Taller de Tapas

I visited Taller de Tapas on my first night in Barcelona simply because it was near to my hotel and the menu sounded good after 6 hours on a train from Paris. Short of coming to Barcelona, this may have been one of my best decisions ever.
Even though it was early by Barcelona standards, Freddy and the whole staff treated me like family. As a solo traveler, this extra attention makes the whole dining experience not seem so lonely. After a few hours that the bar and sampling many different tapas and cocktails, I was amazed to see a bill of only € 36. Having just been in Paris (and living in San Francisco — I was sure I had racked up quite a bill). I happily paid my bill and strolled back to my hotel.
On my third and last night in Barcelona, while I wandered the Gothic quarter looking at dinner options, I felt rather underwhelmed. I decided to come back to Taller de Tapas and I am so very glad I did. I was warmly greeted by Freddy again, who both quickly recognized me and got me a seat at the bar. I dined on fantastic tapas and amazing wine, thanks to a recommendation.
All in all, I do not think my time in Barcelona would have been as magical if I had not discovered Taller de Tapas in Plaça Josep Oriol. If you are staying in the Gothic quarter it is a must.

J’ai trouvé ca très bon ! Rapport qualité prix excellent service impeccable. Le personnel accueillant et chaleureux… De bons produits, bien cuisinés … La carte n’est pas originale mais ces tapas étaient très bons La qualité de la friture par exemple sur des encornets panés était irréprochable ça né baignait pas dans l’huile, c’était juste saisi, parfaitement fondant à cœur. On a mangé dehors en plein moi de février sous les chauffages il faisait doux.
Je recommande !

Totally reasonable, great service and when you order 5 things on the menu and they are all awesome you have the confidence that everything will be perfect. Sure it is a the tourist (y) area, but in the shadow of a church in a beautiful square, eating in the open air, you really can’t complain. Ok, a garbage truck did come by in the middle of dinner but still awesome!

The lunch special is quite good but the overall service and quality is mediocre. You have to be on top of the servers most the time to get any service.

Food for the price: the food was decent, but not worth the price. The service was pretty mediocre. We went at 2 so maybe the guy needed a break or something, but our food took a long time and they weren’t busy at all. There was a large menu though, so this may be good for picky eaters.

Great atmosphere and service, food came out just as quick as it was prepared. Delicious plates, order 4 or 5 per couple and share!

Conveniently located, this spot is nice for a lunch assortment of tapas or a snack. The salads and plates my friends and I were quite good; I recommend the tuna-​tomato salad and the goat cheese salad.
However, it’s just not an example of an exceptional or even much-​above-​average dining experience. The interior feels impersonal and it was a bit pricey for what it was. We ended up here more out of low blood sugar necessity rather than true desire.
That said, it is a relatively tasty place to bring blood sugar levels back to normal.

Stay far away. With all the great food and warm friendly service to be had, don’t waste time, taste, stomach-​space, or money on this trap. Came here first day in Barcelona, jet lagged and towing exhausted companions. Hit upon it in a panic because people were so hungry and tired. Tapas were COLD, flavorless, and staff anxious to leave for the day were actually mopping under our table while we ate and propped open the front door for cleaning right next to our table. The right thing would have been to indicate that they were soon to close rather than making us feel unwelcome while we picked at the unappetizing food. A good lesson in getting oriented BEFORE you travel!

Food is ok, small plates… Nice atmosphere, we had a bad service though and were overcharged, 15 euros for a gin and tonic, when the menu clearly said 5 euros, the waiter then let us know it was our responsibility to let them know we wanted the deal on the menu, claiming most patrons choose the larger 15 euro version, the manager did take 5 euro off the check, but even having to complain is uncomfortable and I would certainly pass on this place with so many options… It felt like a scam rather than a nice dining experience once we got the check, server was rather rude from the jump, maybe had a bad day, we all do.

