La Rambla del Mar

It was almost 5:00p when we left the museum. Mui had found us a place for tapas, but it wasn’t scheduled to open until 6:00p. Nonetheless, we decided to head in that direction, meandering along the way. Good thing we did. The guys who operate the tapateria directed us to their sister property next door — Las Alcoba Azul — which was already serving.

As it was breezy and cool — and would likely get downright chilly as the evening progressed — we opted against sitting on the sidewalk and took a table inside. Though it was still early by Barcelona standards, the place filled up pretty quickly … a sign of Las Alcoba’s popularity despite its location off the beaten path.

The building in which the restaurant is located is very narrow. The entrance area is just big enough for a bar and a row of tables along the side wall. Just past the galley-style kitchen was a step up that led to a long hallway-like room. It was here that we were seated. The stone walls added an interesting ambiance; the remaining walls were distressed to add to the aged-look of the place. Frankly, at first glance, the place looked like a dump. If it wasn’t for the highly-rated reviews, we might have wondered what the heck we were doing there.

We ordered a pitcher of sangria to start. Perusing the menu, we selected a bunch of dishes … starting with a half-order of jamon Iberico and pan con tomate [Iberian ham and bread with tomatoes]. These were the only two dishes that were served together … all of the other dishes were brought to the table one at a time, the server matching the delivery of food to our eating pace … which was slow. We also had chicken satay with a peanut sauce; accordion potatoes that were exceptionally delicious … with the two sauces (one spicy) on the side at our request; and a toast of bacon and brie topped with crushed nuts. All delicious.

Another meandering stroll took us back to the port shuttle stop and we were back on the ship by 8:30p. Time to rest up for another day in Barcelona tomorrow .Read more