La Paradeta - Barcelona - TravBuddy

nothing special and the tuna is like gray. horrible

La Paradeta is a restaurant in Barcelona's Born/Ribera neighborhood where seafood fantasies come true. I love seafood. I salivate while imagining large quantities of fresh seafood, washed down by white wine. Mmm, seafooooood. Mmm, wiiiine. *drools*

Forgive the Homer Simpson moment there. I was just recalling the two dinners I had at La Paradeta. The value makes the food even better. For 20 or 30 euros per person, you can get a feast that includes massive amounts of mussels, shrimp, crawfish, crab, tuna steak, scallops, squid, octopus, AND lobster ... and don't forget the white wine!

How do they do it at that price? Well, they have their system all worked out. When you enter the restaurant, you go up to the counter (see pic) and tell the fishmongers what you want to eat and how many people are going to eat what. You also order your wine, bread, salad, and other accompaniments. Then you pay and they give you a number. As your food is prepared, they will call your number over a microphone, then you go up to the window and pick it up. They will clean up after you, but that's it. Since there are no waiters (and not much atmosphere), they can pass the savings along to you. Just be sure to pick up plenty of those moist lemon towelettes to clean up with!

This restaurant is very popular, so you will probably have to wait a while for a table. Show up at least a half hour before you plan to eat. But for me, a feast like this, at this price, is well worth it. My dinner companions and I were gasping, sighing, and invoking the name of God to describe the quality and quantity of what we ate that night. Be aware as well that selection can vary depending on what was caught that day, so it's possible that not everything will be available.