Following on from Eating in Spain – Barcelona – Part 2, this chapter focuses solely on La Boqueria or Mercat de la Boqueria. Barcelona’s busiest and biggest market.
It was mid-afternoon when we arrived so it was packed full with a crowd.
I found that it was difficult to stop and browse as there were so many people. One of the first stalls from the entrance from La Ramblas is this dried fruit and marzipan stall. I wanted to take a closer look at the beautifully crafted marzipan made to look like food, but with the flow of people coming in, I decided I would just have to come back another time.
I wanted to sample some of the cured meats available. This stall looked amazing.
Turns out, there is a lot of competition for cured meats as we passed stall after stall (often the same store name/brand) selling various meats.
I love that you can also get it fresh off the bone. Just pick one, and it will be hand-carved off the bone in front of you.
You can also buy the packaged stuff or cured meat in a cone.
It was hard to choose where to buy from but we settled on one of the bigger stalls Mas Gourmet. We shared a mixed cured meat and cheese cone for 5€.
Apart from all the cured meats and cheeses, there is a large seafood section with fresh fish, shellfish and all things under the sea delivered every morning. There are a few sandwich stalls selling all sorts of baked goods, and several spice shops.
I noticed this one stall with a gorgeous display of biscuits, chocolates and macarons.
Not only are there food stalls, but there are also eateries and bars within La Boqueria where you can sit, eat and drink like Bar Central.
It was time to find some lunch, but it was peak time at the markets so finding two stools together was going to be difficult. We basically had to wait and stalk some bars until people decided to leave. Luckily, we found two vacated stools at Bar Boqueria. I had no idea if the food was going to be any good, but I was happy to find out. We got to talking to the two tourists sitting next to us who had just come off a cruise ship that had docked, and I wondered how many on that cruise ship were at the markets that day.
I was thankful for an English menu at Bar Boqueria. It was bigger than anticipated and difficult to decide what to try.
I decided on the home made croquettes – one filled with Iberian acorn fed ham (2.80€), and one filled with squid and its ink (3€). I loved the golden crunchy exterior and they were both fat and full to the brim.
The Iberian pork tenderloin tacos (8€) came in a set of two. The pork was so succulent and juicy. I’m not exactly sure what was in the aioli but it was delicious. I really enjoyed this.
After asking our waitress for her recommendations and gauging whether I like seafood or not, she recommended a few dishes one of which was the Galician style octopus (18.20€). I decided to try this as I was curious as to what Galician octopus would taste like. The octopus had been delicately sliced, sitting on top of potato and topped with smoked paprika and olive oil. The octopus was so tender and fresh. A rather simple dish but it was lovely.
A video of a quick walk through La Boqueria below.
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On our last morning in Barcelona, we went back to La Boqueria to get breakfast and grab something for lunch on the train ride to our next stop Valencia. We got there when doors opened at 8.00am.
There was a big difference to the previous day as it was so much quieter with hardly any people. Many stall holders were still setting up their goods.
It was great to walk around and take our time without bumping into anyone, looking over someone’s shoulder or being rushed.
We headed to El Quim for breakfast after reading that they opened early and were a crowd favourite. Not surprisingly, it was already half full when we got there.
All sides of the bars are topped with glass cabinets filled with seafood and prepped food.
Mr FPJ was not hungry and just wanted to share something from whatever I was ordering. So I ordered three small dishes. I had read that the house specialty eggs with baby fried squid (19.75€) was a must-try dish, so that was ordered. As well as house made croquettes (4€ for four pieces). Can you tell that I love croquettes? I also ordered a serve of tomato bread as I figured it would be something to eat alongside the eggs. The squid had been pan fried with olive oil, garlic, chilli pepper, maldon salt and black pepper. It was tasty and seasoned well but very oily and expensive for what it was.
I also ordered a cappuccino as I hadn’t gotten the best sleep the night before.
We passed by La Torna and I couldn’t help but drool over the giant cinnamon scrolls, nutella stuffed scrolls and range of croissants. After doing a lap around the markets to see what else was open, we came back to La Torna to buy two of the ham and prosciutto stuffed paninis (they are huge!) and one cinnamon scroll to share.
All of the items we purchased for La Torna were delicious and made for a great lunch on the train.
Our next adventure commences in Valencia, Spain, for the 2019 La Tomatina!
La Boqueria or Mercado de La Boqueria
La Rambla, 91, 08001 Barcelona
http://www.boqueria.barcelona/home
Open Monday – Saturday 8.00am – 8.30pm
Closed Sunday
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