Zarautz, Taberna Vasca
- Address: Carrer de L'Elisi 13
- Tags: Where to eat Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Website: http://www.zarautzbcn.es/
Delicious Pintxos in Sants
Feeling peckish while in Barcelona Sants, but not really inclined to waste too much time or money? This will be the right place for you, as it combines the possibility to taste delicious quick snacks with more elaborate dishes, both of them at a very reasonable price. Indeed, I had my first experience at Zarautz right when, out of the railroad station of Barcelona Sants, I was heading for Montjuich. It was a bit early for lunch, but fortunately I dropped in and the meal was really worth the few minutes I had to wait.
Do not be put off by the appearances: despite a rather average outer face, indeed, Zarautz offers a quiet setting with cosy and warm atmosphere. Graceful and welcoming, though not very large, the dining hall consists of two main parts: the bar space, where breakfasts and snacks are offered at any hour, and the restaurant itself. Seduced at first glance by the wide variety of pintxos displayed on the counter, I settled in for lunch. After having a look at the carta, I opted for the pintxos menu, as I was quite in a hurry. Anyway, I must add that most of the meat and fish dishes seemed quite tempting.
Therefore, I enjoyed my meal consisting of 5 tasty pintxos, for a very good price (11, 95 euro including a drink and the service at the table, but the same menu is available also at the counter for just 9, 95 euro). Apart from the quality of the food, which was excellent, I think pintxos have been a good choice, as they fully illustrate the soul of this Basque restaurant transplanted into Catalonia. The pintxos, indeed, are a typical Basque dish, usually eaten as a snack or an appetizer. In a nutshell, they are a sort of Basque version of the tapas, but their main feature is that they normally consist in a slice of bread, topped by various ingredients, held together by a spike (pintxo in Basque).
And indeed my own pintxos cleverly showed this Basque-Catalan fusion: to start with the warm ones, I could taste a pintxo with chorizo, a dark sausage which is one of the top specialties of Catalonia. Then one with potato cream and codfish followed, but it was with the cold ones that the chef's mastery really triumphed. After warming up with a tomato and Roquefort (a French cheese with quite strong flavour, and smell) pintxo, I was delighted by one with salmon and Txaka (a Basque sauce consisting in crab and mayonnaise) and another topped by a sauce of eggs, cheese and the typical Catalan ham.
Spurred by the delightful taste of the pintxos, I could not restrain myself and surrendered to gluttony, ordering a Orgasmo de Chocolate (Orgasm of Chocolate) as dessert. Needless to say, it was fantastic, though it obviously contributed to raise the bill. As a conclusion, I would definitely recommend it for a snack, but I am quite confident it would be a good choice also for a larger meal, as the main courses normally cost 10-15 euro. If on your way to Montjuich or Camp Nou (or back from them), thus, you know you can count on this reliable and welcoming place.
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Content available in other languages
- Français: Pintxos délicieux dans le quartier Sants
- Polski: Smaczne pintxos przy Sants
- Español: Pinchos riquísimos en Sants
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