessert and a drink. More than enough! Fortunately they were happy to wrap the remains up for us to take home.

Samsara - Gràcia, Barcelona

For table reservation call: 93 285 36 88

There is no getting around that bohemian Gràcia is our favourite part of Barcelona.
Gràcia is a lively and noisy neighbourhood with narrow streets, cool little shops selling everything you can imagine and busy squares that you stumble upon when you least expect it. We have many places here that we love to visit including Kibuka that we described in an earlier post. Samsara is a restaurant that we have visited many times. The place is unique with its decor that reminds us of Northern Africa. Regular tables have been replaced with low sofa tables and instead of chairs the seats are cushions or stools. As so many other places Samsara is a tapes restaurant but what distinguishes Samsara is that they don't serve the normal stuff that you get everywhere else. Their dishes are best described as experimental tapes drawing inspiration from the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. It is a real gourmet experience and an unbelievably cheap restaurant considering how delicious everything they serve is. Samsara is a must visit place. It is always full and there is virtually always a queue of people outside hoping to get a table. In other words remember to book a table in advance or be prepared for a long wait. They normally have a fantastic menu deal for two that includes a bottle of wine or cava and more than enough food but you have to ask them for the menu deal as it isn't advertised. Try their hamburgesas with molten cheese inside and a fantastic tomato topping or the tuna tartar or really just about anything on the menu. Nothing has disappointed us thus far. The only drawback we can come up with is that they don't serve coffee. Very odd but fortunately there are many places close by that will serve you a cafe sol (espresso) or tallat (cortado). DC!