Restaurants in Barcelona, teen-friendly

I have not been to Barcelona, but this post should hopefully bump it up a little bit and you might get some recommendations from others here. There is also a search function on this site. So why you’re waiting for some responses, you could always try doing a search for Barcelona restaurants. :-)

I’m sure others will have specific recommendations, but I was pleasantly surprised by the offering on the top floor of Corte Engels Dept. Store in Placa Catalunya. It’s kind of cafeteria stations with a wonderful view. Our RS guide said they make their paella fresh daily.

I hope you get great answers to your question. We were there a few years ago and can't remember any restaurants but I do remember we did enjoy the great food if that helps!.

I rarely answer these types of questions, for two good reasons: (1) "best" is subjective, and (2) everyone has their unique idea of what makes a good restaurant. But every time someone mentions teens I immediately know where the OP comes from :) In case that's where your question is headed, in Catalonia, ALL restaurants are "teen-friendly." Teens aren’t discriminated against like in some places in the U.S.—in fact, it would be illegal to do so with our body of Law. So you can rest assured you can "bring teens" to any restaurant of your choice.

I am wondering what you mean by "teen-friendly" restaurant. Maybe you could clarify. I ate in a lot of restaurants in Barcelona recently, and none of them exclude teenagers. I'm going to sound like an old curmudgeon when I say this, but, when I was a teenager, my parents took us (two teenagers) to Europe and they picked the restaurants where they wanted to eat, and we had to eat there, too.

I too am curious what you mean by “teen-friendly” restaurants? Is it about the food? Or something else.
BTW I have lots of relatives who live in Belgium and I know they have a saying in Belgium that says that all restaurants in Belgium are kid-friendly because Belgian kids are raised to be restaurant-friendly :-)

There is nothing wrong with my teens in fact they are great kids and we travel all over the place with them. I guess I should have been more specific. I meant in terms of choices for food or perhaps a fun atmosphere.

I just meant a fun restaurant that my teens would enjoy. That's all, don't read into it.

I suggest watching some YouTube videos that feature Barcelona, no doubt they probably go to interesting restaurants that you may find a fit for your family.

Probably the best restaurant for teens are the ones where mom and dad aren’t around :)

I agree with the YouTube suggestion, but I’d let the teens watch and tell you what kinds of places they like and what kinds of foods they want to try.

The pixto/ tapa places would probably be attractive and fun for them to pick out little plates of meat, shrimp, salads, etc. Of course there are the places with special hams sliced in front of you.

All the multi course restaurants we’ve gone to have had families; you should be able to find plenty on the menus. I don’t remember any names; we just wander and choose.

Hopefully it will be fun just being in another country and trying new things. One of my teens tried everything; the other one, not so much until his twenties.

I was sort of thrown by the question wording too. But I thought the YouTube videos suggested for you and the teenagers was a great idea.

Thank you for your response that was very helpful.

Patty has a very good choice too.

If you notice, the difficulty understanding your question came from our native European posters. It was really cultural confusion. In Europe, a family unit is an entity. There will be 2-4 generations around the table at meal times with little catering to an individual or age group. Everyone is accepted as part of a unit.

So when you asked best restaurants to bring teens to, we were thrown and thought all restaurants. Nothing caters to teens.
Of course you want your kids to have a wonderful time and want to open their horizons. But that’s where the cultural misunderstanding happened.

I’m not sure if you said how old your teens are, but they do tend to eat quite late in Spain so my suggestion would be tapas. There’s a little mini-chain of tapas restaurants that I enjoyed and I wish I could remember the name - but the point is, you can go early evening and order a bunch of food for the table and the teens can have fun trying everything.

Right: remembered - Taller de Tapas. https://tallerdetapas.com

I’m not saying it’s “fun” but there are a couple of branches and I found them consistent and casual and easy to order a bunch of stuff.

Hi all, I've cleaned this thread up a bit. Reminder to keep your responses kind and respectful. If you need to ask for clarification, please do so politely.

Respectfully asking, I assume you are not asking for restaurants with a video game arcade. Tapas would seem to be a good choice, where all can choose things to try.

I just wanted some recommendations for a fun restaurant that my family will enjoy with a variety of food. Guess I should have asked in that manner.

Hi IMG,
Having just done copious research for our soon-upcoming first trip to Barcelona, my first response for 'teen-friendly' here was to maybe consider one of the many restaurants down in the Barceloneta area. I say that only because one could then do a two-fer, even a three-fer:
-delicious meal (Sun. brunch is family-time)
-shop at the local market; coffee and bread from Baluard Bakery
-added value in form of actual beach stroll/swim

*God's sense of humor - Air Canada has a looming strike date which is the day prior to our departure.
Sigh...

I am done. The end.

You may want to consider El Nacional. It has 4 different restaurants.

https://www.elnacionalbcn.com/en/the-areas/

Can Pizza - a few locations

I've got three suggestions for you: Vinitus Restaurant (https://vinitusrestaurantes.com/) is great fun. There are two locations in Barcelona, with extensive tapas menus. There will be something for everyone in your party: order one set of food, see how that goes and order more as needed. We found both the food and beverage menu to be very good value.

We also really like to eat in the markets.

Finally...you didn't specify the ages of your teens. But it may be worth checking out some of the rooftop bars, if even for a mocktail late afternoon before it gets busy. We love the view from the Zity Bar on top of the Novotel Barcelona City. But there are many.

Have a wonderful trip.