Irati Taverna Basca

Nice pintxo bar near the Rambla. Each dish is only around € 2 and they count the toothpick to calculate the bill. Nice food but I wish there’s more hot food selection!

I like the restaurant, you can eat duper the food is special from Pais vasco, the service isn’t very good.

Tucked in around the corner from La Rambla — this little hole in the wall tapas joint called Irati Taverna Basca. When you peer in you see a bar that is stretched along one side of the wall that is stacked with different options of tapas and the other side is a walking/​standing area that is 2, maybe 3, deep.
We worked our way to the back of the bar and ordered a delicious glass of Malbec from the local La Rioja area. Once we had a few sips and scoped the place out, we started getting a general idea of how this worked.
All of the food was laid out on the bar with toothpicks in each piece of food and a slice of bread to hold it all together. At the end of the meal the number of toothpicks are counted and then added to your bill so it is all self-​service which is nice.
From the tapas we had I think we had: a crab mixture that looked like a snowball, goat cheese topped with spicy salami, a purple seafood creation that wasn’t bad, and unsure about the other places.
We each had 2 or 3 tapas and a glass of wine each and the total bill came out to around 20E which I thought was a good deal.
I was a little leery of this place being so close to La Rambla and if their food would suffer. I was happy to say it didn’t.
I would recommend anyone visiting Barcelona to check this place out due to its convenient location and the food was tasty.
For more information and pictures check out our site:

This easy-​to-​find restaurant serves great pintxos, but also is happy to seat guests for an excellent early (for Spain) dinner. The food, service and wine list cannot be beat, and the prices are reasonable. We went there twice the week we were in Barcelona, and once more two weeks later on our way to the airport. The waiters are very happy to explain each dish, and are understandably proud of them. Everything we tried was superb. If I lived in Barcelona I would eat at Irati every week, plus a night or two of pintxos there. Its that good.

Nice little place affordable and good. Worth a stop to try the tapas. So far my favorite tapas bar in the area.

Easily one of the best tapas places in the area, Irati Taverna Basca offers a wide variety of delicious tapas for only € 1.95 per toothpick.
Just looking inside Irati Taverna Basca is a five star experience — you’re greeted by a large bar completely covered with dozens of varieties of tapas. Ordering food is simple — walk inside, ask someone behind the counter for a plate (their English is excellent), and start loading up your plate. Each tapas is € 1.95 and is counted up when you’re done by counting the toothpicks. There’s no need to worry about the amount of food, as each tapas is its own small meal, and you’ll probably only eat somewhere between 5 – 7 to feel full. Also be sure to try some of the wine, which is the best cheap wine you’ll ever taste. It’s busy around lunch and dinner and the crowd is mostly tourists (this restaurant is featured in Rick Steves’ travel books), but don’t let it discourage you, as it’s worth the crowds.

Ir y comer al estilo local en un ambiente muy informal! Deliciosa comida, tanto las tapas frías como las calientes!

Fantastic tapas at a reasonable price. The staff was quite friendly and it feels like a true neighborhood spot.

The first place I ate at while in Barcelona. Wandered upon this place after checking into the hotel and taking a stroll down the Ramblas. A few wrong twist and turns, and low and behold there was Irati Taverna Basca. Just busy enough to be inviting but not too busy (at the time) for us to pass on it. The pinto tapas placed on the counter were beckoning us to try. All the diners there were happily munching on the pintxos.
The pintxos were all amazing. The most memorable on was the pintxo that was both sweet, creamy, and savory. Reasonably priced, when you’re done just let staff count up the tooth picks to tabulate your bill.

This tapas place is just off the busy Las Rambalas in a quiet street. The amount of lovely looking tapas lined the counters. We had a very good glass of house white wine at 4 euros with 5 tapas. We had the salmon with tuna tapa which was very fresh and the olives with anchovies has a right combination of saltiness. The cure ham on a mini baguette was only okay as you tasted more of the bread than the ham. The best one one was hands down a dessert-​like tapa with cream and magenta raspberry sauce on top. It tasted like a great ice cream! Every tapa was 1.95 euro and olive one was only 1 euro. They tallied up by the toothpicks. A great place for tasty and reasonable tapas amongst a tourist area!

