Bar Mut is the kind of place that, if you mention it to anyone who’s been, the response will invariably be “aaaaaah” as they go googly-eyed thinking about that excellent meal they had there. You’ll find specials on the chalkboard, but a few staples include the croquettes, steak with mushrooms or foie gras (depending on the time of year), or the lobster cooked with egg and brandy. They take reservations, but if you get there on the earlier side, you can squeeze in before the crowds take over.

This tapas bar is the kind of neighborhood spot that everyone coming to Barcelona for the first time hopes to find but rarely does. Grab a stool at the window inside or at one of the outdoor tables and order a few staples like fried calamari and Iberian jamón croquetas. Betlem also serves creative specials like steak tartare with smoked eel, and an omelet with black pudding and seasonal mushrooms, if you feel like mixing things up.

Start things off with a round of vermut or wine while making a plan for sharing plates—all typical tapas with a little creative spin. The salad with apple, edamame, and snow peas is a nice starter for those seeking a break from fried croquetas, and the duck breast sashimi is deliciously salty without going overboard. Grilled octopus on potato mash is a guaranteed table pleaser, and you’ll want to slurp up the sweet and sour green curry vinaigrette that comes with the Can Pepi Fried Chicken.

Entrepanes Díaz in upper Eixample is a sandwich spot from the Bar Mut team where all the waiters are over the age of 50, wear pressed white dress shirts, waistcoats, and bow ties, and always take the time to get your order just right. Meanwhile, the sandwiches are pure joy, overflowing with classic Iberian ingredients like morcilla, tortilla, and squid. The juicy calamari baguette is the best in town, while the oxtail with spicy mayo, parmesan, and arugula is a fantastic meatier option.

“Casa de menjars,” which roughly translates as “food house,” refers to an old-school style of Catalan restaurant that served traditional home-cooked food to the working class during breakfast and lunch. While the modern-day versions are more refined and stay open for dinner, their dedication to traditional recipes and high-quality ingredients is as fierce as ever. Maleducat is a great example of one with a short, concise menu of shared plates made from the finest local produce.

From the team behind Besta, Batea is the fish joint Barcelona needs and deserves. Their secret to success is simple: great people, great produce, and not taking yourself too seriously. Kick things off with the seafood platter full of cockles and clams, and some fresh Galician oysters before getting into mains like the bonito tuna with red pepper emulsion, or the simple and perfectly grilled Mediterranean red prawns. Stick around after dinner and chat with the maître d' over a gin and tonic.

Despite being one of the best restaurants in the world, you’d struggle to find a fine-dining spot more laid back and actually pleasant than Disfrutar. The three owners were each previously head chefs at elBulli, and they’ve brought all that expertise here, without any snobbishness. From the panchino filled with beluga caviar to the “gazpacho sandwich” and the “beet that comes out of the land,” prepare to discover that what you see on your plate here is rarely what you taste in your mouth.

There are a lot of tasting menus to choose from in Barcelona, but one of our top picks is Caelis. You'll get to feast on rich dishes like cured egg yolk tart with caviar, or lobster and foie gras macaroni, all while being in one of the city’s most stylish hotels. And since this is Barcelona, where fine dining is generally more laid-back and affordable than say, London or Paris, you can really go all out here on a 15-course meal plus a wine pairing for €158.

This is one of the few (if only) fine dining Mexican spots in Barcelona where top-notch Spanish ingredients are used with staple spices and techniques from Mexico. There are two tasting menus, the difference being which main you’ll share with the table—pick one with dishes like Iberian pork or chicken, or opt for the other that comes with steak or lobster. Each delightfully plated course is astoundingly tasty, especially with rounds of cervezas, micheladas, and in-house fermented aguas frescas.

Alapar doesn’t come across as the kind of place you’d book weeks ahead of time. But Barcelonians fall all over themselves to snag a seat at the chef’s counter of this Japanese-inspired Mediterranean tavern. The unpretentious fine-dining joint uses only locally-sourced ingredients for standouts like the eel and teriyaki nigiri, the montadito (an open sandwich loaded with squid and Iberian pancetta), and punchy mains like the red mullet Catalan fish stew with foie gras.