SPAIN - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1487

Biocenter, a Catalan soup-and-salad restaurant popular with local vegetarians, takes its
cooking very seriously and feels a bit more like a real restaurant than most (€8-10 weekday
lunch specials include soup or salad and plate of the day, €15 dinner specials, otherwise
€7-9 salads and €11-13 main dishes, Mon-Sat 13:00-23:00, Sun 13:00-16:00, 2 blocks off
the Ramblas at Carrer del Pintor Fortuny 25, Metro: Liceu, tel. [phone]).
Juicy Jones is a tutti-frutti vegan/vegetarian eatery with colorful graffiti decor, a hip
veggie menu (served downstairs), groovy laid-back staff, and a stunning array of fresh-
squeezed juices served at the bar. Pop in for a quick €2.50 “juice of the day.” For lunch you
can get the Indian-inspired €6 thali plate, the €6.25 plate of the day, or an €8.50 meal in-
cluding one of the two plates plus soup or salad and dessert (daily 9:00-23:30, also tapas
and salads, Carrer del Cardenal Casanyes 7, Metro: Liceu, tel. [phone]). There's anoth-
er location on the other side of the Ramblas (Carrer Hospital 74).
In the Barri Gòtic
These eateries populate Barcelona's atmospheric Gothic Quarter, near the cathedral. Choose
between a sit-down meal at a restaurant or a string of tapas bars. For locations, see the map
on here .
Restaurants in the Barri Gòtic
(See “Barcelona's Old City Restaurants” map, here .)
Café de l'Academia is a delightful place on a pretty square tucked away in the heart of
the Barri Gòtic—but patronized mainly by the neighbors. They serve “honest cuisine” from
the market with Catalan roots. The candlelit, air-conditioned interior is rustic yet elegant,
with soft jazz, flowers, and modern art. And if you want to eat outdoors on a convivial,
mellow square...this is the place. Reservations can be smart (€10-13 first courses, €12-16
second courses, fixed-price lunch for €10 at the bar or €14 at a table, Mon-Fri 13:30-16:00
& 20:30-23:30, closed Sat-Sun, near the City Hall square, off Carrer de Jaume I up Carrer
de la Dagueria at Carrer dels Lledó 1, Metro: Jaume I, tel. [phone]).
Els Quatre Gats (“The Four Cats”) was once the haunt of the Modernista
greats—including a teenaged Picasso, who first publicly displayed his art here, and architect
Josep Puig i Cadafalch, who designed the building. Inspired by Paris' famous Le Chat Noir
café/cabaret, Els Quatre Gats celebrated all that was modern at the turn of the 20th century
(for more on the illustrious history of the place, see here in the “Barri Gòtic Walk”). You
can snack or drink at the bar, or go into the back for a sit-down meal. While touristy (less so
later), the food and service are good, and the prices aren't as high as you might guess (€17
three-course lunchspecial Mon-Fri13:00-16:00,€12-20plates,daily10:00-24:00,juststeps
offAvingudaPortal del'Angel atCarrer deMontsió3,Metro: Catalunya, tel. [phone]).