Great spot. It is in the middle of the Gothic Square - which probably explains the prices. The staff was friendly enough, the bar was quaint enough, and the food was just ok.. The bathrooms were not a welcomed site, and the women's door didn't even lock. It was ok for a quick stop, but not a place to make it a regular hangout. read more

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Wandering around the gothic quarter and stumbled across this place. Food was delicious and flavorful. In addition to the pictured tapas, we had an Iberian ham croquet and an order of cod fish and asparagus fritters. Without a doubt, one of those rare meals where my wife and I cleaned our plates and wanted more of everything. Simply fantastic. read more

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Came here with the wifey when we first got into Barcelona and were looking for somewhere good to eat. The jamon and manchego plates were amazing. The croquetas de jamon were amazing, creamy with big chunks of delicious jamon. We also had the paella, which was fantastic. Finally, we got the oxtail, which was unbelievably good and we are big oxtail fans. It was so tender and flavorful and they were actually really meaty. We had such a good experience that we decided to come back a few night later. On our return, we had some of the same faves and also tried the lamb shank, which was amazing also. They served it with some stewed carrots that were mindblowingly flavorful! I liked the pamplona sausages and wifey LOVED the grilled prawns. Unfortunately, they were out of the octopus. We also ordered the paella again and the rice was undercooked to the point that we had to send it back, which we very rarely do. The service was hit or miss. One of the servers seemed new and unsure of herself. She didn't speak English much, but even when I spoke to her in Spanish she seemed confused. Overall, the return visit soured our overall experience, but the food is very good here. read more

Enjoyed great tapas in a very typical environment. If you are looking for local food and a great experience, this is the place to be

Magnificent!! The service the wine, the food!! Beautiful atmosphere and favored by Picasso!

Wonderful lunch. Mussel in white wine, Pamplona sausages, and a great wine list by the glass! Thank you! read more

El Portalón - Mussels! - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

The steak was kind of tough. There was a nice mix of side vegetables. The beer selection was fine. Don't make the mistake my friend made of asking for ketchup. By the time it was brought to our table (after a second request), she was almost done eating. Then we were each charged for ketchup even though I didn't request it. I pointed this out and after a long wait, the bill was adjusted so we were only charged for one order of ketchup. Maybe charging for ketchup is a Spanish thing, but we weren't impressed. The decor was nice and the place had a comfortable vibe. We had a hard time finding our way back to La Rambla because there were several twists down alleys to get there. read more

El Portalón - tough steak, veggies and beer - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

Great service, very nice staff. Have been to a dozen restaurants in Barcelona one of our favorites. Food was delicious, price very reasonable. read more

Great decor and atmosphere! Food was filling and delicious. Got drinks, pan (bread) with tomatoes and olive oil, fried calamari, and fried eggs and potatoes with chorizo rice sausage and slices of thick bacon. Service was great, granted we were here super early for dinner by Spain standards so the restaurant wasn't that busy. But the staff were attentive and were great, even with a language barrier, often speaking in English to us. read more

Was here in 2019 amazing food experiences! Came back multiple days over a 3 week period. Friendly, kind staff for a weary traveler! read more

El Portalón is located in the Gothic Quarter. I made reservations prior to arriving in Barcelona. We were greeted by a friendly hostess and were seated immediately. The restaurant is cozy and has dim lighting. The murals and decor are nostalgic. I ordered the arroz de verduras, which was pretty much a paella. Husband had the gazpacho for starters, and the filet de vaca (beef). Everything was fresh and so delicious. Our server went above and beyond and was extremely pleasant. If you're in the area, make a stop at El Portalón for some delicious Catalan food! read more

Great find in the middle of the winding streets off of Las Ramblas and near Placa Reial. Service was a little abrupt, but it didn't matter. Maybe this is comes from the understanding that this place has good food at a good price. The beer came fast and the tapas were as good as any sampled on this trip - and there was a LOT of sampling. Here they included: chopitos (battered and fried baby squid), choricitos (little chorizo sausage links) and a bombes (potato and meatballs deep fried goodness) and meatballs. Found El Portalón without any input from Yelp - gotta take a walk on the wild side from time to time. read more

El Portalón - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

We ate delicious tapas. We ordered pamplona sausages, grilled prawns and calamari with sangria. The waiter spoke English and managed to give us the best service. The restaurant is beautiful and the portions are huge. The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 is because the prawns were not as fresh as they should be. Otherwise, we recommend this restaurant. read more

We were referred to come here after wandering through the Gothic neighborhood looking for a good place and it did not disappoint. Everything that we had was delicious. It is pricey as far as cheap Barcelona food goes, especially if you are used to the 1 or 2 euro tapas places, but it was not expensive. The interior is very charming and cozy. It is very clean and the staff are very friendly. read more

The food is just ok here, for the price. That is, if you can also stomach cockroaches. My husband and I wanted to share an entree so we could continue on a bit of a tapas circuit, but our waiter convinced us that the dish was way too small to share and got us to order more. First uncool move --- the dish was so big that we ended up with too much food. Barely midway through the meal a giant cockroach started crawling towards us, so my husband discretely trapped it under a glass and quickly informed our server so as not to alarm others patrons. Our dishes contained seafood and we found we couldn't stomach it any longer so we asked for the bill. Our server offered no apology nor did he discount our meal or comp it. We get that bugs exist in big cities but expected a higher level of service, especially when we obviously were unable to finish our meal after the cockroach appeared. We cannot recommend this restaurant. read more

The food was good, but the coupon that was activated was not honored. They told me it was from 3 years ago.

