Martin Tønner

The Best Sardines In The World

2008-09-18T23:38:00Z

The other day I asked Josep Maria, one of the owners of La Cova Fumada, why they don’t have a sign outside with the name of the place. "Why should we," he answered. "People already know where it is."

Well, some people do. What Josep Maria probably meant to say was that the tiny family driven restaurant in the heart of Barcelona’s old fisherman quarter Barceloneta needs no publicity whatsoever. Once you have tried their fish and seafood-tapas you will always come back for more.

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

That is if you can handle the rather chaotic and very Mediterranean atmosphere, off course. Shouting from both staff and mainly local clients is intense and the oily steam rising from pots and pans in the open kitchen gives an idea of how the restaurant got its name – la cova fumada means the smoky cavern.

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

But all that just seems to underline the exquisite taste of the sardines fried with parsley and garlic. The best I have ever tried and believe me, I have consummated quite a few travelling throughout Spain and Portugal. The octopus (pulpo), the mackerel (barat) and the cod (bacalao) are other of my favourite dishes, and no lunch at La Cova should come to an end without a ‘pirata’, coffee-punch invented by Josep Maria and his family.

La Cova Fumada, c/ Baluart 56, Barceloneta. Tel. 93 221 40 61. Metro: Barceloneta.

Open Monday to Friday from 9 to 15.30. Thursdays and Fridays also from 18 to 20.30. Saturdays from 9 to 13.30.

GO FURTHER: Find out where in Lisbon Lucy and her friend go to eat sardines and spicy sausages. Click here.

A Freaky Music Hall

2009-02-27T16:00:00Z

It was halfway through the concert when Harry Connick Jr. suddenly told his musicians to stop. The American bandleader had a long look around the rich decoration of Palau de la Música. Then he said: “I’m sure these sculptures are very important to your cultural heritage. But, Jesus, they really freak me out!”

Connick Jr. is right. Barcelona’s old music hall, build a hundred years ago by one of architect madman Gaudís colleagues, is a freaky place. At one side of the stage a bust of Beethoven is almost run over by a bunch of wild Wagner-valkyries in a wagon. Behind it a series of muses look like Inca-mummies buried halfway into the wall. And at the back of the hall two enormous Pegasus horses jump right out over your head.

The place is simply too much but that’s exactly what I love about it. A night at El Palau is like being part of a weird fairytale. And strange as it may seem it is also a perfect setting for all kinds of events. I have seen gigs as different as the Danish Radio Big Band, flamenco singer Diego ‘El Cigala’ and noise rockers The Tindersticks perform here and all were brilliant.

There is almost always something interesting on at El Palau and if not it’s worthwhile a visit anyway. You just close your ears and open your eyes.

Guided tours are available everyday from 9.00 to 15.30.

Palau de la Música Catalana, C/ Sant Pere Més Alt, s/n.

Haute But Easy Going Cuisine

2008-08-04T04:02:00Z

The Catalan chef Ferrán Adrià is a genius no doubt. His revolutionary techniques and dishes have turned Barcelona into one of the world’s hotspots for haute cuisine. Only problem is that without a special invitation it may take years to get a table at his famous El Bulli-restaurant a good hours drive north of the city.

Photo by Thomas Wilhelm

While you wait along with the rest of us a good and quite a lot cheaper alternative is Santa María. Situated in the centric and flashy El Borne-neighbourhood this small restaurant offers creative but still recognizable tapas and, almost as important for me, an easygoing atmosphere without pretentious waiters babbling on for ages about every dish they serve.

Photo by Thomas Wilhelm

The chef ‘Crazy’ Paco Guzman has been through his ‘molecular kitchen’ period inventing tapas such as blue-mussels filled with sweet potato-cream and garneted with blood orange-foam. Nowadays most of his new ideas are simply imaginative combinations of products and flavours. An octopus and red beat salad, for example, or salmon-sushi stuffed with goat-cheese.

Photo by Thomas Wilhelm

You can have a go at eight tapas and three deserts for 33,5 euros including ‘las putas ancas de rana’ (the fucking old frog legs) as the menu card spells it out: An all time Santa María-classic that is served deep fried the Spanish way, crispy and delicious.

Santa María, C/Comerç, 17. Metro: Jaume I.

Open Monday to Saturdays from 13 to 16.00 and 20.00 to 24.00. Sundays closed.

Vamos A La Playa

2009-06-30T17:05:00Z

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

I used to live in a small flat at La Barceloneta. During the recurrent heat waves of the Spanish summer it often got so hot that I had to sleep with my head out on the balcony to be able to breath. On nights like that the best idea was to get out of ‘bed’ and walk down to the nearby beach.

