Tapac 24: Barcelona

In early October 22nd & Philly went to Spain to visit Madrid and Barcelona. This is the first of several short posts on some places we visited. First up, Tapac 24, a popular restaurant in the Passeig de Gracia section of Barcelona. This was one of the best restaurants we visited (maybe the best).

Tapac 24 is the newest project from famous chef Charles Abellan, who trained under Adria Ferran of El Bulli, the #1 restaurant in the world. Tapac 24 is part of the gastronomic food movement.

Tapac 24 is a tapas bar so you are able to try a variety of things on the menu without being stuffed from one.  In true 22nd & Philly style we tried as much as our stomachs and wallets could handle.  The waitress spoke English very well and helped us pick what to order. Never hesitate to ask for help in Spain - the people are very nice and happy to help.

We had patatas bravas (spicy fried potatoes), ham and cheese, chicken wings, and truita de tempo (omelette with potato, onion and chorizo).  All were amazing.  The highlights were the ham and cheese and the truita de tempo.  I would eat either all day.  The patatas bravas were the best we had in Spain, and we certainly ate a lot of it!

For dessert, we went with a sampling of ice creams.  We would pass on it next time and order the xocolata, or chocolate dessert, instead, which looked amazing on the plate of the guy next to us.

Perhaps the best thing about our Tapac 24 experience was that we were lucky enough to get a seat right near the cooks. It's an open restaurant, so we could watch them in the kitchen preparing the food. We believe Chef Abellan was right in front of us cooking the entire time.

It is also a small place with no reservations. It was packed on a Wednesday night, but the wait goes fast.  It may also seem like the host forgets about you (he sure as heck never took down a single name, and was waiting on tables at the same time) but don't worry, he'll make sure you get a seat as soon as one opens up. You should also know that you can smoke in the restaurant so be prepared for a smoker sitting next to you.

We highly recommend visiting Tapac 24 if visiting Barcelona.

Here are some photos (Note: don't hit the Play arrow in the middle, hit the one along the bottom of the box. That way it will play inside this post instead of send you to another webpage.)