We just happened to walk by as we were looking for a small tapas restaurant. After a quick check on Yelp, we decided to try it. We couldn't have been happier. Our server was not particularly friendly but he was helpful and attentive. We ordered anchovies in olive oil, the Russian salad with tuna, the chicken paella and tomato with buratta, along with a draft beer for me and a glass of local red wine for my wife. Delicious all. I liked the eclectic ceiling and the interesting wall treatment. The atmosphere was lively and upbeat. We'd definitely return to this restaurant.. read more

El Portalón - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

Menu of the day, 3 courses, €11. Nice! I started with the potato salad which wasn't what I expected. It was a salad, straightforward enough, with boiled potatoes. Potato salad means something different in my head so I was a bit surprised but it was quite good and the dressing was delicious. My friend had the pea and bacon salad which was a bowl of peas with a few bits of bacon. He said it was good but a LOT of peas. For main course I had a tuna steak which came with more potatoes (I'm Irish, so no complaints here!). he tuna was a tad overdone for my liking but good. There was so much of it I couldn't finish! Meanwhile, another friend had the paella with seafood and I was amazed at the size, she had quite a job finishing it! Dessert was a straight forward ice cream for me. It came in a tub and wasn't anything special but for the price I wasn't expecting much. A nice visit and definitely worth the price of you head here for lunch! read more

Great location in the gothic quarter. We enjoyed the food and the service. Would go back.

Atmosphere was fantastic, nice mix of European folks enjoying the space. We got the special, which was a salad, paella and Catalana cream. Salad was fresh, the cream was closer to a Creme brûlée. But the paella was a disaster. Rice was undercooked and over salted, meat was tough. One of the mussels didn't open. And there was no rice stuck to the bottom ( see undercooked rice). Come for tapas and drinks, should be fine. read more

To be frank: this was the worst I've eaten ever. Ever. My former roommate could produce better food while drunk. The place had no ambience whatsoever. The waiters acted like they had to be some place five minutes ago. Everything was rushed without so much as a ghost of a smile. The food was utterly terrible. If it were possible to give this place a negative star, I would. That being said: it was cheap. read more

Great service and really fresh shrimp with garlic. Their pan con tomatoe was also some of the best. And the theatre of flaming flan was just plain fun. (5 stars is relative to Tapas). read more

Our host recommended this restaurant and we were really happy with our meal here. We sampled a variety of tapas and loved them all. Our favorites included the potatoes with garlic, croquettes, fried calamari, olives. Everything was delicious, service was prompt and polite. Highly recommend. read more

Food is terrible. Croquettes are just flavored mush on the inside. Gross. We left the majority of food on the plates and no one ever asked us if everything was okay or if there was a problem. Do not recommend!! read more

So cool! Very good tapas and relatively cheap (compared to other restaurants, given the quality of the food). Definitely worth going to for lunch or dinner. read more

Found this little gem on the way to my train station. Ended up having the best meal I have paid for in two months of travelling! Very impressed with the food and service, very fast service but good for those looking to eat and go like myself, maybe ask for a half hour between the entree and mains if you want to sift and enjoy your meal a little longer, house wine was tasty, friendly staff and all great English, risotto was top notch would be there again tomorrow if I was staying longer. read more

Our first meal in Barcelona started with a bang! It was around the corner from our hotel, in the Gothic Sector, utterly sweet area, mazes and mazes to get lost in. Fantastic down to earth unpretentious little place, serving tapas and a whole lot more. Charming interior, polished wood tables with vibrant colored walls, prompt and friendly service. We got whole grilled sardines--the best we had in the city: earthy, crunchy exterior with charred edges, and moist flaky interior, whole bones intact, head on, salty fresh goodness. These had perfection written all over them, if you think you don't like sardines or ever had a bad experience with them, these little babies would've made a believer of you :-) Not the slightest bit fishy, and spanking fresh, the flesh crumbled with the slightest pressure with the fork, no knife needed, and they were a good size, the entire length of one fish was bigger than my hand. The portion size generous, with four meaty sardines on the plate--this was no tapa, and more like an entree. The famed Catalonian bread, a sliced rustic sourdough type rubbed with fresh tomato and garlic, on the salty side, we gobbled down as if no tomorrow. We also got spinach cannelloni which while decent, maybe because we were already full and partly because why ever did we get an Italian dish in a Spanish restaurant?? We couldn't finish it, because guess what we had coming up? Mushroom stuffed roasted quail, a perfectly browned plum little bird, so frikkin cute I felt twinges of guilt. It was more than decent, though I can't rave about it with the same enthusiasm as the sardines. Then comes the lemon mousse: I was expecting a light and airy pudding like consistency, rather than a dense packing on a crust, and what was supposed to taste like lemon was more of a synthetic kiwi lime taste, not at all tart of citrusy ... but these are small quibbles, because our experience as a whole here was phenomenal and if I Iived in the area, I'd go back over and over. This place cannot be beat for an authentic, casual meal. read more

This is a very nice restaurant down a side street from the fun square Plaça Sant Jaume. We had two orders of the regular sea food paella plus the negro paella (with squid ink). Both were very good. Also a liter of sangria, a bottle of water and two plates of delicious olives. The whole meal cost just €50 for 3 of us. The service was fast and attentive. It was quiet and not crowded like the restaurants on Plaça Sant Jaume. We enjoyed our meal. read more

We had the pleasure of dining here last night and it has been the most delicious meal we have had in Barcelona. The rib eye was so tender with the Padron Peppers. They are in the Gothic sector. read more

Beautiful vaulted, almost cave like restaurant. I just had two appetizers, olives stuffed with anchovies and fresh tomatoes with tuna and onion: both excellent. And warm, English speaking staff. read more