Paco Meralgo — A Great Tapas Bar in Barcelona

© All About Food

Dining in a tapas bar is one of the great experiences of a trip to Spain, but during many visits to this country, I’ve observed how stressful these places can be for foreigners who don’t speak Spanish and don’t know the names of the dishes on display or on the menu. By definition, tapas bars are busy, slightly chaotic places with a quick turnover of tapas (the small-plate delicacies the Spanish enjoy so much as a light meal with a glass of wine), so few take reservations or have staff with the time or language skills to help the uninitiated.

Meeting a friend who lives in Barcelona for a tapas supper recently at Paco Meralgo in the centrally located Eixample neighborhood, I liked it because it was an attractively decorated modern space with oak tables, a long bar and good lighting, but even more for the fact that we’d been able to make a reservation instead of standing around in the hopes of getting a table. To be sure, there was quite a crowd on a Saturday night — it’s one of the best tapas bars in Barcelona — but once we were seated on high stools, the friendly waiter spoke good English, and the menu was in English, too.

Starting off over a nicely chilled bottle of white Rueda, we ordered away, starting with some* pan con tomate*, the delicious Catalan specialty of toasted bread dressed with olive oil, crushed fresh tomato and a little garlic; an excellent plate of freshly sliced Jamón (ham) Iberico; marinated anchovies; sautéed baby clams; and grilled asparagus. Everything was delicious, so we continued with bite-size chicken croquettes, tortilla Espanola (potato-filled omelette), grilled razor shell clams, mussels, and tuna belly dressed with sesame oil and soy sauce.

The food was excellent, the service was superb, and it was fun to be out on the town with a well-dressed cross-section of Barcelonans. All told, this place is a perfect spot for both tapas connoisseurs and novices, and I look forward to going again the next time I’m in Barcelona, perhaps for lunch, when it also serves a variety of Catalan-style rice dishes such as arroz negro, rice blackened by cuttlefish ink and also garnished with cuttlefish, a delicious classic. Paco Meralgo, Muntaner 171, Barcelona. Tel. (34) 93-430-90-27.