A smooth sea breeze would embrace me and I would sit down in the sand with a beer watching the anglers with their long poles or reading a book in the light from the lampposts until it got cold enough to sleep.

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

Some people still mourn the traditional stall restaurants that covered the Barceloneta beach before the Olympic Games of 1992. I’m sure they were great but so are the four kilometres of playas left by the reforms and unmatched by any other European city.

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

Also because beach life in Barcelona includes a lot more than the obvious swimming, sunbathing and ‘girlspotting’. You’ll see old men play domino, cards or a local variety of tennis hitting the ball directly with their hands. Others work out, fly kites, surf or play volleyball. And yet others prefer to watch it all from one of the many beach bars.

If you like swimming but hate sand try the sea baths at the northern end of the beaches.

Metro: Any station on the yellow line from Barceloneta to Selva de Mar.

Sleep While You Save The World

2009-07-23T12:49:00Z

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

The people behind Casa Camper would like to save the world. Not that they make a big fuss about it, but whenever possible they try to teach a lesson on healthy lifestyle to the guests at their hotel.

Next to the elevators a big sign reminds that you get more exercise using the stairs. Hammocks installed in the rooms invite you to take a break.

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

“We also removed the TV to stop people from watching stupid series in bed instead of getting a good nights sleep. But too many complained so we put them back,” explains Miquel Fluxà, heir to the mallorcan shoe-dynasty Camper that owns the hotel.

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

A pragmatic attitude that makes you feel at home at Casa Camper whether you have seen the light or not, along with the cool and welcoming design.

Each guest has an entire mini lounge at his disposal. In the bedroom warm and red colours provide a cave-like atmosphere and bathroom-views of the ‘vertical garden’ in the patio almost makes you forget that the hotel is placed in central Barcelona.

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

Access to a 24-hour open buffet with organic food is included in the room rate as is free use of the hotel’s bicycles.

“This is not a NGO. We are doing business here but at the same time trying to introduce the guests to our values. Then they can take it or leave it,” explains Miquel Fluxà. Seems fair enough.

CASA CAMPER, C/ Elisabets, 11. Metro: Plaça Catalunya.

Find more hotels in Barcelona

Off Piste Barcelona

2008-12-23T08:04:00Z

Downtown Barcelona is great. Sometimes, though, you get tired of the slick, international atmosphere and the neatly designed but overpriced restaurants.

Café-life in Poble Nou Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

Sometimes you feel like some genuine, Spanish neighbourhood-life; like a strong café solo at a shabby Manolo-bar while you listen to loud discussions about FC Barcelona’s latest match, labourers shouting obscenities at bypassing ‘señoritas’ and old women quarrelling with their dogs.

It’s quite easy to find. You just have to get away from the centre and head for ‘barrios’ like Poble Sec, Sants, Gracia or Clot.

Café-life in Poble Nou Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

For me the nearest choice is Poble Nou. Once known as ‘Catalan Manchester’ because of its many textile factories and as a stronghold for Barcelona’s anarchist movement this old working class neighbourhood is changing fast but still conserves its industrial charm.

The most interesting part is the one near the market and in particular the Rambla de Poble Nou, a semi-pedestrian street that gives you an idea of what the famous Rambla at the centre must have been like before it became permanently flooded with tourists.

There are several good bars around and a couple of brilliant restaurants. My favourite is called Barlovento, a small and economic tapasbar with a nice terrace facing the Rambla. Apart from the seafood you should also try the snails in spicy sauce and the blood sausage.

Barlovento, Rambla del Poble Nou, 21. Metro: Poble Nou.

Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 8.00 to 24.00 (kitchen closes at 23.00). Mondays closed. Metro: Poble Nou.

A Temple Of Books

2008-12-03T21:00:00Z

La Central in the MacBa museum Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

Pepe, an old friend from my Erasmus days in Granada, is one of the most devoted book readers I know. And when I a few months ago came across a Spanish translation of my favourite Danish novel – ‘The Fall of the King’ by Johannes V. Jensen – I bought it straight away and sent it to him.

A week later I received a long mail with a detailed analysis followed by Pepes final judgement: ‘Literatura de primera, macho! (First-class literature, mate!). Nothing like pushing a good book to a friend and see it appreciated.

Where did I find it? At ‘La Central’, off course, the best bookshop in town when it comes to fiction – Spanish, translated from just about any language or in English, French and Italian – and solid on non-fiction as well.

