We asked a couple of the staff at our hotel in Barcelona whereabouts we should have dinner and two of them recommended 4 Gats Restaurant in the Gothic Quarter. We arrived and let them know we were there for tapas. We did not have a reservation but they seated us immediately just inside the door near the bar. Apparently, there is a separate dining area for a full dinner as well. We arrived early according to Spanish standards and the place was quiet for a Friday evening. We ordered a red wine sangria, a bottle of beer, pan con tomate, Iberico ham, a croquette, and the snow pea & apple salad. Everything was amazing. It was really good. The Iberico pork was sliced thin and it was so very fatty. It went well with the tomato toast. I pounced on the salad because I knew that the last time I was in Spain, it was hard to find vegetables. All-in-all it cost us about $65 USD. It's a little pricey for tapas but apparently the place is popular with locals and a Woody Allen movie was filmed here. The restaurant opened in 1897 and has been a meeting place for local artists like Gaudi and Picasso. The place is steeped in history. Service was friendly and quick. We weren't rushed and left for our next adventure in the city. read more

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Located in a small side alley in the old town of barcelona. Recommended by locals for typical Catalonian food. For movie buffs, it was a scene in a Woody Allen film. Interior is historic and full of history of artwork. Price is a bit on higher side and some of dishes on smaller side. Overall service was friendly and quick. Good for groups as well. read more

Els 4 Gats - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

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2nd time was better. Same server. Better service. Attentive. Maybe, 2nd time is a charm. Stayed longer for Picasso and Gaudi. read more

Els 4 Gats - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

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This restaurant did not disappoint! Service and food were both outstanding. We would highly recommend it for these two items, but the environment and vibe of the restaurant makes it a must! read more

Great food and service to start; The waiter suggested the goat. I ordered it and shared part with my wife when it was served. After taking one bite, I realized the leg was way too tough. My wife wouldn't eat anymore than a bite but insister I try one more. When I informed the waiter that the meal was not satisfactory, he suggested something we both liked in exchange. At the end if a lovely evening, the check was presented including the cost the rubbery goat. The Manager/owner(?) came over and said "you have to pay". Then he said "Barcelona is not America. you ate more than a bite and you pay for it." Advice - Beware of what you order because you will pay for it whether you like it or not. We left very disappointed. read more

Someone had recommended me this place and I decided to wonder over for a night cap. I was pleasantly surprised by the live music and attentive service. I ordered a sangria and found it to be absolutely lovely. read more

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We had a tour and the guide recommended this place. I know the reviews were so so, but i will say, this place was actually very good. The food was good, and yes, expensive. It's all small bites, tapas food. So you will need a few plates to fill you up. A lot of history and plenty of atmosphere. It's a great place to go to and just look around, talk, and eat. The hummus was excellent. The prons were shocking at first. Big huge shrimp, completely dressed. In other words, shell, legs, and head filled with wacamole. Yea, shocking. I know people have said the service was not good. We didn't have that problem at all. Our waitress was good and fast. We didn't have any problems. Everything was good. I would recommend. read more

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I'm puzzled by the reviews and rating of this restaurant. Was just in Barcelona recently, for the second time. Last time, many years ago, I ate here and had to come back. It did not disappoint. Some have written that the prices are high. Compared to many of the other restaurants I went to in the city, perhaps this criticism has some validity, but not so sure. Anyway, the food was great, the atmosphere of the restaurant is wonderful. The wine was very nice. I highly recommend The Four Cats, Els 4 Gats, anytime! read more

We had discovered Els 4 Gats on a previous trip to Barcelona in 2023 ...like it so much my wife and I made dinner reservations with new friends and we all enjoyed the evening; We ate early by Spanish standards, (6p) but that meant a quieter atmosphere and we still enjoyed some piano music after 7p It's been awhile so I can't recall food choices, sorry ! read more

Tourist trap. Meh food. Pricy. Portions small. Had turbot. Just ok. Small and simple dish. Salad fish 1 drink bread water $72 euro

We read about this place and made reservations to stop in for dinner one evening. They were pretty busy for dinner service and they have a pianist playing in the main dining room. The dining room has an interesting upper level which is a cat walk with small two-top dining tables, it's narrow, but gives you a view of the beautiful dining room below. The menu has plenty of options, whether you're seeking paella, seafood, pork, or beef. The quality and execution of the dishes we ordered was great! The turbot was nice and smokey, as if it were made in a smoking oven - amazing! Save room for dessert, they have a couple of amazing items on their dessert list that we couldn't resist. The service was decent, but mixed. The management seemed to be rushed, not very accommodating, but a couple of the servers were friendly and went out of their way to ensure diners had a good experience. Glad we stopped in... if back in the area, we'd return and try paella next time. read more