This place has a very extensive menu of well cooked tapas. The menu is well balanced and the ingredients are of good quality. Entrees can also be ordered. Taller de Tapas is very conveniently located at Placa del Pi, a square where local artists display their work on Sat all day and Sunday am., and is ideal for out of the ordinary souvenirs. Much better tapas at La Boqueria though (El Quim, and other locations), which is right next, but this is not a disappointing place by any stretch if you are in a budget, or in the area. You could do much much worse. Other reviewers claim this is a tourist trap, but to me this means they are yet to be caught in one.
Buena comida y buen servicio. El menu es extenso pero bastante estandard. Esta justo al lado de la plaza del pi, un escaparate del arte local durante el fin de semana.

Update: the cook burned the paella and the lamb ribs were of inferior, very fatty, quality. No longer recommended…
Great food and better service if you eat in the main dining room.
Order from the menú del día (locals go for this) and you will get a better deal! Their paella is awesome.

Premier stop de notre aventure gustative barcelonaise, Taller de Tapas, a été le point de chute tant attendu après une longue journée de voyage et de marche.
Impossible de trouver une place à l’extérieur, donc, affamés, fatigués, nous nous rabattons sur une table à l’intérieur. Sans regret, on gagne ainsi les 10% de surcharge pour la terrasse. À Barcelone, s’asseoir dehors est un luxe apparement.
C’est bruyant et mal insonorisé, il y a au moins trois serveurs différents qui viennent s’occuper de nous, donc on né sait jamais à qui s’adresser, mais les tapas sont copieuses, fraîches et délicieuses.
Au final, on paye (un peu cher) la location (Barí Gotic) et le look moderne, mais on en sort repus.

I found this place while wondering around the Gothic quarter. I didn’t realize that this place is a chain. Their tapas were made to order and delicious, unlike some of the other tapas restaurants where the food is pre-​made and old. I was surprised at their selection — everything was covered — duck, rabbit, chicken, seafood, beef, pork, and veggies. A few notable standouts were their Galician style octopus, their lamb shank, and their asparagus. They have a full wine list and cocktail menu. Seating was a little tight, but the atmosphere was lively and fun. Had to remind the waiters a couple times on orders, but no other complaints.

Das Taller de Tapas ist ein schickes Tapasrestaurant mit einer großen Tapaskarte und einer großen Auswahl an Weinen. Die Tapas sind sehr gut, aber auch teurer als anderswo. Besonders gut fanden wir den grünen Spargel. Auch die Patatas Bravas haben mir hier am besten geschmeckt.
Für drei Tapas pro Person, Nachtisch (sehr lecker: der Brownie mit Vanilleeis) und eine Flasche Wasser und Wein ist man zu zweit mit 60−70EUR dabei.
Der Service ist nett, aber nicht immer aufmerksam.
Ist man früher am Abend da als zu Zeiten, zu denen Spanier essen gehen, also bereits gegen halb 8 oder 8, bekommt man auf jeden Fall einen Platz. Gegen 9 Uhr muss man dann auf einen Tisch warten.

I love this chain of Tapas restaurant in Barcelona and always wind up eating lunch here when I visit. The last time I was here a few years back, it was not yet a chain as they only had 1 location then and now have 6 altogether (I believe). Easy to find as they are conveniently (and strategically) located along the most touristy strips — even the ones hidden in courtyards that all tourists will wind up getting lost in. So even though it’s a chain, don’t be deterred from having ***lunch here because I have found it to still be just as good and reliable as on my first visit years ago.
The service is excellent and the prices are fair. Most importantly, the food is delicious! Hard to dine here on your own without over-​ordering because the whole point of tapas is to sample a few different flavors and regardless, the delicious wine will help you wash it all down.
On my most recent visit I enjoyed
*the ham croquettes — standard, but a bit more moist than usual. So good!
*the sizzling chili shrimp — not spicy by my standards, but extremely fresh like they were plucked right out of the sea!
*the sauteed spinach with chick peas & pancetta (I MUST try this recipe at home now!) and
*the chorizo (of which there were several preparations to choose from).
See what I’m saying? Waaay too much food for just me, but when in Spain… you know the rest. I would go again tomorrow and order the exact same thing cause it was just that good! Olé!
***Note, if you paid attention, I said good for «lunch»; try and go somewhere with a bit more atmosphere (be it lively or romantic) if you want a memorable dinner.

