Eat
In every city there should be at least one restaurant that you irrationally love, your feelings for it wholly disproportionate to its culinary merit. For most right-thinking folk, in El Born that place is Joanet. There are obviously better menus del dia in the neighbourhood (not least the excellent €16.50 offering round the corner at Puntal with its clever cook and great wine list), but the one at Joanet is El Born’s definitive Spanish experience: the food is defiantly, unapologetically average; the space is tunnel-like, devoid of natural light, the décor thrown together. But it’s packed every lunchtime and for good reason: you get three courses and a glass of wine for €14 and there is a comforting familiarity to it that can only be earned after decades of service.
For something a little more of the moment, head to Cal Pep just round the corner from Estació de França. Sit up at the bar so you get the best view of the impish chefs as they muck about making the food and playing practical jokes on customers. For all their performative clowning, though, they’re deadly serious when it comes to the food. You don’t really order as such, just give them a sense of what you like and they’ll dish up the goods: garlicky clams, deep-fried artichokes, ham-studded tortillas that ooze all over the shop.
In the evening, the thing to do in El Born is hop about, eating a little bit here and a little bit there. Start with the tuna in salsa de Catalana at the bar in the wonderfully close-quartered and exuberantly tiled El Xampanyet (and be sure to wash it down with a glass of El Xampanyet, its in-house barely sparkling but super-delicious cava). Once you’re done, head to elegant Bar Pimentel on Calle dels Carders for a portion of its lovely tortilla and a crisp glass of rose. From there, it’s barely a hop and skip round the corner to Bar del Pla on Calle de Montcada, where the gorgeous tapas and stonking list of natural wines means there’s justly always a queue.
Joanet, Pl. de Sant agustí Vell, 6 08003; joanet.es
Puntal, Plaça sant Cugat, 1, 08003; puntal.barcelona
Cal Pep, Plaça de les Olles, 8, 08003; calpep.com
El Xampanyet, Carrer Montcada 22; instagram.com/el_xampanyet
Bar Pimental, C/Carders 11, Barcelona, 08003; instagram.com/elbarpimentel
Bar del Pla,C/ de Montcada, 2, 08003; bardelpla.cat
Drink
Run by a wildly cool Franco-Catalan husband/wife team (thick frame glasses, exuberant outfits, all manner of je ne sais quoi), L’Anima del Vi is a beloved and deeply local place, perfect if you fancy cosplaying as an understated continental sophisticate. Perch on the end of any available table and order a couple of Benoît Valée’s delicate little dishes – the caper-heavy Russian salad is particularly good – while Núria Rodríguez Maymó points you towards the best bottles on the high shelves with her little laser pen. Couples play chess in the corner and the vibe is café-like and conversational.
For something a little jazzier, head to Bar Brutal. It’s a restaurant but one that feels like it’s teetering on the edge of a party, and there’s a bar where you can settle down and work your way through its seriously impressive list of natural wines. Try the signature house red and allow your eye to stray to the top shelf which heaves with gorgeous hard-to-find grappas.
L’Anima del Vi, Carrer dels Vigatans, 8, 08003; lanimadelvi.com
Bar Brutal, C/Princesa, 14, 08003; barbrutal.com
Stay
The rooms at the extremely well-priced adults-only Hotel Rec are pleasant and modern, but the real draw is the roof-top lounge with its work area, tiny plunge pool and lovely view across the neighbourhood rooftops. As well as cocktail-making masterclasses and beer tastings, they also do weekly tours of El Born. Just down the road and similarly blessed with a charming suntrap rooftop terrace and dainty pool, is the Yurbban Passage Hotel & Spa. Housed in an old industrial building, the black-framed windows give it a handsome seriousness but really it’s a decadent place with its shuffleboard in the lobby and elegant little spa in the basement.
Hotel Rec, Carrer Rec Comtal, 19, 08003; hotelrecbarcelona.com/en
Yurbban Passage Hotel & Spa, Trafalgar 26, 08010; yurbbanpassage.com
Do
In his book Homage to Barcelona, the novelist Colm Tóibín described the Palau de la Musica Catalana as ‘A dream building paid for by a mad king,’ and it’s worth a visit, simply for its façade alone. Designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, one of the major figures of Catalan modernism, it is a candy-coloured riot of a building. To get a full sense of it, book a ticket to a show (super-cheap by London/New York standards), ideally a full-blooded opera of the sort that have been central to day-to-day Catalan culture since the 19th century.
Palau de la Musica Catalana, Carrer del Palau de la Música, 4-6
08003; palaumusica.cat/ca
Shop
There’s an awful lot of tourist tat on offer in El Born, but there are also many diamonds in the rough. The narrow streets (lit prettily with fairy lights at night) just north-west of Santa Maria del Mar are full of nice upmarket boutiques, some of which only sell monochrome clothes. For the neighbourhood’s best bottle shop, go to Magatzem Escolà, round the back of the Centre de Cultura i Memòria, which has a huge range of very affordable local and international wines. It does masterclasses in English and Spanish, including a vermut workshop in the basement on Saturdays. And for the one truly unique El Born shopping experience, you have to check out Llegums Cuits, which, heroically, only sells pulses. Join the locals queuing out the door to buy freshly cooked chickpeas that come served in paper cones.
Magatzem Escolà, Carrer Comercial, 13, 08003; escoladist.com
Ctr. dels Ángels, 8 bajos, 17241, La Creueta; llegumscuitsisar.cat/es/
Secret El Born
To get there you need to make your way to Santa Maria del Mar, go round the corner, down an alley and up some stairs but it’s worth it for the best ceramics workshop in El Born. A two-hour session is €50 which gets you materials, all the tools you’ll need, and expert tuition. There are sessions every day, the studio is a lovely light-filled space, and the groups are always intimate. Whatever you make, they’ll glaze and kiln-fire for you to collect later.
Esparteria 6, entresuelo 1a, 08003; borntoclay.com
