Sharing menu del dia plates in Barcelona

I don't know about sharing, but I've had many menu del dia in my day, and I doubt I've ever considered a portion to be 'generous'. Sensible, maybe, but they're generally servings that would be considered small at any restaurant in the US.

I agree with Scudder. We often get the menu del día on our trips to Spain and while the portions are sensible, I doubt most are large enough for sharing. What we will occasionally do when not overly hungry is get one menu del día and a salad and share those. We just swap plates part way through rather than asking for separate plates.

We check out the meals/plates of other diners.
We prefer to share.
We have found that most restaurants are very accommodating when you order a bottle of wine with the meal.
We had no problems in Barcelona.

"Menu del Dia" is a prix fixe seasonal set meal, served at lunch time, combining three courses (primer plato, segundo plato, y postre). The portions are not large (even by Europe standards) and are meant for a single person, can't imagine sharing. They are very affordable 12-16 euros for the whole course. You can try to share one "menu" between two grown adults, but that is very odd and will raise eyebrows, so don't be surprised if many places refuse.

You can try to order one "menu" for one person and then a smaller a la carte item for the other person, then share everything, that may be a work around.

No, definitely not. Menú del día is widely available all over Spain, weekdays and lunch only, and it´s intended for people that can´t go home for lunch so they can have a homemade meal before returning to work. Or for anybody that does not want to spend much in a la carte and a good daily menu is more than enough. In many places it includes half a bottle of wine per person, in others it´s just a glass, in others wine is not included. But it´s so very cheap that sharing it is not an option, price is ridiculously low given that you get a first, a second, a homemade dessert, plus bread, water and wine.

Hi, funny this question comes up now. Was just talking with the family about this a few days ago.
I go for a menu with a friend at least once a week, every week. And, in July went to Morryssom, just around the corner. It's a popular spot for lunch and there's often a line waiting for a table. Anyway, a young U.S. couple split a menú — she had a soup and he had pork chops and fries. The waiter thought it strange and shrugged his shoulders but served them (with a full carafe of house wine) anyway. A few days later when I strolled past I saw a note scrawled on the blackboard outside with that day's menú: NO SHARING.
And, has to be said, Morryssom is NOT a penny pinching outfit - for example, they created national front page commentary during the 'creesis' of 2007 through offering menús del día for just 1€ for a week, and they'll serve you free olives as you wait (not long) for your meal.
So, in brief, NO, don't try to split a menú — unless you want to be thought of as like two hoboes fighting over a cigarette butt and/or the dribblings left in a discarded tin of beer. As someone upstream says, if you need to save pennies, then order a menú and a starter or an entree.
Another point — a good bar-restaurant will include a full bottle or carafe of house wine. I recently had a menú with a friend at El Pórtico (for 12,90€) — he had a full bottle of white wine and I had a full bottle of red wine with our meals. We didn't drink it all — nearly, but not quite! Bon profit!

Don’t do it. There’s frugal and there’s cheap. Restaurants would not love this at all.

Thanks for the helpful replies. But I don't appreciate it when someone insinuates that I'm being cheap. Believe me, money is not the issue. We just have small appetites and hate to see food wasted.

And you had a valid question. I have a small appetite, too, but these meals are fine. Sharing is a lot less common in Europe except maybe a first course or a dessert.

As a reply to your comment on money not an issue (which I assumed as right, given that prices are very cheap), I do recommend to look for restaurants that offer the "plato del día", which is basically a half menú del día. It offers a first OR a second, plus dessert, so it´ll suit your appetite and you will not feel you´ll be wasting food.