Barcelona is filled with tapas bars, wine bars and restaurants making it extremely hard for those of us incapable of making decisions when provided with too many choices. After a long day of exploring the magnificent works of Gaudi it was quite tempting to stop at one of the many places along our walk. But I needed to check out one of the most famous yet hidden tapas gems in Barcelona, Quimet y Quimet.
And so we walked through many neighborhoods, across the red light district, into the North African district with halal shops and finally made it to Quimet y Quimet in the El Poble Sec only to find that it was closed. Shocked and horrified as only the Hungry Nomad can be when placed in a state of extreme hunger, I was not sure what to do. The restaurant would open in an hour and we had come too far to turn back. And so we waited…waited…and waited until the tiny little bar finally opened its doors.
Once open the place was packed within 10 minutes. Super models, tourists and locals all swarmed the place and yelled orders to the man and wife duo at the bar. We were one of the first ones there so we had bar side spots making it quite easy to point and order in a shop where Catalan language is strictly abided by.
We drank and looked around to get inspiration on what to order. A lot of finger pointing was done but the gentle man at the bar understood each and every order and spewed out open faced tapas that looked too good to eat. A piece of art waiting to be devoured. The smoked salmon with Greek yogurt and truffled honey, which brought together the milky fresh yogurt, the smoky salmon and sweet honey making it a contrast between savory and sweet and the Montado de pate with onion marmalade and balsamic drizzle are only a few of the innovative plates we tried that night. If you happen to make it to this tiny little gem your best bet is to point to the flavors you want and let the owners surprise you. You will not be disappointed.