The Quick: Love the pinxto (toothpick tapas) idea, but I did not love this restaurant.
The Details: The staff is helpful, and the wine is great, but I was not impressed by the options. I think this is a classic tale of a great restaurant that gets too popular. It was extremely touristy and crowded, and the food was just OK. We found a better «pinxto» spot nearby we preferred.
Pro Tip: They take credit cards and tax and tip is included in the bill (most of Barcelona).
The Damage: 1.95* per taste which is average for the area. The red wine was about 2.50* and extremely satisfying. *Prices in Euro

Is it fair to give a place a review five years after visiting? Maybe not, but when you’re STILL thinking about that restaurant five years later, it might be worth letting people know how much you loved it!
Grab a glass of rioja or a cerveza, grab a plate, and settle in to taste a wide array of unique, pretty, and delicious little pintxos. Maybe not the best option for picky eaters or those with allergies, as it can be hard to predict what, exactly, you’re biting into — but this is a great stop for people who are feeling adventurous and want to try as many different flavors as they can. I hope to visit Barcelona again someday to see La Sagrada Familia completed, and you can bet this place is at the top of my «must visit» list!

Wow! What a gem. Unique, exceptional tapas and wine. Casual atmosphere and friendly staff. We tried many different items — all were delicious. Summer wine was great. We’ll definitely go back and recommend to others.

Wow, this was the first place in Barcelona where I was blown away with the food. It is close to the Cathedral, so there are a lot of nice (lots toursity) shops around. This place is great.
So the way this works is you ask for a plate, and literally pile whatever you want on the plate. In the end, they count how many sticks you ate and you pay. I think it’s something like 1.80 Euro per stick, which is not bad considering you can get maybe 4 or 5 of these and be full. It may be because most of the tapas are on a slice of baguette, now that I think about it.
My sister was not a fan of the combinations of the food, so find yourself to be sensitive to certain foods, you may not enjoy it here. However, since I practically will try anything, I had all of their weird looking foods, as well as whatever my sister didn’t like. They had little sandwiches that were like sliders, seafood tapas, cheese tapas, and ham tapas. It was great. I was a fan.
While I did find this to be not a bad price for my dinner, it can definitely add up, especially if you have a huge stomach. But, it’s worth it.

He ido varias veces durante mi vida y es un sitio con unos pintxos vascos excelentes. Si te animas, pica un poco en el bolsillo, pero la calidad creo que lo vale. Excelente opción para picar algo por esa zona.

Excellent tapas bar in Barcelona, it’s getting quite refined and it offers a lot of interesting dishes. Located in the Barri Gothic.

Un lugar estupendo para tapear a base de buenos pinchos, como no acompañados de un buen txakolí. Además de la opción de tapear en barra, tienen un pequeño comedor para comer sentadito a quien le apetezca. El personal muy simpático, cosa q se agradece, sobre todo Dani, un chico extremeño super predispuesto y que hará q no te falte ni gloria. Y de precio muy, muy bien!!! Recomendable sin duda por calidad, servicio y precio

Very good spot in Barcelona which has an ocean of good eating places. Meat, Fish, and Chicken here taste like it does everywhere outside of the US, damn good and real.
Notable Tapas and food — Skirt Steak Dinner w/​Patatas Bravas, Atun Tapa, and Almondigas.

Como bien indica su nombre, Taberna Basca, llena de tapas muy buenas y ha buen precio, 1,90 € cada una. Muy buenas todas y con unas cuantas te quedas lleno. La única pega, que aunque es típico de estos bares de tapas estas de pie, y acabas un poco cansado, comiendo así, sera para que te coja mas comida. Jejeje.

This place is an absolute blast! What a great way to experience the local culture and get some delectable bites (pinxtos) of fabulous food! And wow, the selection is staggering! You stand at the counter and ask for a plate while you eye all the toothpick skewered delights in front of you and along the length of the bar. From sardines on bread to Iberian ham and more savory bites like pickles and olives, the choices will have your mouth watering.
Every few minutes they bring out more from the kitchen, typically hot bites including scallops and sausages and other amazing nibbles. Make sure you try to stand at the far end of the bar and you’ll be closest to the kitchen and more likely able to grab one before they’re gone. Remember to keep each toothpick on your plate. That’s how they calculate what you owe. Each bite is the same price. Caution! It’s easy to get carried away! Choose wisely!

