El Pitarra is an iconic restaurant in Barcelona’s old town which pays tribute to the playwright it’s named after. With more than a century of history, it offers an extensive menu of typical dishes prepared using fresh produce from the market, based on traditional Catalan cuisine and specialising in the hunting season.

This quick and inexpensive eatery belongs to a well-known American chain. The establishment is located in Calella, on the Maresme coast, and is a place that offers an air-conditioned area for children, McAuto service and a terrace. In addition, it's accessible for people with disabilities.

This is a Japanese cuisine restaurant run by Hideki Matsuhisa, and it has built up a good selection of dishes based on fresh Mediterranean produce. Its a la carte menu is mostly made up of fish and shellfish. The sashimi door tokusen anchovies, squid, bonito, clam, tuna, salmon and tuna belly. Other specialities are sautéed bread with sisho and dried bonito, Palamos prawns grilled with soy sauce or salt or grilled anchovies.

For first course, you can choose the flaked salt cod, xatonada, peppers with anchovies or whitebait tortillas or beans. For second course, the repertoire of traditional dishes still applies, with squid in batter, fresh tuna with sesame and soya, salt cod tripe with chickpeas, goat liver with onions, brains in batter. There is also a selection of barbecued meats and grilled or sautéed fish and shellfish.

The name could not be more fitting, since this restaurant which is a Barcelona classic is on the same ground as a former dairy.

This eatery presents its diners with an assortment of salads, cod with honey, shin of beef with herbs, salt cod balls, different kinds of carpaccio and marinated fish, along with cold meats, pâtés and a large selection of handmade cheeses that add up to more than forty different products.

Can Vallés is reminiscent of a family inn or a bar serving set menus, but that’s only an impression. Led by Josep Álvarez, its cuisine goes much further, with a commitment to high-quality produce and elaborate dishes; the result is spectacular. The very small premises and the high demand due to the excellent offering mean that it’s essential to reserve a table in advance.

In Taberna Les Sedes, a large bar presides over the premises, and behind it are hidden hot coal grills with all kinds of meat. But they also offer traditional Catalan market cuisine, with dishes such as different kinds of salads, scrambled eggs with parmesan and crispy bacon, caramelised apple mille-feuille with foie, Llavaneres-style peas with sausage and bacon and different types of cod .

One of the objectives of La Mar Salada in Barcelona’s Port Vell is to avoid the stereotypes of seafood cuisine. The restaurant belongs to a family with a century of experience in the restaurant world as they are the owners of the iconic Can Ros. Without forgetting this history, chef Marc Singla is key in a renovation for which Albert Enrich is also responsible with the desserts.

Can Llibre is in a country house from 1680 which has been renovated in sympathy with the original structure. The building has four indoor spaces and, in summer, a terrace. It is a family business which offers traditional cuisine and specialises in grilled meats. There are various menus including one for the calçotada (celebrating the Catalan green onion).