Ramblero de la Boqueria (Barcelona, Spain)

After a long stroll at the La Rambla Street and a visit at La Boqueria Market we decided to have a light snack (tapas) and some drinks just to slow down and rest our feet. We decided to have it in La Boqueria Market as there are many places inside this market to have a drink and sit. We first saw Ramblero but decided to push inwards to see what the market has to offer, there were several tapas style stalls but they were deep inside the market which makes me feel space constrained add to that the amount of people, it felt a little cramped, hence we decided to go back to Ramblero which is just at the entrance and it was al Fresco.

We never regretted that decision as we got attended by a friendly server who gave us tips and freebies, too sad I can’t remember his name. The place was full but luckily one family just had finished their meal, so we got a table in less than 10 minutes. Upon seating I ordered some Estrella Damm to quench my thirst. We then asked our server what is their must try tapas and we complied with his suggestion.

We started with some nice basket of Bread €1.50, no butter as this is used to mop the juices of whatever you will be ordering but we did not wait for that and started to snack on them.

Pescadito frito del “Port de la Selva” / Small Fried Fish (€11.00) came first, basically this is like the one we had in Oslo. Smelt deep fried, crispy outside and tender insides, served with lemon, it’s a simple and nice tapa. Though it may look like a whole fish, bones and head are very soft everything is edible.

Next was this Chipirones Fritos / Fried Baby Squids (€12.00), another fried food, this time it is baby squid. Tastes like calamari but crispier, perfect with that beer I had.

Then this amazing Gambas al ajilo / Garlic Prawns (€14.00), served with large prawns, mushrooms and tons of garlic. This was our favourite, it’s a flavour I am used to. This is where we dipped our second serving of bread which our server gave for free, it was tasty.

And finally, the Octopus with “all i oli” /Pop a la mousseline “d’all i oli” (€15.00), this was the most recommended tapa by our server, and I can understand why. It was very tasty, served nicely and the was a good variety of texture from the different components. Good flavours but for me the Gambas al ajilo was still better.

We sat there for a while to have a rest and grabbed another beer. We had a nice chat with the server, and he told us tips and how to avoid pick pockets which is rampant in Barcelona. He also told us to give the outskirts a visit as they are not touristy at the same time way much cheaper than Barcelona, he does live there so he suggested places to go. We also asked to tell us where to get the best Jamon and he personally introduced us to one of the shop owners who gave us a free tasting of every type of Jamon.

Then as we pay our bill the server said the last beer is on him, how good is that! Free tips, free bag of bread, free beer and a great conversation. We did give him a good tip as we really enjoyed the place, the food and his company.

Ramblero de la Boqueria
Address: Plaça Sant Josep, 16, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
Phone: +34 653 24 59 37