La Buena Vida

The worst dinner and chef/​cook we experienced in Barcelona. We went there for dinner and ordered the nachos to start. The chips in the nachos were stale and it looked and tasted like it came straight out of the microwave. I ordered the goat cheese burger next… I asked for rare they brought it well done with semi frozen goat cheese, meat and bun… Nothing else on plate or in burger. My friend got the chicken wrap. She took a bite and here comes the worst part… BONES. 3 chicken bones in one bite. We told the waiter and she had the meal returned and brought back a vegetable wrap. That wasn’t very good as well and she left it with 2 bites taken out of it. The service was good as they took our criticism and tried to make it better but all in all, a complete disappointment.

We came by on a Friday afternoon last year, looking for a simple savory snack (item 1 in my agenda: not pass out from waffle overdose). We were seated immediately, and I asked our waiter what the drink choices were, since the menu wasn’t tremendously clear on that front. He literally shrugged and mumbled something to the extent of, «the usual.» Fine, just give us some water, I said, and we got a small bottle each.
Then the time came to order the food. We ordered an assortment of tapas (I had a tuna empanada and a meat-​on-​a-​stick tapa I can’t recall). It was all good, quite so, but it all took an outrageously long amount of time — bear in mind, there was no one else, just staff chatting about, and we didn’t order a whole lot of food. The waiter did not once, before or during or even after our meal, make himself available for eye contact. So, not only did the food take forever to come to us, we actually had to wait well north of 30 minutes after our meal to get the check — and that’s only because I walked up to the bar and asked for it to someone else.
See, I am pretty open-​minded about service at an eating establishment. I don’t expect you to constantly check on me or put up a fake smile all day. But this guy was easily the rudest, most indifferent waiter I’ve ever encountered — for all thirty seconds that we actually interacted with him. It was irritating how poor the service was, and how little everyone else seemed to care that we were there and in such a weird limbo. Zero stars on the service front.

Couldn’t recommend this place more highly — came here with my parents and their eight friends. The food was a great representation of Spanish cuisine with a bit of «safety» dishes sprinkled in for those less adventurous. The tapas were certainly the highlight. It says something that they only have a few English menus and that most of the clientele seemed to be locals (even on a rainy day). Might be hard for some to communicate if you don’t speak Spanish, but it’s still worth it.

Angenehmer Tapas-​Laden auf der Rambla — auch noch nach dem Eigentümerwechsel. Für ²⁰⁄₂₁ Uhr am besten etwas Wartezeit einplanen, sonst klappt das eigentlich immer.
Wir haben die Burger-​Karte (der Sinn erschließt sich mir nicht) geflissentlich ignoriert und uns jedes Mal voll auf die sehr guten Tapas konzentriert. Neben der Bomba, den Gammas, den Boquerones und den Pimientos del Pardon machen auch die Crispy Chicken Strips eine gute Figur. Und inklusive der obligatorischen Flasche Verdejo muss man sich zu Zweit schon ziemlich ins Zeug legen, um auf € 40 zu kommen.

Holy shizzle the foie Gras croquettes are off the hook, I enhaled them and ordered another round. Since it’s illegal where I’m from I want them even more.
Vino tino, mussels in spicy sauce, chicken fingers (for kids) and 2 orders of croquettes foie. Seriously… so good. Unilocal about it with free wifi inside.
Bathrooms have changing tables and handicapped assist bars. Aging in place is considered here, hence the 5 stars. Pop music videos inside and great people watching outside. Service is a bit understaffed, be patient and chill in some vino tinto.

Me gusta el barrio de poblenou y cada vez más por sitios como este, la verdad que no conocía este lugar pero puedo garantizar que volveré a sentarme en su terraza céntrica e inmensa. Los camareros son gente joven y muy simpáticos. Lo bueno? Tienen unas bravas que me sorprendieron mucho, servidas en tarrina de barro y muy crujientes se notaba que estaban cortadas a mano, llevan salsa de all i olli muy suave y que no repite, por encima una salsa de tomate que tiene un punto de picante pequeño. También probé los nachos no están nada mal pero tampoco son excelentes con una salsa de guacamole natural. Precio muy correcto por ser una terraza en la misma rambla de pueblo nuevo.