The Tragaluz Group is a name that you need to know in Barcelona. I will readily admit that restaurant groups in Europe can conjure negative associations: laminated menus in 7 languages, busking waiters impeding your journey, iceberg lettuce and shredded carrot in the salad – it’s not pretty or tasty. While the Tragaluz restaurants do have menus in 5 languages – they also have great locations, appealing design and food that is usually good if on the pricy side. Unlike the Albert Adria restaurants, they are spread all over the city so you are usually not far from one.
With Marguerite in town for the weekend, we duck off the tacky Ramblas as fast as we can, onto C/ Pintor Fortuny stopping for a brief minute in Chök to appease my daughter with a chocolate donut before continuing. Bar Lobo does market fresh tapas and some main dishes. We select 5 tapas. Some for flavour: like the fried eggplant (€6.50), the tuna tataki with guacamole (€8.65) and the artichokes with jamon (€8.00). Others for bulk and to temper the bill to a more acceptable level- patatas bravas (€4.50) and padron peppers (€5.60). Two coca colas brings the bill to €20 a head which is quite an accomplishment for Barcelona (it’s so much more expensive here than in Berlin).
The waiters are sprightly young things, that hum like sports cars at a red light when they stop to tap your order into an electronic screen, before they are off again, laying down paper table mats, handing out menus, seating fleshy bridesmaids parties. (Ah the joy of being on the Ryanair bad taste route).
For coffee, we opt to walk down to Caravelle (at number 31) and take a to go to watch the skateboarders do their stuff in front of the MACBA.
Bar Lobo
C/ Pintor Fortuny 3
08001
http://www.grupotragaluz.com
Tagged: Albert Adria, Bar Lobo, Barcelona, Caravelle, Chok, coffee, Restaurants, Tapas, Tragaluz group