Went here with my wife and 2 year old daughter and we enjoyed the meal here. It wasn’t my first choice but traveling with a 2 year old can cause plans to change quickly and we stumbled upon this place after figuring we wouldn’t make our reservations at another place. Ordered the pan con tomate, goat cheese with sauteed red pepper, sizzling chorizo (which didn’t come sizzling but were still really good), spinach with ham and chickpeas, pimientos de padron (fried mild green chiles), gambas al ajillo (shrimp dish with olive oil, garlic and chiles). Everything was really good except for the gambas, I’ve had much better elsewhere. It was below average here and one of the shrimp looked like he was caught the day after thanksgiving dinner because he hadn’t been cleaned. Other than that, I’d go back here again.

Decent tapas, friendly service and reasonable prices. The menu is what you would expect to find in a tapas bar and the flavours are good.
I would happily go back here for a lunch when in Barcelona next.

¿Conoces esa sensación de estar en un lugar en el cual no encajas? Pues así me he sentido yo en el Taller de Tapas. Sentado en la mesa he buscado algún cartel que diga «local exclusivo para turistas, abstenerse residentes». Las tapas no son malas, pero tampoco son nada del otro mundo y los precios son excesivos… y aunque l@s camare@s son amables, de algún modo no me terminan de convencer. Otro punto negativo — esto ya no tanto culpa de ellos — es que si te sientas en la terraza durante primavera, tu comida será aderezada con florecillas a granel que caen del árbol vecino y no hay sombrilla alguna que lo pueda impedir.
Una verdadera lástima que una mis plazas favoritas de Barcelona sea ocupada por lugares con ta poca personalidad como estos…

After a 7 day stay in Barcelona and a wonderfully eclectic dining experience, we had the sorry misfortune to wind up at Taller de Tapas towards the end of our trip. Fate had it that most of the other establishments in the area were closed, but Taller de Tapas was open, so we gave it a shot.
Immediately upon entry you are greeted with the most touristy of atmosphere; totally foreign staff walking around with digital order taking devices, bad techno-​pop, and a host of older tourists drinking mugs of beer.
Reconfirming we had no other options at the moment, other than to not eat, we pressed on. We ordered brava potatoes, an omlette, jamon iberico, sauteed spinach and white beans, and padron peppers, a pretty common choice for any restaurant in Barcelona, and one that you’d expect any area restaurant to nail on the head. What we got was old, flavorless, and inedible.
The jamon was visibly dried out, not the succulent fresh jamon served at almost every other place we ate at on our trip. The eggs were runny, undercooked and totally devoid of flavor. The peppers were old and mushy, and had clearly been sitting there before being reheated for us. The first dishes were so bad felt it best to cancel the rest of the orders, fearing more of the same slop. The staff made a huge deal about it but finally agreed.
I’ve heard that this place was recommended in a few tour books… the only way I can imagine that any writer would recommend such a vile restaurant is that a) he got cash to write it up or b) the writers taste buds (and in fact, all of his other senses) were forcibly removed by savages.

On our last evening in Barcelona, we came across Taller de Tapas, which coincidentally is a list of restaurant on my list of places to eat on my Spain trip. So as you can imagine, it was like hitting a jackpot for me when the food was memorable.
The place is busy and crowded with both locals and tourists alike. It is located conveniently in the Barri Gotic area, which is the old town of Barcelona just a block away from the beautiful church with its name has now escaped me. We stopped in earlier that evening and the very friendly hostess put us know for a reservation later in the evening. We’re in Spain, no one eats dinner at 6PM. We returned a few hours later and had a fabulous dinner to bid Spain farewell for now.
That evening, we had:
Grilled Kobe Beef Filet with a type of local peppers that is more sweet than packed any heat. — The beef were buttery and grilled perfectly. I started eating it before the server had a chance to take his hand off the plate because the smell of the beef was so intoxicating. The peppers were great and we’ve seen them served at other tapas places just a quick deep in hot oil.
Patatas Bravas — deep fried to golden brown of creamy potatoes cubes with a generous dollop of garlic aioli and a homemade spicy sauce that was so delicious and additive.
Grilled Asparagus — we thought we should do the sensible thing of eating some vegetables while we’re on vacation.
Seafood Paella (for 1 person) — We shared the pan of paella and even though we ordered a single portion, it was sufficient enough for the 2 of us to share.
Catalan Flan with almonds slices — Light, creamy and not too sweet at all.
Although the place was busy on the night of our visit, the table service and attention we received were not lacking in any way at all. Our server was super efficient, professional and made great wine recommendation for us. The food prices were reasonable in our opinion even though the restaurant is located in a high tourist area. Depsite the location that would attract a large crowd of tourist dinners, Taller de Tapas food was in no way catered to the tourist’s palette. We have our fair share of authentic Spanish food and this one was pretty good. We had a great time at Taller de Tapas and the food we had for our last night in Spain was memorable. I even have pictures to prove it.
Date of visit: October 29, 2011

