Britta’s, Nordic Delicatessen, Gracia

It’s a small saving grace to have Barcelona Reykjavik bakery to rely on for some dense dark breads, an antithesis to the bleached white loaf the Spanish prefer. For anything else vaguely resembling Nordic, our only recourse is IKEA.

Well.
Until now.
Britta’s opened a little over four months ago and with her little shop, she is occupying a huge gap in the market: Nordic fare. She has whole sides of smoked wild salmon and halibut, from which she cuts slivers for her open-faced sandwiches that she serves on Viking bread (a bread she makes on site: an extraordinary aggregation of nuts and seeds). There is the dill and cream cheese that I expect to find but also surprising bursts of fresh red currants.

There is blue cheese with blackberry jam and honey mustard or smoked turkey breast with tarragon (tarragon in Barcelona is like ice cream in Kenya) and creamy curry. She serves smørebrød topped with salami, Danish pickles and fried onions or egg mayonnaise. (€3 for a small – €6). There are a selection of salads, things like wild rice with pomegranate and walnuts and dressed with a white balsamic dressing (€6 -€10).

Then there is the grocery part of the shop. A selection of liquorice including the salty kind. Drinks; exotic things (for Barcelona) like strawberry and elderflower or rhubarb.

My one disappointment is that I can’t sit down in the pretty shop. Britta’s daughter, Claire, explains that this is because they only have a shop license. “Restaurant licenses are impossible to get in Gracia now.”

In that case, takeaway will have to do.

See this and more addresses on my Foodie in Barcelona Map

Britta’s Nordic Deli
C/ de Bonavista 29
Gracia
www.brittas.es
www.facebook.com/brittasnordicdeli