Dinning with Kids in Barcelona

1) You are correct.
2) 6pm is indeed a strange time to be looking for dinner in Barcelona, so you should check listings for their hours of operation, or consider turning tapas into dinner.

The Spanish version of TripAdvisor is called El Tenedor, and it allows you to filter searches for dining with children, for instance these are the results for dining with children in the Eixample (look for the tag BEST OF COMER CON NINOS):

I'm editing this to give a link for dining with kids in all of Barcelona, not just the Eixample. -- note that some of these places are chains/franchises

https://www.eltenedor.es/mejores-restaurantes+barcelona#filters%5BTAG%5D%5Brestaurant_tag%7C1555%7C17%5D=on

This is an example of a popular chain, but it is open at all hours (basically) and offers Catalan cooking
and this location is pretty good as part of a walk in the Eixample:

https://www.eltenedor.es/restaurante/mussol-arago/803

I'm not a child, and I still had a massive problem with Spain's dinner hours. Making a dinner of tapas was, indeed, my solution. I didn't notice any children at tapas spots, but I just Googled, and the results suggest that it won't be a problem for your children to accompany you. I'm not sure that much will be available before 8 PM, though.

I think La Boqueria market, just off the Ramblas, is open till 8:30 PM, so that would be a good option when you're in the area. I don't know that all of the stalls stay open that late, though.

There's a 2-story Carrefour supermarket not too far from La Boqueria. It's right on the Ramblas a bit closer to Pl. Catalunya. It tends to be very crowded after working hours but the line moves fast. I stopped in there sometimes to pick up cups of cut-up fruit and yogurt. You might try having your main meal in the early afternoon ("early" starts at about 2 PM in Spain) and having an in-room picnic at night.

I really like the idea of an evening picnic. I've never considered that.

Thanks as well for the chain restaurant suggestion, it might work well too.

Spanish ham is really superior. If you're feeling rich you could buy some ham to include in your picnic. I'm only half kidding; I saw some ham at 55 euros per kilo (about $25/lb.) at a small mini-market somewhere in Spain, not at all a gourmet place. Perhaps it was the super-special acorn-fed stuff.

I can't tell you how many times I filled up on tapas for dinner, even at typical Spanish dinner hours. A lot of tapas bars are open throughout the day. 6 pm is not an unusual time to eat them. There are many reasons for dining on tapas. First, you only order what you can eat. When you're full, you stop ordering more. Second, lots of choices . . . a little of this, a little of that, if you like it, get another, if you don't, it's no big deal. Many tapas are simply small portions of main or side dishes. Order a few for the family and everyone can taste. In many tapas bars, you can see the tapas before you choose.

One of my faves is Orio. It's a small chain with several locations in Barcelona. There's one not far from the Palau de la Musica, opposite the main entrance to the Santa Caterina market. They specialize in Basque tapas. They put out plates of bite-sized tapas, each with a toothpick, including some hot ones. Take what you want, leave the toothpicks on the plate. When you're done, the waiter adds up the toothpicks to calculate your bill.

Ahh, I doubt that!... the "super-special acorn-fed stuff" is far (far!) more expensive, but from 50-60€/kg it begins to be considered high quality already.

@IWN

• Yes, you're correct. Furthermore, we don't have restaurants with a no-children policy... that'd be against the law anyway. Our laws tend to warrant equality among citizens :))
• As per "bar", over here it's merely a sort of lesser restaurant if you want as it serves drinks and food too, but on a somehow less formal/more casual environment. Yet, these days this might be a wrong description having seen some 'bars' that look like museums!
• Life in our culture goes on until later than that: stores close between 8:30 and 9pm, shopping malls at 10pm, thus people obviously have dinner later than in your shore and hence the reason many restaurants don't open their kitchens so early. Having said that, there are plenty of eateries where food is served all day long so more casual restaurants will surely serve you earlier.