I don’t believe love is too strong a word to express how I felt about this little stand-​up toothpick pintxos bar. I enjoyed the food so much I forgot I was standing the entire time, nearly an possible feat but it actually is true!
Each and every toothpick pintxos I tried was perfectly presented and delectable, most on a sliver of fresh bread which was incredibly easy to eat & share. Knowing each toothpick would be totaled at the end for 1,95 euro each felt like an amazing bargain considering the quality of what was in front of me.
We followed our friend’s recommendation and secured a spot toward the end of the bar closest the kitchen so we’d have early options on the hot presentations as they came out of the kitchen. The hot pintxos proved to be my personal favorites.
All were explained by the staff in perfect English both from our bartender on the cold presentations and the lady arriving from the kitchen with the hot ones. No guess work involved! Enjoyed with a glass of cava & a beer for my husband with multiple pintxos shared between us. Perfection!

Really enjoyed this place both times I went with two friends. I’d give it 3.5 stars if I could since it seems several of the tapas are heavy on the bread and cream cheese-​iness and the pricing doesn’t seem to make sense in terms of items being pretty much identically priced regardless of ingredient or complexity of preparation.
That being said, this is traditional tapas in that you go in and stand, they count your toothpicks (or tiny plastic spoon) and figure out your bill that way. So if you absolutely must eat sitting down and have your «personal space» don’t eat at the tapas bar here.
Along with the tapas dishes lining the bar area periodically there hot bites that come from the kitchen. If there’s room in the back of the place that’s where you want to be to get first dibs on them.
Service is pretty good overall, especially considering how busy it is and how service in Spanish restaurants is often verrrry relaxed. Several servers do understand and speak English, which was helpful to my friends not having to rely on me to translate everything in Castilian while eating in such a busy place.
It’s a great place if you want a good and quick meal and are on La Rambla.

Irati is an intimate Tapas restaurant that’s right off of Las Rambas where you can get a quick bite and a cool ambiance without all the negatives usually found in an area dominated by tourists.
We found out about the place after asking the concierge at our hotel for a nearby dinner recommendation. I had just flown into Barcelona that day to kick-​off a 30-​day trip in Europe, so needless to say I was excited to start the trip with some good food.
Well it’s a funny thing we ended up here, because we were really looking for a good «sit-​down» restaurant, and well… as the other reviews have stated… this is one of the few restaurants in the area where you actually CAN’T sit down — it’s a 100% stand up tapas-​style restaurant commonly found in Spain. Clearly I’m new here.
After we spent a few long minutes overcoming the language barrier (servers are great but speak minimal English), we decided to give it a try. What we learned is that it’s a unique system that goes like this:
1) Go up to the bar and ask for a plate.
2) Help yourself to the self-​serve tapas on top of the bar counter
3) Eat as much as you want, just be careful to leave your used toothpicks on your plate
3) Ask the server behind the bar for wine, beer, or water (most people seemed to be drinking wine, FWIW)
4) When you’re ready to leave, hand them back your plate, and they’ll count the number of sticks remaining on your plate and charge you around 2 euros per stick. (Note: 100% honor system)
As for the tapas themselves… they’re far from life-​changing. A lot of them are cold, and many of the plates are duplicates of each other, so you don’t actually have as many distinct choices at it may seem. Some of them are really good though, but just require you to be a little adventurous, as there’s not much indication about ingredients (unless you ask).
Also, for anyone trying to fill up before spending a long-​night out in Barcelona (I most certainly was), this won’t do the trick. Tapas are what they are — they’re tiny, and you’d need about ⁶⁄₇ of these bad boys to even feel remotely full. If you’re looking for a snack or a quick bite, I can definitely understand stopping in, but this is not a place where you’re going to get any type of solid dinner.
When I made a second trip to Barcelona a few weeks later on the trip, I didn’t come through here again, which tells you almost all you need to know. It’s definitely a solid place if you’re in the area and want something quick. But if you’re not, don’t waste your time coming over here.

Do not be a fool and settle for touristy spots around Las Ramblas. Make your way to the historic, cobblestone side streets bit too far away and you will be rewarded with some of the best pintxos in town.
So, if you’re a virgin when it comes to this delightful Catalan tradition, the bar is filled with different types of «pintxos» — or bite sized servings of everything from tortilla española or jamón iberico over a slice of delectable bread. Order a «caña» (beer on tap) or a glass of wine and help yourself to what’s already out on the bar, or exercise some patience and wait for the hot varieties that come out of the kitchen. Croquettes filled with shrimp and spicy sausage called chistorra were some of our favorites. Then at the end, the waitress will count the number of toothpicks you consumed as this would equal the number of pintxos you enjoyed. But beware as your eyes might be bigger than your stomach! After all, the idea is to have a few then move on to the next stop!

