Dear Culinary Backstreets,
We are traveling with a group of friends to Barcelona. A few of us are vegetarians, and we all love good food. I know Barcelona is a meat – and particularly pork – lover’s paradise, but can you recommend any vegetarian-friendly restaurants? Is it possible to enjoy tapas and Spanish cuisine without meat or fish?
While it’s true that in Barcelona you’re never more than a stone’s throw from some good jamón or butifarra, the city’s Mediterranean diet is quite rich in vegetable options. In fact, it’s not very hard to find vegetarian dishes in most restaurants and bars. You do need to confirm first with the waiter that your green salad or lentil soup don’t include any little bits of tuna, ham or chorizo, but even in the darkest, funkiest bar in the middle of nowhere, there’s going to be at the very least tortilla de patatas or patatas bravas, and if you’re lucky, maybe they’ll be homemade and quite good.
In Barcelona, of course, the offerings are breathtakingly diverse and often quite sophisticated. At tapas bars like Can Ros, Bodega Manolo, Taverna Can Roca or Quimet & Quimet, you could order fried pimientos de Padrón (small green peppers), grilled artichokes, escalivada (smoky roasted red peppers and eggplant in olive oil), white and green asparagus, all kinds of olives, potatoes with a spicy sauce (the aforementioned bravas and also the Canarian dish papas arrugadas con Mojo picón), mushrooms, almonds, etc. Traditional dishes include all kinds of omelets, gazpacho, fresh salads, grilled vegetables, calçots with romesco sauce, spinach with nuts, vegetable cocas (similar to pizza) and lentil stews and other vegetables soups (such as those made from pumpkin, asparagus or mushroom) – the list goes on.
If you’re looking for places that specialize solely in vegetarian cooking, you’ll find many of them in Ciutat Vella. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites around the city.
The charming Teresa Carles opened in 2011 and specializes in traditional Catalan cuisine with some international specialties. The cooking is so good that we often forget that there’s anything missing. We recommend the sopa de galets, coca de recapte, arroz negro and mar y montaña.
The pioneering L’Hortet offers a cozy, family-friendly environment. There’s a salad buffet, and the cooking skews homey Mediterranean. Their menú del día will set you back a mere €10.
The small, alternative Sésamo serves creative, mostly Spanish- and Italian-style vegetarian tapas in Raval, with organic wines and cocktails to accompany them. Stars of the menu include watermelon gazpacho, gnocchi with hazelnut sauce and truffles and mushroom croquettes. The restaurant offers a tasting menu for €25.
Cat Bar is pint-sized but lots of fun, combining vegetarian and vegan food with great craft beers. It’s best known for its succulent veggie burgers and potatoes.
A vegetarian cooperative with a Mediterranean and Argentine bent, La Báscula is thoughtfully appointed in recycled furniture and uses compostable cups, dishes and forks. The selection of salads, sandwiches – also available on piadina flatbread – crêpes, cakes and smoothies make this an excellent stop for a snack.
The leaders of the Slow Food movement’s Barcelona chapter opened Rasoterra in 2013. They grow many of the ingredients they use at the bistro, and the three menus they offer include dishes for vegans and celiacs. The kitchen turns out classic tapas such as patatas bravas, marinated olives and cheese with honey, as well as many appealing Catalan dishes like artichokes with white wine and almonds and trinxat of cabbage and potato with goat cheese.
Published on January 28, 2014
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