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Service was amazing!!!! Best service in town. The history is fun and it's kept clean. The churros weee fresh. read more

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The atmosphere was exceptional, service was good, and the food was excellent. A new must go to spot for me when visiting Barcelona. read more

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Honestly very overpriced for the food. I get that the cafe itself is very significant and the vibrant walls bring out life in the late 1800s. Being that Picasso was commissioned to paint at this cafe, it felt like we were transported back to that time but.... At the end of the day it's still a restaurant that undelivered on that wow factor that the prices call for. If the menu included any sort of biography about the place or the significance of its history then it would make the experience more grandiose. read more

Els 4 Gats - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

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Beautiful architecture. Service was good and food too but they forgot to bring us the arroz mar y Tierra. Big gaffe. read more

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Love the atmosphere! Service is quite busy though. If you expect a quite and nice place this is not the case. Oyster is something must try. read more

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This restaurant is extremely overpriced for what it is serve here. The service was the worst I ever experience in my life. The food I didnt eat at all and the server with a bad actitud all the time. With so many options in Barcelona I don't recoment this restaurant. Only one bathroom available read more

Atmosphere is awesome, slightly disappointing that two of the specials weren't available for lunch but all meals were good. The beef cheek, octopus, and chicken were all excellent. Nice touch with anchovies and pepper as a snack. read more

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Incredible meal. Beautiful dining room. Everything we had was absolutely delicious. The beef cheek entree was outstanding.

The atmosphere is great but that is where the good things about it end. The food was awful, the best thing we ordered was the salad that was just a standard fresh salad. The servers were pushy clearly trying to upsell the most expensive items on the menu. This was our most expensive and disappointing meal of our trip. The food was even worse. There were 5 people in our group and no one was happy with what they ordered. The steak was so fatty and tough that it was hard to cut, and 3/4 was left uneaten. The tuna was a weird unnatural texture. The paella wasn't bad it just wasn't what we ordered. read more

Els 4 Gats - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

The service was extremely good and kind, the food was excellent and came quick for its quality, and was very delicious. The sound in the room was good and i could hear my family very well, lighting was also very nice. Would reccomend!! Romeo was also extremely kind. read more

This place has great history. Read on it. You will be amazed. This place is very old but cozy and appealing to the eyes. Well, at least to my eyes. It's history is so overwhelming I just can not believe it. Ah yes! They made me vegan panella! Thank you! read more

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First visited about 16 years ago and loved! Fast forward to present time and still feel the same. Come for some good drinks, relaxed atmosphere, and wonderful tapas. read more

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What an appropriately funky spot. We'd kinda been avoiding it as too touristy, but we had wonderful service above of the best lamb dishes we've every had in our lives. This menu isn't traditionally Catalan, but one can only eat so much jamon and croquettes. We got a lovely steak and an out of this world lamb shank, but not until after we had the caramelized aubergine that made Brian actually say "Oh my God..." (And eggplant isn't his main jam usually.) Also tasty was the red pesto and prawn pasta. We had a great bottle of red wine for an incredibly reasonable price. We heard a little live piano music. We met other tables when they ordered huge dishes as well. (The portion sizes are more American than European!) Would totally recommend the experience. read more

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I do not recommend 4 Gats. Nice setting, white tablecloth level location. Much anticipated evening we planned weeks in advance while on holiday in Spain I was not impressed with anything except on entree, get the Cod. Beef Carpaccio was solid, shrimp carpaccio was not. I had fish of the day, cold and flavorless. Two ordered seafood paella- fair. Great wine that owner bought every , 2500, bottle from a local vendor- tremendous. Service was the overwhelming negative. From what I saw we got the only poor server, just bad luck. Note the app auto-selected positive for service, I could not take it off. read more

Service started slow, but really warmed up. Paella is outstanding, went with squid ink. The seafood was perfectly cooked and the servings are plentiful! The artichoke starter was also very tasty with a great dipping sauce. Highly recommend for dinner! read more

Els 4 Gats is a pretty fancy looking restaurant. My friends and I went there for breakfast because of the history--Picasso had his first exhibition here! Their breakfast menu is disappointingly limited, so we ultimately ended up going elsewhere. But the coffee was excellent, the ambiance is lovely, and it'll always be cool to say I had a coffee in the same place Picasso used to hang out! read more

Els 4 Gats - americano! - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

My favorite historic coffee shop in Barcelona !!! Very special place and a must see when visiting the city.

