I met Rob at Quillo Bar lunch the other day. His suggestion.
“Why here again?” I asked when he arrived.
“Oh because I saw you went to Rafols and I had a mollete and a beer here the other day and thought you might like it?”
We manage to snag one of the four outside tables which means that for an extra 1€, we have little leaves pirouette charmingly onto our plates of food from the trees above. Plaça de Sant Pere is pedestrian and pretty. Even the pharmacy across the street is elegant.
Quillo Bar Tapas offers outdoor seating, a range of tapas and I recommend their excellent value weekly lunch deal!
We want to order a selection of typical tapas from Quillo Bar Tapas but when we realize the lunch menu includes two tapas each, a main, a dessert, a drink and a coffee for 15.50€ we pounce on it. Ordering the calamari mollete (7.70€) separately.
What follows is an excellent lunch. Fried whitebait, cod buñuelos, a good bravas with spicy sauce and a truffled ensalada russa and pan con tomate. We are well stuffed by the time the mains come around: fish on the bone with broccoli “rice” and a stewed chicken. Both good. For dessert, we opt to share a torrija which is mediocre.
We had a great lunch at Quillo Bar Tapas, which is why I’m surprised when I see that some of the reviews on google and Tripadvisor, Spanish and foreign tear into this place. Bad service, too expensive, average food. Even a la carte the prices are reasonable, particularly for the tapas – The paella is the usual price of around 20€ a head but who would order paella here?
Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays there is live music and Flamenco so perhaps the service gets sloppy or tense. But for a weekday lunch menu, particularly if you can get one of the 4 outside tables? I think – yes! Or for evening time, stick to the tapas, the usual suspects and I think you might enjoy it.
Quillo Bar Tapas
C/ del Rec Comtal 2
El Born
quillo-bar.com/es
More Great Tapas on Foodie in Barcelona on the Top 5 Barcelona page or Best Eats Page.
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