Gran Foc

Fui a tomar algo un viernes noche y no estaba mal. No había mucha gente, así que no tuvimos problema para coger sitio. Me llamó la atención el techno que sonaba, a un volumen bajito, algo poco habitual en locales de este estilo. Pedimos unos combinados, algo caros, pero lo habitual es esta zona. Tienen terraza, aunque a partir de media noche cierran. Los chicos que nos atendieron muy majos.

Cool place to hang out and have a few drinks. I ordered a mojito and sadly, it looked a lot better than it tasted. Compared to the fantastic mojito I had hours earlier elsewhere, this mojito tasted like lemon dirt. I did enjoy the fact that the straws say «suck me» on them though. On the plus side, our party stayed until the place closed down and it was awesome that the staff offered everyone left a free shot at the bar.

Gayle and I have an busy and fun time during our recent 3-​day stay in Barcelona. However, Gayle found it all tiring and would have gladly shortened this leg of our trip in favour of an extra day in the Costa Brava and out in the Country, rather than in the Big City. I loved all seeing the Sites (of which there was no hope to see them all) and the intense energy. However, it was a bit too crowded at times, and it was already October.
Gayle’s most interesting comment was that it was too easy to speak English in Barcelona. In places like Laguardia, Potes, or Vielha, we enjoyed making do with broken Spanish, and locals who were pleased that we made the effort. It was also fun to «guess» what we were ordering on the menu. Here at Gran Foc, fluent English was spoken, including our Wait Staff (one being from Mexico City), folks from Atlantic Canada (at the next table), and a couple from Portland who stopped to chat as they were walking by.
At the same time, it was Saturday night and Gayle was tired walking around on what she called our «Death March». At the point that I sensed that Gayle was about to «Hit a Wall», Gran Foc came into view. It’s right across a busy street from the Palace Hotel, and as a bonus we admired a handsome Spanish Couple posing for their wedding pictures. We sat down on the Patio, which was perhaps a little too close to the street if it wasn’t for the plants blocking the view. A few minutes later, another couple at the Wedding reception came over and stood nearby for a smoke. I noticed that a lot more in Spain too.
Gayle and I had a nice relaxing time. She got here wine, I had a beer, and the large plate of appetizers hit the spot. So did our conversations and those with our fellow diners and restaurant staff. So I’m sure we most probably missed some amazing culinary experience at a hot Barcelona restaurant that night, as we were too busy (or lazy) to do the research. Yet there are times like this when the whole is worth more than the sum of the parts.

El Gran Foc es un restaurante coctelería del Eixample Dret. Con eso no te digo nada y te lo digo tó.
Apto para noches de jueves por ejemplo, en que siempre tienen música en directo y te puedes tomar tu vino o tu mojito en uno de sus sofales.
El problema como siempre es que a no ser que aproveches las repentinas ofertas de Mojito a 7,50 € (que tampoco veo barato), te acabas gastando lo más grande en un par de combinaos.
El Gran Foc también tiene restaurante, que trabaja especialmente la cocina de mercado sin más florituras.
Lo bueno de este local es que su terraza es bastante tranquila y el tema de la música en directo (generalmente jazz y soul) le da muchos puntos.
No está indicado para ir con el posible ligue, porque prácticamente no puedes hablar por la música (ya sea en directo como si la ponen enlatada) y claro, es más difícil llevarse al huerto al personal. ¡Parece mentira que no lo sepáis!