Sehr gute Tapas zu einem absolut akzeptablen Preis. Wir waren mehrmals dort. Das Servicepersonal war immer flott und sehr freundlich. Die Paella war gut, aber sie haben wir Anderorts besser gegessen. Sehr gut war die Auswahl der Tapas. Die Portionen sind anständig. Besonders hat uns das Hähnchen mariniert auf Spießchen gegrillt geschmeckt und die Patatas Bravas mit Paprikapesto.

Very average tapas, which was disappointing after the reviews we’ve read. They don’t even have standard bread all they had were toasted bread with tomato!
Pricewise it was a bit on the high side given the quality of the tapas. Very oily and salty especially the asparagus.

Wir haben im Taller de Tapas ein wirklich günstiges Paella-​Menü gegessen, mit einem tollen Salat vorweg und Crema Catalana zum Nachtisch, und das günstiger als die meisten anderen Paellas in Barcelona solo kosten! Zum Schluss noch einen Espresso und zu zweit plus ein Getränk nur ca. 25EUR bezahlt! Wir waren begeistert, gerne wieder!

La verdad es que es bastante flojo. No es un sitio donde se disfrute comiendo, más bien para salir del paso.
El ambiente está totalmente ocupado por turistas, que disfrutan con cualquier ración de patatas bravas, jamones o pinchos.
Me decepcionó bastante.

Pretty good food, really poor service.
I visited with my brother, and ordered a burger and patatas bravas (I know, how American of me!). Although the waiter noted we were speaking English (and I knew they have English menus), she handed us the menu that had just about every other language but English. While I could decipher from the list of foods, my brother could not. After getting our menu situation straightened out, our food did come in a fairly timely fashion. I thoroughly enjoyed my burger, especially compared to those awful beef-​pork burger combos in Spain.
The real issue arose when our check came. After about 30 minutes of having our food cleared and obviously not wanting anyone else, the waiter rudely approached us and asked «do you need something?» Uhh, the check. Spain is pretty notorious for waiters not really caring about service, and I’m okay with that, but come on, 30 minutes?

solo para guiris. calidad-​precio nula.

Quelle déception !
Ce restaurant est pourtant très bien situé, dans une petite rue piétonne, la terrasse est très agréable, la devanture attirante.
Pour appâter le client ya du monde, mais alors après oh mon dieu !
Le serveur était antipathique au possible, nous avons commandé 3 paellas (soit disant délicieuses), 30 minutes d’attente pour un plat DÉGOUTANT: un risotto raté surmonté de 3 crevettes pas fraiches.
Une paella surgelée d’une marque discount aurait été meilleure.
Et les tapas des tables à côtés n’avaient l’air guerre mieux.
Le serveur nous mettait la pression pour libérer nos places alors que l’on paye 10% plus cher si on est en terrasse !
À la limite, allez y pour une seule chose: le mojito à la mangue. Une merveille.

