The 15 BEST SPANISH Foods and Dishes To Try in Barcelona in 2023

Heading to Barcelona, Spain and not sure what to eat? Local chef and culinary expert Joshua Weitzer lists the most irresistible must-try foods for any visitor. So, when you’re getting ready to order in Barcelona, don’t forget to give these foods a try.

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Pro Tip: Bookmark this post so you can easily pull it up when your order tapas in Barcelona. Also, check out our guide to Barcelona for more planning resources, our top Barcelona tours you’ll love, and the top things to see in Barcelona.

Foods You Must Try in Barcelona

From irresistable crema Catalana to local favorite pà amb tomàquet and mouthwatering seafood paella, the Barcelona food scene is as rich and interesting as the local culture. You won’t want to miss out on these top foods you have to try in Barcelona from a local chef and culinary expert.

If it’s a culinary journey you want, definitely check out our Barcelona local food tour. You’ll get to taste all the authentic flavors of this eclectic Spanish city and enjoy a guided walking tour through the Poble Sec and Sant Antoni neighborhoods. It’s a must for foodies looking for a fun introduction to the city and cuisine of Barcelona.

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15. Escalivada

Escalivada is a typical Catalonian dish locals often agree on while ordering tapas. You’ll find carefully roasted peppers, eggplant, and onions finely sliced and placed on a large plate. It comes with plenty of fresh olive oil and, in some cases, a touch of fresh garlic for kick.

Vegetarians especially will love this dish because it combines rich and smoky flavors that come from roasting the ingredients over coal. However, all the peels are carefully removed so that you don’t have to eat bits of charred vegetable skins. Only the delicious bits remain!

14. Spanish Style Oxtail (Cua de Bou)

Stewed oxtail is one of my favorite dishes to try when visiting tapas bars in local markets. It’s slow cooked with a lovely mix of sofrito sauce and aromatic herbs, which bring savory flavors. Cua de bou is a hearty meal that will satisfy any meat lovers’ desire for rich flavors and perfectly cooked oxtail.

It’s also important to have fresh bread on hand to scoop up the irresistible sauce accompanying your oxtail. This dish is often available even in the morning as some locals like to enjoy it as a mid-morning snack!

13. Crema Catalana

While crema Catalana is a dessert with its origins in Catalonia, you’ll find it on the menu throughout Spain. This creamy custard dessert is one of the best desserts I can think of from Spanish Cuisine.

Prepared much like crème brûlée from France, crema Catalana is topped with a crispy layer of caramelized sugar that adds a nice texture to the lemon and cinnamon flavored custard that’s much lighter than its French cousin.

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12. Fideua

Cooked in the same style and pan as the paella, fideua is best described as paella made with pasta instead of rice. While the ingredients used to make fideua can vary from restaurant to restaurant the final results are always satisfying.

The pasta used to make this dish is thin short-cut pasta, which is first toasted in the pan to create depth of flavor. Next, it’s cooked together with seafood to create a piping hot and crispy pasta experience. Most places finish their fideua in the oven. For foods in Barcelona, definitely try this dish.

11. Esquiexada

Salt cod was once one of the staples of the Spanish diet. Today, it’s cooked in a variety of delightful ways—in fact, they often don’t cook it at all!

The typical Catalonian desalinated salt cod salad esquixada is made with a mix of peppers, tomatoes, onions, and olives finished off with a healthy dose of extra virgin olive oil to create a lovely salad that is both refreshing and hearty at the same time.

10. Calçots

Calçots (specially grown long white onions) are a seasonal crop harvested only from the late fall to early spring. For this reason, you cannot get them year round. This typical Catalonian dish is one of the most enjoyable culinary experiences because you’re allowed to get messy when you eat them!

Grilled directly over open flames, the outsides of the onions are charred almost completely black. To eat them, you must pull this crusty layer of carbonized onion off to get to the smokey soft tasty onion beneath and smother it in a lovely special romesco-like sauce.

9. Grilled Cuttlefish

One of the tapas that Mediterranean locals simply love is grilled cuttlefish or sepia in Spanish. It is finished off with garlic, parsley, and, of course, a chilled glass of white wine on the side.

Grilled cuttlefish is more flavorful and meaty than its cousin the squid. It’s also one of the classic tapas that can be found in almost any seafood tapas bar and one of the must-try foods in Barcelona.

8. Fried Chipirones (very small squid)

In the US, fried squid or calamari are normally small lightly breaded rings that are fried and crispy. It’s obviously delicious, depending on where you go. Here in Spain, however, the love affair with fried squid goes to the next level. There are multiple variations and ways to prepare them.

For me, the best of them all is chipiriones fritos. They’re extremely small squid, about the size of popcorn, lightly floured and fried to a satisfying crunchiness. When traveling to Spain, many people try chipirones and simply cannot get enough of them before they go home.

If you love crispy fried foods, then this may end up being one of your all-time favorites in Barcelona. Not to be missed, though, are the large battered and fried rings of squid called calamares a la Romana.

