Whenever you go on holiday, especially to a city that’s one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world, finding a good (and reasonably priced) restaurant can be an uphill struggle – not one your legs, belly or wallet needs after traipsing around all day!
If you’re off to Barcelona any time soon my next few posts will help, just a smidge! This city is definitely a foodie’s city. Where ever you turn there’s somewhere vying to impress you with their flavours, extensive menus or take on the traditional Spanish dish – The Paella. I’m by no means saying this is the best place to chow down on that shellfish and rice goodness, but it got the thumbs up from us.
The setting is really lovely, it’s got a great old-town feel and the staff speak several languages – although I can safely say when our waiter first spoke the Welsh accent that greeted us was not expected!! The service was great throughout, very friendly and chatted us through the menu and wine list. For the wine we opted for the Catalan Torres red, which was the best wine we’d had all holiday. For some reason the Spanish like to drink red wine cold (bleurgh) but happy to report the Grill Room do otherwise!
For starters we went for a couple of tapas dishes – calamari and chicken and chorizo croquettes. The calamari was the best we’d tasted in a long while, with a tempura batter and totally fresh taste. The kitchen is open in the restaurant and we could see our food being cooked – probably helped our mouths water that little bit more!!
We punted for the paella for main, wasn’t the best I’ve ever tasted and the rice was a little over done and probably a little lacking in the amount of meat. It was flavoursome but wouldn’t be winning any awards anytime soon.
We were stuffed from the amount of rice we’d been served so skipped pudding but did dabble in a coffee, which was very good and brewed freshly for us.
The price was reasonable, it’s in the El Barri Gotic area, Escudellers 8, 08002 Barcelona and is surrounded by shops and bars. Reminded me of Soho in London with it’s narrow cobbled streets and almost visible buzz!
If you want a relaxed meal, that won’t cost the earth, served by really nice staff and can’t face another glass of ice-cold red wine – The Grill Room’s your venue!
Check out their website here – http://www.grupandilana.com/es/restaurantes/grill-room
