El Tablao de Carmen

Came here in 2002 and it was the highlight of my European vacation. Food, entertainment, and ambience was great. Will definitely come here again when I return to Barcelona.

We were told about this Flamenco show by a friend of ours from the US. When we asked the hotel front desk to make reservations, they assumed we were talking about a different Flamenco place. Upon searching their cupboards, they found a totally unused pad of booking passes to the Tablao de Carmen.
We were required to leave a 10% deposit with the hotel and pay the rest upon arrival. There is apparently a Magic Fountain in the vicinity, but as it turns out they do not operate it Mon-​Wed and we went on a Wednesday. We booked the late show which seats at 8:45 and the show starts at 9:15. From online reviews, we assumed the $ 49 tapas would be enough of a meal.
After having had a very tiny tapas dinner the night before, we were starting to regret our dinner choice for the Flamenco show, but as it turned out there was more than enough food and sangria! The two of us could not finish it. And the food was mostly quite good.
Maybe I just don’t like/​understand Flamenco dancing. It seemed repetitive and boring and they had so many people jammed onto such a small stage — it seemed like the dancers were constricted to spinning in place and stomping. I guess maybe that’s the art, but it didn’t entertain me much.
I enjoyed my meal and it was very cool that you get free entry to Poble Espanyol which was actually much cooler than I expected. If you’re going to the late show during the week, expect it to be a ghost town in the Poble Espanyol.
So overall the food was good, the venue was ok, the free entry to the park was good and the entertainment was just meh.

Reservations are easily made by calling ahead.
I came across this place on a travel website and decided to check it out while in Barcelona. The woman on the phone was very helpful and notified me that I could visit Poble Espanyol for free in the afternoon before attending the show. I did not get a chance to visit Poble, which is a touristy area filled with shops, restaurants, bars, and stores that sell speciality/​keepsake type items. I took a taxi, arriving around 9:15 for dinner, which began at 9:30 (you can get there as early as 8:45, and most patrons had arrived before I got there). I was presented with a menue with which to choose my second + third courses and dessert. Appetizers are standard for all dinner guests. The gazpacho shot was delicious, I did not eat the coconut milk appetizer shot. Dinner comes with a bottle of wine or a pitcher of sangria, I had the sangria which was decent. For my second course, I chose the lentil casserole, and I really enjoyed it’s rich flavor. Next up was the roasted chicken with rice, which was kinda «meh», and I had a postre for dessert. Coffee was served at dessert time, and it was strong and delicious as I’ve come to find common in Barcelona. The service was friendly and most of the staff spoke English as well as Catalan.
The flamenco dancing performances were pretty great. Several singers, a guitar player, and dancers make up the troupe. They are all talented in their own right and vibe well with each other to create a group who really knows how to put on a show. I am not much of a museum person, so I opted for this cultural experience, and I’m definitely glad that I checked it out. The cost for dinner + the show was 77 Euro; other options include dinner + show, and tapas + show; those are less expensive. If I had to do it again, I would’ve gone with the tapas instead of dinner, however, I was satisfied with the experience overall.

El Tablao de Carmen is located inside Poble Espanyol de Montjuïc (spanish architecture town museum). I came here to watch a flamenco show, ordered a tapas dinner and show combo. I was promptly seated and waited for the wine I ordered with the meal. I was expecting to be handed a glass. The waitress arrived and placed a big bottle of red wine on my table. Wow that was unexpected. I thought to myself, oh man I am gonna get drunk! Lol. Shortly after the tapas came. I had about 5 different kinds. The food was tasty but not amazing. The wine was excellent though. The show started and I was pretty close to the stage. I had an excellent view. The show itself was very entertaining. Flamenco in my mind expresses clearly what it is to be Spanish and that is Passion.

Une excellente adresse
Un restaurant traditionnel vous croyez? Et bien non, car c’est un cabaret de flamenco. C’est la première fois que je voyais du flamenco et j’ai été séduit. Le diner et spectacle vous couteront 50 euros, donc pas très cher.