7. Tortilla de patatas

Possibly the most popular dish in all of Spain is this go-to meal named tortilla española. You can get this simple yet delicious dish at any time of the day or night.

You combine slowly cooked potato and onion in olive oil. It is then whipped together with eggs and turned into a sort of omelet. Found in almost every restaurant, you can order the classic tortilla with or without onion.

Sometimes, restaurants will have a variety of tortillas made up and the ingredients can vary considerably. Some of the classics, though, include chorizo, zucchini, spinach, and cheese. When in Barcelona (or Spain in general), this is one of the foods you simply have to try if you want to eat like a local.

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6. Jamón Iberico

Spanish cured Iberian ham is well known around the world and for good reason. In my humble opinion, it is one of the tastiest things you can eat on the entire planet. So, when it comes to foods to try in Barcelona, don’t leave without enjoying jamón Iberico.

There are many grades of Spanish cured ham, which can be confusing—even for locals. A general rule of thumb is that the more expensive it is the better the quality.

I recommend heading to one of the local markets like the famous Boqueria to try jamon. Also, try to buy it directly from jamon and cheese stands. If you’d be more comfortable enjoying it a nice restaurant or tapas bar, then don’t forget to order a plate of the famous Catalan bread with tomato to go along with it!

5. Croquetas

The French are believed to have invented the croquette, but “invention” is only the first step. Spaniards would argue that they made croquettes an art form! One of the most beloved of all tapas is the simply delicious croqueta, largely because of how cheap and delicious they are.

They’re made by breading and frying a variety of ingredients held together by a thick béchamel sauce, which becomes a rich and irresistible base of flavor. By far, the most popular one is the croqeta de jamón, which has the mouthwatering flavor of cured Iberian ham.

Don’t stop there, though! You’ll find the variety of croquetas offered from place to place is one of the best parts of stopping by a tapas bar. The creativity they put into these crispy little pieces of heaven earns it a top spot on the list of foods to try in Barcelona.

4. Bombas

Many Spaniards will dispute the origin of bombas. Some say they’re originally from Barcelona, while others say they come from various other cities. Regardless, you cannot deny that the tradition and art of making bombas here is second to none.

You won’t find them on every tapas bar menu as the process of making them is more complicated. When you do find them though, you’re in for a treat!

This dish involves stuffing perfectly smooth mashed potatoes with things like spiced ground meat or even cooked spiced octopus. They are then breaded with breadcrumbs and fried to a golden brown crispiness. Finally, they’re usually smothered in a tangy sauce, similar to that of the patatas bravas.

3. Patatas Bravas

While patatas bravas are a favorite around the entire country, Barcelona is a great place to tuck into some perfectly fried potatoes lovingly covered with a special spicy bravas sauce.

For many bars, this is a signature dish because the style of this sauce can really vary from place to place. There are two main styles you’ll come across: one is the more common mayonnaise-based sauce packed with lovely spices and the other is the tomato-based sauce that usually has a lovely vinegar tanginess, which goes very well with fried potatoes.

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2. Pà Amb Tomàquet (Catalonian style bread with tomato)

The humble origins of pà amb tomàquet are a simple expression of the thrifty nature of the Catalan people who say, “why waste old bread when you can revive it with a bit of heat and tasty tomatoes?”

This delightfully tasty tradition consists of rubbing a local variety of tomato, the “hanging tomato,” onto toasted bread. Next, you add some top-notch local extra virgin olive oil and a touch of salt. For those who like a bit more punch, you can sometimes get it with a touch of fresh garlic.

Pà amb tomàquet makes for a heavenly starter or accompaniment to any dish. Most restaurants will offer you the chance to order it and I recommend that you take them up on the offer.

There are also places that bring the oil, tomatoes, and a few pieces of garlic to the table, so you can make your own with perfectly toasted bread made to order. While not everyone adds the garlic to the bread, I think it adds a nice touch to this iconic Catalonian dish.

1. Seafood Paella

As a well-known destination for foodies, Barcelona offers up some of the best paellas you can find in Spain. While Valencia is definitely the capital of Spanish paella, Barcelona is no slouch in the rice department.

In Barcelona, the dish is prepared with the special bomba rice, which makes it a great place to enjoy paella! The dish is a combination of shellfish and seafood cooked together with a tomato sauce base. Sofrito sauce, fish stock, and rice is combined to make one of the great dishes of Spanish cuisine.

If you’re not a fan of seafood, don’t despair. Most restaurants specialize in meat and vegetable paella as well, so you’ll get the opportunity to try this iconic Spanish dish no matter your preference.

Go on a Barcelona Local Food Tour

If you’ve come to Barcelona for food and culture, then booking a food tour is a given. Even better? Booking a food tour led by a sommelier who has a deep connection and love for Barcelona’s food scene. You’re sure to enjoy the local pintxos, patatas bravas, paella, and delicious cava Spanish sparkling wine.  

But that’s not all. Follow your guide to a bodega to sample wine, meat, and cheese, before indulging on a Catalonian dessert. Hungry yet? We’re ready to show you Barcelona’s amazing food scene! 

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