Barcelona

Oh ow, already October and still no real veggie post on my blog : damn that “will-do-that-later”-thinking.
But okay here I am ready for my first vegetarian city review. Let’s start with one of my favorite city-trip-cities: Barcelona!

First time I was in Barcelona I was not so into blogging, Broccolise and reviewing vegetarian restaurants so I don’t remember all the restaurants where I went that time.

The only thing I still remember is the Raw Lasagna (Lasaña cruda) of the Restaurant Biocenter, it was delicious! I have to admit that this was probably the best and most original vegetarian dish I ever eat in my life: yum yum yum! As a starter I shared a dish called ‘Cuatro elementos’ with my boyfriend, it consists of toasts with different spreads (I remember hummus, guacamole and something with tomato).
Besides the good food, this restaurant is also a really cozy place and gives you a bit a ‘living-room’ feeling. It is located close to the Ramblas so less probability to get lost in some of the ‘barris’ of Barcelona.
The prices are around €6 for a starter and €12 for a main dish so certainly not too expensive for the quality and quantity of food you receive.

More info: http://restaurantebiocenter.es/es/sobre-nosotros/
The raw lasagna:

At my second trip to Barcelona I was prepared: with my notebook and pencil in my pocket I felt like a real reviewer.
The result of my restaurant trip:

The restaurant Teresa Carles was mentioned in my travel guide (100% Barcelona) as a good and experienced vegetarian restaurant (since 1979). Experienced is certainly true regarding the service. Although the restaurant was full and we didn’t reserve a table, we were served quite fast without having the feeling that the waiters were in a hurry.
As a starter we took Salmorejo (= typical Spanish cold purée, resembling gazpacho but much thicker and creamier), of course without the typical Serrano ham garniture. After this great starter, I was a bit disappointed about my main dish : a vegetarian paella. The taste was good (the one of a typical paella) but the rice was too hard. The vegetarian lasagna of my boyfriend on the other hand was delicious but the dish was a bit small.
Nevertheless the dishes were of sufficient quality, certainly for the price we paid. Because we selected dishes from the lunch menu we only paid €9,50 for a starter and a main course, if you also want a dessert you pay €12 in total. If you want to eat ‘a la carte’ or go for dinner it is a bit more expensive.
For a liter of water you pay only €2 and they also have nice fresh juices with lovely names: I took the ‘Virus killer’ which is a recommendation if you like ginger.

More info: http://www.teresacarles.com/eng
Lasagna and paella at Teresa Carles:

 

Totally lost in the small streets of Barcelona and almost starving (it was already 3 pm and we still didn’t find an appropriate place to lunch), we discovered the vegetarian ‘bistrot’ Rasoterra. This small vegetarian and vegan restaurant proves that you discover the best things by accident and without use of travel guides. For their plates they only use local products, therefore freshness is guaranteed.
As a starter I took the ‘Crema Calabacin’, this is a creamy soup made of zucchini. It is a quite simple Spanish plate but it was delicious, I think I could really eat one liter of that soup (certainly after too many hours without eating anything). The starter of my boyfriend were toasts with an Arabic spread (it sounded as ‘mudabal’ but I honestly don’t remember the correct name), also delicious.
After these great starters, we were a bit disappointed when trying the vegi burger, which we took as main course. The taste of the burger was not bad but it was a bit dry and there was not enough sauce on the plate to eliminate this ‘dryness’.
In general the plates were not really big or maybe this only seemed so because I was starving 🙂 We paid €8 for our lunch menu which consist of a starter and a main course. This is certainly not too much for the quality of food you receive. The waiters were friendly and helpful, as it has to be.

More info:https://www.facebook.com/rasoterra
The vegiburger plate and the toasts:

Another great veggie place that I discovered by accident is the vegan deli shop Jule Kerala Gopal. They really have the best vegan cakes ever! If you think it’s impossible to make a good cake without milk, eggs and whipped cream : take the plane to Barcelona and try these ones, I assure you it will be worth the trip! One piece of cake costs around €3, sounds expensive but it is quite a big piece (I always have to do an effort to finish it on my own).

More info: http://julekeralagopal.blogspot.be/

A last recommendation in Barcelona is the ‘Mercat de la boqueria’, were you can find beautiful colored fruit, boxes with prepared fruit or delicious fruit juices for only €1-2. Luckily the fruit stalls are placed close to the entrance because you really don’t want to bump into a fish or meat stall which are unfortunately also represented at this market.

Juices and fruit at the market:

Allrighty I did it! My first review-looking blogpost, I hope it was or will be a bit useful. If you guys have questions or doubts about some (unclear) things in my posts: don’t hesitate to ask or contact me.

Green greetings,

Broccolise