Taberna vasca de lo más típica, a menos de un suspiro del Gran Teatre del Liceu. (Tanto es así que conseguí tomarme 4 pinchos y un vino en un entreacto; con cruzar la Rambla ya estás.)
Para poder hacer una valoración más objetiva, creo que he de volver otra vez ya que ayer fui en condicines bastante especiales, con alguien que me pareció más que una clienta fija.
Eso sí, además de buenísimos y recién echos, los pinchos son geniales. Mini-​volován de masa brisa con cabello de ángel y crema de queso con nueces — no te digo ná y to lo digo tó. (Bueno, salvo que no sé precios, pero no ha de ser barato. Stay tuned for this.)
Además de una gran variedad de buenos vinos y DO’s, tiene txakoli y sagardo. Así que poco más se puede pedir para sentirse como en el Norte. Quizás algún camarero forzxzudo con mandil negro y mucha labia puesss.

Llevaba tiempo intentando recordar el nombre y la ubicación de esta taberna basca donde me traía a comer montaditos mi padre hace unos años… sobretodo porque recordaba un montadito de crema de atún, mayonesa y huevo rallado que me volvía loca y necesitaba volver a probar. Justo hoy paseaba por el centro cuando de pronto ¡ZAS! me he encontrado justo delante de su inconfundible entrada. Teníamos una reserva en otro sitio y la he anulado automáticamente, ya que sus incontables montaditos de encima de la barra me guiñaban el ojo y era imposible resistirse. El primero que he cogido ha sido el de atún que os comentaba, ¡qué rico! casi se me cae la lagrimilla de felicidad (mi acompañante alucinaba), luego he cogido otro de chistorra (muy bueno), y uno de mis preferidos también, el de beicon con queso y gamba rebozado ¡ufff tremendo! Tienen muchas más clases de montaditos y al final de la barra encuentras una pequeña sala que es para comer sentado, pero ahí solo puedes comer platos de la carta, nada de montaditos ni pinchos. Estaba entre ponerle tres o cuatro estrellas a este sitio, pero al final se queda con tres estrellas ya que hay algunos detalles que no me han gustado, como que las coca-​colas son las de botella de cristal pequeña (¡me he tenido que pedir tres!), el servicio es regular y es un pelín caro.

bar a tapas super sympa et pas mauvais. beaucoup de francais peut etre parceque il est sur le guide du routard.

fort sympathique
Une petite taverne avec des tapas à proffusion et très variés !!! La patronne est joviale et dynamique, les tapas très bons, les prix un peu chers… Mais c’est une bonne parenthèse au milieu de tous ces bars identiques qui servent les même tapas (sauf le Tapa Tapa, mon préféré.). En plus, le quartier est sympa et l’église attenante très jolie… et puis arrêtez vous en face, dans la chocolateries, ça vaut aussi le coup !!

Junto al Txakolin el mejor sitio para comer tapas y montaditos vascos en Barcelona.
La variedad es enorme y no paran de sacar pinchos calientes y sino siempre podemos pedirlos para que nos los hagan. El de chistorra es de los mejores.
Como pasa en todos estos sitios suele estar lleno en viernes y sabado, así que toca armarse de paciencia o ir temprano.
Por cierto, tienen también restaurante, aunque no lo he probado nunca, pero por la pinta las raciones tienen que ser abundantes.

Un look imparable
Un bar à tapas looké. Mais c’est horriblement cher, un plat pour 20 euros avec quasi rien dans l’assiette, c’est beau comme restaurant, c’est bon mais ça nourrit pas et c’est cher.

Vive les tapas
Ah les tavernes basques ! Même si elles né valent pas souvent celles que l’on rencontre à San Sébastien, celle là est une des rares de Barcelone à maintenir un niveau élevé de qualité, de convivialité et de bonne humeur. Le cidre coule à flot à même les tonneaux, les tapas sont renouvelés en permanence et très très variés et bon. Sinon la petite placette devant permet de prendre l’air avec son verre à la main. Bref un excellent endroit pour un début de soirée qui s’éternise généralement…

Très sympa !
Situé dans une petite rue très proche des Ramblas, cette taverne basque est souvent bondée mais une fois entré cela vaut la peine ! De très bonnes tapas, des prix raisonnables… on peut également prendre un verre au bar. Déco boisée.

taberna catalana a la antigua
Una taberna catalana a la antigua ausanza con decoracion detallista a base de madera y cuadros con paisajes de cataluña. Lugar tranquilo, poco pequeño, estupendo para tomar unas cervezas con buenas tapas, a base de embutidos de la tierra