23 Oct Ocana – An evening meal in Barcelona
Barcelona.
End of 2016, start of 2017.
For the first time in my life I decided to spend the New Year’s Eve in another country and decided to party in a club there so after a quick scan I noticed that Luciano was mixing at Pacha Barcelona on that night between years so without spending too much time thinking I have bought the tickets, plane and accommodation.
It was my 3rd time in Barcelona so I knew what to expect so after dropping my bags at Hotel Rialto, since it was already 22:00 hours, I felt hungry and decided to grab a bite somewhere close to the hotel.
Now I don’t normally do this and take my time and study different sites and read about local food and restaurants but I was up for 17 hours, went to work for nine hours then flew for almost four. So at that poing I was just happy with the idea of food coming fast.
From my notes I knew there was a place about 400 metres from the hotel, the only place I noted for the entire trip, but upon arriving there I found it full and people were lining up in the street waiting outside.
So I thought I was too hungry to start looking for other places online and thought I’d find a place on the way back to my hotel.
As luck had it my hotel was extremely close to Placa Reial, a small square market with a beautiful fountain in the middle, restaurants lining up on two of the Placa’s sides(if I remember correctly).
Since it was past 22:00 hours and a bit chilly outside we settled for a place at Ocana Barcelona, a restaurant that had electric lamps outside so besides the food we were able to see the beautifully decorated Placa, the people walking slowly or enjoying their dinners at other restaurants.
We looked on the menu for some things, I don’t remember now what exactly did I want but I remember not finding it on the menu so my friend and I settled for some simple tapas, quesadillas and something sweet.
Starting bellow you can read the main points I usually grade when eating at a new restaurant:
- Location: the place is ultra-central. Alongside Las Ramblas, the most famous street in Barcelona it is pretty close to La Boqueria.
- Staff: we didn’t interact much with the staff since the terrace and the inside was full, people coming and going but we managed to get along nicely and they even recommended something for dessert which we really enjoyed so all fine here.
- Food. While only tasting basic things I can say that the food is good. It is not excellent and you wouldn’t probably go back to this place for another trip because you were overly impressed but the food is good so if you are close to the place I don’t see a reason for not stopping by and grabbing a bite to eat.
- Prices: from what I remember the prices are low to medium. Many things on the menu are pretty cheap so it all comes down to what you desire to eat but basically this is not an expensive place.
For me this was a welcomed dinner after a busy and long day and I took my time and relaxed while watching the Christmas decorations in the Placa.
If you’re in that area you can certainly stop for a bite to eat before moving on to explore once again Barcelona.