CK Travels

A ‘Picoteo’ tapas bar crawl in Barcelona

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I recently spent 3 days in Barcelona on a solo trip. I am a massive tapas fan and I wanted to try as many local dishes as possible during my stay. However dining out at night in restaurants by yourself isn’t so much fun, so I decided to join a group tapas bar crawl tour.

I came across ‘Food Lover Tour’ whilst doing some online research and loved the sound of the ‘Picoteo’ food tour. The food crawl lasts 3 hours and takes you to 5 different local spots ranging from historical bars to small hidden bodegas. The tour takes place in three of Barcelona’s traditional city neighbourhoods: Poble Sec, Raval and Sant Antoni.

The origins of the word ‘Picoteo’ mean eating small bites from several shared plates. During the duration of the food crawl we got to sample around 12 different tapas dishes, including a different type of drink in each stop.

The group size was nice and small – 11 of us altogether, including one lovely American family who I spent a lot of time chatting to. Carla, the tour leader was fabulous, vibrant and brought a lot of energy to the group. There is a little bit of walking between some of the stops, but Carla made it more interesting by talking to us about some of the local businesses and the history.

The Spanish eat very late, usually around 11pm! Our 3 hour tour started at 6pm so the restaurants were very quiet during those hours, but it meant that they were not too noisy and we were not all squeezing to fit in (some are quite small).

This tour was the perfect way to spend an evening during my short visit to Barcelona, and I left happy and with a belly full of delicious food. The 3 hours completely flew by as I was having so much fun.

Here is my YouTube video of the night and a breakdown of the restaurants and tapas consumed.

Stop 1 – Pepa Tomate

Our first stop we tasted:

  • Fried green tomatoes and camembert with a tomato jam
  • Spinach Fritters with a honey aioli
  • Ensaladilla rusa (Russian salad)
  • Accompanied by Penedès DO organic wine or Estrella Damm beer.
A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour
A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour

Stop 2 – Els Sortidors del Parlament

Our second stop we sat around wine barrels and tasted: Mussels, Manchego cheese with anchovies and a vegetarian appetiser, accompanied by a glass of craft vermouth produced in Reus.

A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour
A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour
A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour

If you are vegetarian then check out this guide to places to eat Vegetarian Tapas and Pintxo in Barcelona


Stop 3 – Anardi

Our third stop was this amazing Pintxos restaurant. We were each handed a plate and got told to choose two pintxos each. It was really hard to choose as they all looked incredible but I opted for deep fried brie with truffle oil (I REALLY enjoyed this one!), and Anchovy with peppers and balsamic vinegar (which was nice but I wish I had chosen the spanish omelette!). This was accompanied by a glass of Basque cider.

A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour
A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour

Stop 4 – El Sortidor de la Filomena Pagès

Our forth stop was a very old local bar that was founded in 1908 and has beautiful stained glass windows. We sat at a long table and tried:

  • Spicy Patatas Bravas with ‘romesco’ and ‘allioli’ (really good!)
  • Stuffed aubergine with meat, honey and crunchy parmesan
  • Carpaccio of duck with anchovies from Escala and endive
  • A glass of Pla del Bages DO red wine.
A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour
A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour

Stop 5 – Cal Marino

Our final stop was for some Spanish desserts and cakes in a small cute bodega (which used to be a factory making fizzy drinks). We tried:
– Cheese ice cream (I did not enjoy this one!)
– Apple pie
– Chestnut ice cream
– Chocolate molten cake
Accompanied by Alicante DO muscatel dessert wine in a porron. It’s pretty tricky to drink from one of these!

A 'Picoteo' tapas bar crawl in Barcelona | Food Lover Tour

Disclosure: This tour was complimentary but as always, opinions are all my own.

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