Went for lunch. Both my wife & I made selections and wait staff offered "better" options, which we accepted. Although the time was early and restaurant having only 4 or 5 tables filled, it took an interminable time to receive our order. We were given excuses of the rice not cooking properly. When food was cooked it was brought to us for viewing before plating. Then our server placed the order down on the prep table and went and picked up salads for a nearby table before plating our order. The lobster on my wife's order tasted bad, the whole plate did not taste well. She didn't eat much. Later we had tapas for dinner at another restaurant and we ate off the same plates. During the night she got ill running several times to the bathroom. It must have been from the lunch because we ate dinner off the same plates and I was fine. Would recommend any one considering eating here to find another restaurant. read more

Wonderful meal in a beautiful historic setting. Get a pitcher of sangria. Service was terrific, and the overall experience was A+

Beeeautiful building, neat history, to be able to sit inside and have tapas and an excellent hot chocolate was fun.

This is a beautiful and historic tapas bar in a lively neighborhood of Barcelona. Characters like Gaudi and Picasso were regulars here! The food and drinks are great and standard for the area. We were seated quickly when we walked in on a weekday afternoon. It is pretty touristy and the servers seem busy and didn't check on us much. read more

Els 4 Gats - Bar - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

4.5 star! This restaurant is in every travel book, and blog. I was not sure about coming here, because it just seems too popular and over exposed. My husband and I still ended up here since we were in the neighborhood anyways. This is day 5 in Barcelona for us and we are pretty tired of the similar tapa dishes that every tapa restaurants offer. To our surprise, 4 gats has some different things on their menu. We chose the meatball with cattle fish and mushroom, cabbage with potatoes and sausages, and pork belly baos. Each dish offer new yummy flavors that we haven't had in Barcelona before. They were simply delicious. The cabbage dish was gone so fast that I did not have a chance to take a picture. We came having not much expectation for their food, but to mainly check out the shop, instead, we left feeling so satisfied and happy with the food. I defiantly recommend! read more

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Great setting especially once the piano player began playing after 8:00. Food was only ok. Chicken in the bone is dark meat and tasted fine but came with nothing but sauce. Paella/ Rice with vegetables had tiny diced veggies when I was expecting larger veggies mixed in, like an entree. I would not go back except maybe for a glass of wine to enjoy the music but you really can't do that as they probably expect guests to eat. Even the apple pie with custard dessert was underwhelming.. really no custard or pie! not sure how that even happens. It is a cool historical building. read more

This place is MAGICAL!! The sardines were perfect, and the croquetas de bacalao are something that none of us will ever forget! To top it off, our server Sherry (Sheryl?) couldn't have been more attentive or kinder to our toddler! read more

Came to place randomly. If you read other people's review, there apparently is a lot of history at this restaurant, so if you're a history buff or just want to come here just to experience that piece of history, come here for a visit. The staff was pleasant and very nice. Just be warned, the bread isn't free. So if you don't want bread or don't want to pay for it, don't accept it. We didn't eat the bread as it was cold and very plain. The peppers were supposed to have "volcanic salt" on it but it was very plain and not tasty at all. The only good thing about this dish was that there was a lot of peppers, much more than what you'll get at any restaurant. There was also a strand of hair in wrapped around one of the peppers, so that was pretty nasty. The paella we order was extremely oily. It was pretty good but way too oily compared to other restaurants. My wife and I both had upset stomachs after this visit and do not plan on coming back here. read more

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Delicious paella! Great atmosphere. We had a reservation but it looked like there were some empty tables. read more

Els 4 Gats - Paella - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

Very nice restaurant with super atmosphere and excellent food. The live music boosted the vibe. Food and dessert prepared at our table was nice to watch and tasted beautiful. read more

Els 4 Gats - Live music - Spanish Near Me - Barcelona, B

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Everything was prefect! The food & customer service was on top. Loved the music & the ambience. Our last meal before returning for home. read more

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Everything from the food, service, and ambiance was great! Our server Bernard was very pleasant and helpful in giving us suggestions on what to order. Will definitely return the next time I'm in Barcelona. read more