So far I have had only a poor meal in Barcelona and it was my fault as I knew I was walking into a tourist trap, but I was tired, my 5 year old son was starving and my husband was equally drained if not more from carrying the little one at times so anything half decent would do. To be honest it was only poor in comparison with the other dining experiences we had during the trip, which had been outstanding. The best meal we had during our first trip to Barcelona was at La Flauta in Carrer Aribau in the Eixample district. As soon as we spotted it we knew it must be good as it was overflowing with locals in line for a table. The place is only open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and gets very busy in the evening so to even stand a chance to have a table it is advisable to arrive early. While you are in line waiting to be seated your taste buds will be teased watching the food been prepped. By the time you are seated you will be familiar with the daily specials so you don't even need to look at the menu before ordering because you are bound to order some of the delicious food you have seen leaving the kitchen hoping they won't run out of your favourites. The service is very efficient once you get to sit down. It is a fully Catalan experience as the staff's English is very limited and even the menu is in Spanish. There is an English version of the menu, but it is rather incomplete so the best way of ordering is undoubtedly to look at the food dished out and point. It always works! My limited knowledge of Spanish together with a mastered pointing technique turned out to be useful and we had a meal we still remember 2 years later. The name of the restaurant Flauta is also the name of their typical dish which is a thin baguette with different fillings. There are trays of them at the bar and they seemed to be popular with the locals, but we had a selection of freshly made seafood tapas that were delicious and very fresh. Unfortunately during our last trip to Barcelona we didn't dine there because we stayed a little too far from the restaurant, but I will certainly return there on our next Barcelona trip.
Eat like the locals at La Flauta tapas restaurant