An easy stroll on a warm summers afternoon through La Ramblas, visiting stores and taking in the general splendour of the Catalan capital. My partner and I walk down an alley way with no real intention of finding anything in particular and come across this gem.
Given my tendency to sit at the bar at any given opportunity we pass the ‘por favor espere que se sentara’ sign and take seats at the bar. The restaurant is dark but comfortable, a refreshing break from the persistent sun outside.
The bar tender sees to us immediately. Our broken spanglish is greeted with a smile as we order beverages, an ice cold Sam Miguel and diet cola. We proceeded to order olives to nibble on before we ventured into something more substantial. This place preserves their own olives and they are incredible. A mixture of kalamata black and Spanish green olives is soaked in a brine of salt, vinegar, carrot, dill pickle, green pepper and oil, superb.
We followed the perfect olives with servings of bread and olive oil with a light tomato dressing and their lamb pot dish, divine. The lamb was incredible. Slow cooked to perfection, succulent and tender. I can honestly say the lamb was one of the best dishes I have ever tasted, period.
The check came to a modest 28euro and we were more than happy to generously tip our excellent bar tender. If you visit the Catalan capital be sure to go to this restaurant, absolutely outstanding.

This is a chain that is tourist-​friendly with their central locations and their English menus, but also decent in their servings of tapas. They charge a 10% extra on outdoor seating (feels nice and cozy in the Barri Gòtic). We had some patatas bravas (4.35 €, firm, not as soft/​crispy as I expected), xoricets cidra (chorizos in cider), musclos al vapor (steamed mussels), cansalada (spinach, jamon, and chickpea salad), and amanida alvocat (avocado and arugula salad). There are probably tastier and more authentic tapas elsewhere, but when you’re lazy and don’t know how to order in local Catalan, this is an easy and decent way out.

A simple vista es un local ameno, lleno de gente comiendo y con una decoración poco personal, aunque funcional.
Va bastante guiri porque las tapas no están malas, pero a uno de aquí le cuesta un poco más entrar. La verdad no sé muy bien por qué, supongo que el diseño comercial, repetido ya en más locales de aquí y de allá…
Los precios son moderados. La verdad es que si buscas algo correcto está bien.

Detesto que te vengan a buscar a la puerta para que entres en un restaurante. Es un mal comienzo… Una mala señal. Sin embargo, un día no tuve más remedio que entrar porque un amigo extranjero me llamó estando ya dentro. ¿Qué le vamos a hacer? Mal gusto el de mi amigo…
¿Y una vez dentro qué? Pues lo que siempre había sospechado. Un sito impersonal, frío… Con unas tapas de las de «ya ves, tú» –las bravas frías y las anchoas… ¡Me voy a callar!- y con un servicio que, aunque educado, deja bastante que desear.
No sé… Con la de sitios carismáticos y buenos que hay en Barcelona para tomar tapas, no aconsejo meterse en el Taller de Tapas. Está muy enfocado al turista despistado que entra seducido por el nombre y por la buena ubicación del local.

Die TAPAS WERKSTATT ist keine gemütliche Kneipe, sondern ein schickes, luftiges Szenelokal mit großer Glasfront.
Man kann auch draußen am Platz sitzen, wenn man einen ergattert.
Eher nicht so typisch, aber sehr angesagt. Schickes Volk und entsprechend höhere Preise.
Die Qualität stimmt — der Zulauf enorm, mit wenig spanischen Sprachkenntnissen holt man sich hier immer gute Tipps — der Tag ist gerettet.

Variedad de tapeos, velocidad y precios asequibles son el secreto del éxito de este local. Recomendado si estáis por la zona y queréis evitar sentaros a cenar o a comer en un restaurante más formal.
No os defraudará.

Des tapas en quantité oui mais de grande qualité.
Ce restaurant à tapas est une petite merveille au cœur du quartier gothique de Barcelone. Dans une ambiance chaleureuse et branchée, on peut y déguster pour des prix raisonnables (si l’on considère la qualité) des tapas plutôt modernes et originales, sans sentir la friture en sortant. La carte des vins est vaste, un peu couteuse mais à plusieurs, ça vaut le coup d’essayer. Finalement, c’est pas plus cher qu’en France mais c’est de meilleure qualité que dans beaucoup de bistrots barcelonnais ! Je vous garantit d’en sortir avec le sourire (réviser son catalan avant d’entrer peut aider fortement au choix des plats!)

Tapas à gogo
Après avoir fait le tour du comptoir pour faire votre choix, il né vous reste plus qu’à vous régaler sur ces dégustations. Ce n’est sans doute pas le meilleur endroit à tapas, mais dans ce quartier si touristique on peut aussi s’attendre à moins bien. Cadre très propre même si un peu froid. Très bon accueil et service.