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{Spain} Best Tapas at Pinotxo Bar in La Boqueria, Barcelona

Tender honeycombed pieces of tripe stewed in fragrant spiced broth. For those who don’t eat tripe, you can get a similar stew with veal that rivals the tripe in tenderness. It’s called Capipota (In Catalan, this literally means “head and leg”). It’s a stew that transforms various parts of veal’s foot and head into a rich plate of gelatinous goodness.

Capipota. A stew that transforms various parts of veal’s foot and head into a rich plate of gelatinous goodness.

Tripe Stew cooked in fragrant spiced broth. Dip the bread served with it into the stew to soak up its flavorful sauce!

We had our first taste of these dishes when we sat down at the 14-seat tapas stand called Pinotxo Bar (pronounced “pinnochio”) located in a market called Mercat de La Boqueria also known as El Mercat de Sant Josep in Barcelona. It is situated right off La Rambla street in the district of Ciutat Vella.

Merkat de La Boqueria, Barcelona. A must visit when you’re in town!

When seated, we uttered the one sentence of Spanish that we felt confident with… “Dos cafe con leche, por favor” (Two coffee with milk, please)! An affable and smiling Juanito Bayen (owner of the place) in his decked out pressed striped vest and dapper bow tie gives us the thumbs up and moments later, serves us two cups of cafe con leche.

With broken Spanish, we basically said something along the lines of “recommend house specialty, please” (“Recommendia especialidad de la casa, por favor“). Next thing we know, we were served the tripe and veal stew mentioned above and the following dishes…

Fried lamb – Crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. We can imagine eating a bucket of these, each!

This is an unforgettable dish – another of Pinotxo Bar’s specialty – Chipirónescon mongetes, a warm plate of baby squid and light beans, bathed in warm sauce of olive oil and drizzled with reduced balsamic vinegar.

We saw that most people who sat down next to us would order a plate of Pan con tomate (Bread with tomato), we pointed to the dish and said “Uno, por favor” (one, please). It was a perfect accompaniment to all the dishes we were served.

Another dish worth mentioning is their grilled fish. Simply grilled and sprinkled with olive oil and sea salt, it was amazingly delicious! Pinotxo gets their supply of pescado (fish) from the fresh shipment of fish in the market every morning.

 

Grilled Fish – mouthwateringly delicious. Another must eat if you’re stopping by Pinotxo Bar.

Pinotxo Bar – Get there early to get a seat or you’ll have to stand behind someone that you think is about to leave in order to get a seat.

Pinotxo Bar

We got to the market around 8:30am so were lucky enough to secure two free seats. Within a short time, the 14-seat bar was all filled and anyone who came after that  had to partake in the “hover-behind-diners-that-you-think-are-about-leave” strategy to get a seat.

La Boqueria is not just a simply a fish or jamon market. It houses all the phases of a food chain, encompassing fresh fish, poultry, raw produce and cured meats (such as the famous jamón serrano, among the best in the city) all the way to mouthwatering cooked dishes ready for you to eat at any of the tapas stands in the market.

We highly recommend Pinotxo Bar if you’re looking for delicious breakfast or lunch tapas in Barcelona.

Other tapas bars in the market that have been recommended to us are Bar Central La Boqueria and El Quim de La Boqueria. We’ll share details of our experience at Bar Central shortly in another post. We did not know about El Quim at the time, so we didn’t stop by. El Quim is on our list for the next time we are in Barcelona!

TAKEAWAYS:

  1. Pinotxo Bar’s address: La Boqueria 466 – 467, La Rambla 89, 08002 Barcelona, Espana. Phone: 933 171 731
  2. Bar Central La Boqueria‘s address: La Boqueria 494, La Rambla.
  3. El Quim de La Boqueria‘s address: La Boqueria 606, La Rambla.
  4. At Pinotxo Bar, at the very least, be sure to order their baby squid with beans dish (Chipirónescon mongetes), beef or tripe stew (Capipota), grilled fish, fried lamb and bread with tomato (Pan con tomate).
  5. The market, La Boqueria, is about 10 minutes walk from the famous Plaza Catalunya. It is located off of La Rambla (another famous tourist street) street.
  6. To accompany your breakfast, try cafe con Leche (coffee with milk), zumos de naranja (fresh squeeze orange juice) or cava (champagne).
  7. If you get there and there are no empty seats, don’t worry. You just need to hover behind diners until someone leaves.
  8. Get there early to avoid the line of people. We were there around 8am and was able to get free seats. The rest of the seats filled up fairly quickly soon after.
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Have you been to Pinotxo Bar? What other tapas places do you recommend? Do Share!

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Posted byJeremy & Shirlene
January 16, 2012
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46 Comments

  1. Michael Figueiredo
    Twitter:
    January 21, 2012 Reply

    These tapas all look delicious! Barcelona is my favorite city in the world!
    Michael Figueiredo recently posted..Dream Destinations for 2012My Profile

  2. jenjenk
    Twitter:
    January 21, 2012 Reply

    i loved pinotxo bar!! there was a bean & blood sausage tapas that i had…and still dream about!
    jenjenk recently posted..Photo Friday: Japanese Wedding Couple in Traditional DressMy Profile

  3. Jeremy January 20, 2012 Reply

    Thanks for this! We are going to Spain for our honeymoon in May and we are quite excited about the food. Can’t wait to go to La Boqueria.
    Jeremy recently posted..The Long-Term Traveler’s Guide is Almost Here!My Profile

  4. Mark Wiens January 18, 2012 Reply

    That looks fantastic, and I always like small places like this because it shows that they will take care to make their food the best! I could go for some tripe stew!
    Mark Wiens recently posted..Volunteering in Bangkok’s Underprivileged Yommarat CommunityMy Profile

  5. Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista
    Twitter:
    January 17, 2012 Reply

    I love tapas and can’t wait to enjoy them in Barcelona! This looks like an awesome place to enjoy a great evening.
    Debbie Beardsley recently posted..A Year at European TravelistaMy Profile

  6. Courtney Mroch
    Twitter:
    January 17, 2012 Reply

    AWESOME! I want to get to Barcelona SO bad!!! This just fires that desire even more. The food looks SO good!!!!!!
    Courtney Mroch recently posted..To Question is To Jaunt: What Draws Me to the ParanormalMy Profile

  7. Christy @ Technosyncratic
    Twitter:
    January 16, 2012 Reply

    When we visited Spain a few years ago we were both eating vegetarian, and tapas are not very vegetarian friendly! Sadly we didn’t get a chance to try many, but now that we’re eating meat I’d love to give it another shot. 🙂
    Christy recently posted..The Best Travel Destinations in Southeast Asia?My Profile

  8. Annie - FootTracker January 16, 2012 Reply

    Mmmm, I am not a lamb person, but the fried lamb looks tempting.
    Annie – FootTracker recently posted..Taiwan (9) Under The Tree @FangyuanMy Profile

  9. wandering educators
    Twitter:
    January 16, 2012 Reply

    what a fantastic place – haven’t been there, but definitely need to go! lovely photos!!
    wandering educators recently posted..It’s a Turkish Delight on a Moonlit NightMy Profile

  10. Marina K. Villatoro
    Twitter:
    January 16, 2012 Reply

    Yummmm… we have a great tapas restaurant here in Antigua, Guatemala. Really pricey for this part of the world, but just way too scrumptious to miss out on!!
    Marina K. Villatoro recently posted..I Love Caye Calker – Can I Live Here Forever?My Profile

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