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A Wonderful Dining Experience In Barcelona

If you are in the Eixample area of Barcelona, enjoy the freshness of market food, and are looking for something a bit different, I suggest paying a visit to the Mercat Municipal del Ninot market for a midday meal where a number of the vendors cook and serve their own foods on site. I understand that this is the first fresh market of its type in Barcelona (only open for 2 years now) where they also serve food prepared within the market.

My favorite is a large family run butcher shop named Morales along the southern perimeter of the market. As you enter the building from the main entrance, just turn left after you are inside the market and walk to the very end where you will run right into the shop.

Melanie Morales, the daughter, a young and very friendly and enthusiastic woman, runs the restaurant part of the shop and she does all the cooking herself. She serves grilled chicken and beef, 5-6 kinds of homemade croquets (chicken, spinach, fish, etc), and serves it all together with great fresh salads. They also serve beer and other assorted beverages.

It's a really enjoyable experience for me eating in a fresh market like this, something I have grown used to living in Asia, where you know that you are being served only the finest and freshest foods.

Melanie has six tables in her shop, which are often filled up by around 1PM and serves food starting from 11AM until 4PM (closed on Sunday's).

She offers a daily menu for 11.95 Euros and a special 3 course menu for 19.95 Euros served with croquets, foie gras and a 1 kilo T-bone steak, drinks and desert.

You can alternatively make your choice of having her cook anything for you that they offer fresh for sale within their large butcher shop.

I particularly like their marinated chicken kababs that she serves with a beautiful garden salad with fresh strawberries and some homemade fried potato wedges.

Posted by
3071 posts

Aha!, so you "felt" also for our fresh food markets, huh? :)))

As I mentioned in another post there are several fresh food markets across the city, some 40 in all. Our City Hall is very cocky about them, and they're really something indeed. Probably not all of them warrant a visit, but some certainly do, not only for those interested in architecture (many of them date back to the 19th century albeit have been since renovated) but also in the stalls selling fresh food and the stalls offering cooked food.

I particularly recommend Santa Caterina, L'Abaceria, El Ninot, La Llibertat and obviously La Boqueria. At La Llibertat, located in the quaint area of Gràcia, there's a particular stall, El Tast de Joan Noi, a seafood restaurant, that's worth a visit. They prepare finger-licking good seafood tapas!

Posted by
594 posts

Enric, how does one get a top view of the roof to Santa Caterina market? I see lots of pics on Google, but am curious to know if one could get these shots on their own.

Posted by
3071 posts

I believe you can't... those pictures are taken from nearby buildings. To my knowledge, the best you can do is to get a bit of the roof from the Via Laietana street.

If you're a history buff and visit Santa Caterina, don't forget to check out the back. There's a small room where you can see a bit of the Bronze Age remains of the city: http://museuhistoria.bcn.cat/en/muhba-santa-caterina It has free access, of course.

Posted by
594 posts

Bummer. Thanks for the tip. I saw the market from a distance when I visited last year but this year I want to make sure to make it inside.