La Central in Raval Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

There are three ‘Centrals’ in Barcelona – one of them specialized in artbooks and situated in the MacBa museum of contemporary arts – but I prefer the one in Raval. The contrast with this chaotic and multicultural neighbourhood near Ramblas is perfect when you step into the solemn quietness of the shop underlined by the fact that it is situated in a former church. It also has a nice bar where to have a first look at your new acquisitions having a beer or two.

One complaint. The section with Spanish literature translated into English is limited. In this case Come In at C/ Balmes 129 bis is a better choice.

La Central del Raval, c/ Elisabets, 6. Metro: Plaça Catalunya.

Go further: Read Francis' guide to his favourite book stores in Stockholm here.

In Search Of Nirvana

2008-08-04T16:00:00Z

It was movie director Isabel Coixet who first introduced me to Hotel Omm. During an interview I asked for her top 10 of things to do in Barcelona.

Eating a beef tatar with mustard ice cream at the then new hotel’s Restaurant Moo came in second on the list. A later visit proved the restaurant – one star in the Michelin guide – to be only part of the attractions.

Photo by Thomas Vilhelm

Omm is a five star luxury hotel but far from intimidating its lobby seems to drag you in from the street. Lounge area, bar and restaurant are all part of one enormous space that ends up in a large glass wall and views of bamboos and sculptures in the inner patio.

Upstairs the aisles are dark as in a cinema in order to make the contrast with the brightness of the rooms so much bigger. And it works. It may sound as a cliché but you actually feel almost at home.

The street side rooms have views of Barcelona’s shopping-Mecca, Passeig de Gracia. The ones facing the patio overlook a garden on top of the ground level space and a ‘plantation’ of Buddhist flags brought back from a staff excursion to Tibet.

The owners interest in eastern culture also shows in the large variety of Asian massage techniques offered at the wellness centre. But maybe you come even closer to Nirvana sitting in the pool at the rooftop-terrace with a drink beside you and interesting backside-views of Antoni Gaudí’s neighbouring La Pedrera-building.

Hotel Omm, C/ Roselló 265, Barcelona. Metro: Diagonal.

1001 Nights, Cheers & Olé

2008-12-10T14:50:00Z

I hate discothèques just about as much as I on occasions love to dance. Which would be a problem if not for the fortunate Spanish concept of the ‘bar musical’: A space that combines drinking while listening to good and not necessarily ‘strictly ballroom’ music with the possibility to move your body in a corner of the bar.

The lower part of Raval – the notorious but nowadays quite harmless ‘Chinese quarter’ – hosts quite a few of the kind. My favorite is called La Concha del Barrio Chino – a small, dark and somewhat exotic place in the backstreets of Ramblas.

The decoration is dedicated to the actress and gay icon Sara Montiel, top vamp of Spanish cinema in fifties and sixties and with celebrities such as James Dean, Ernest Hemingway and Gary Cooper on top of her endless list of lovers.

As a perfect match to Sarita’s mysterious features on the walls the music played is mainly flamenco-inspired mixed up with raï, the festive Arabian answer to the Blues. The crowd is from just about anywhere and La Concha is the only place where I on certain inspired occasions have come close to dancing some decent rumba.

During afternoon hours the bar surprisingly turns into a laidback and quiet Moorish teahouse and water pipe-joint.

La Concha del Barrio Chino, C/ Guardia, 14. Tel. 93 302 41 18. Metro: Drassanes.

A Paradise Of Hake

2009-01-12T08:59:00Z

Mercat de la Boqueria Photo: Adactio

When it comes to eating fish the Spanish don’t take advise from anyone. Except, maybe, the Japanese. So when my sister in law told me that she had discovered ‘El Barceloneta’ thanks to the bosses of her Japan-based company I knew it would be worthwhile.

Photo: Jlastras

Actually I had been living next to the place for years without paying much attention. The Barceloneta neighbourhood is stuffed with good fish restaurants and this particular – and quite pricy – one is located in an extremely ugly and not at all inviting building.

Once inside, though, the large open eating space is decorated with some taste – maritime, but avoiding the typical sailor man’s kitsch. Views of the yachts moored in Barcelona’s old port from the terrace-tables are picturesque. And most important: The food is brilliant.

I have to admit that during my so far 5-6 visits I have never come around to trying anything else but the hake (merluza). It is served ‘al ajillo’, with garlic, or ‘a la donostiarra’ with a sauce made of chilli and vinegar among other ingredients. But the main attraction is the hake itself, difficult to find tastier in this part of Spain.

According to other regulars the rest of menu cart is just as good with a long list of seafood and fish dishes cooked the traditional Spanish way but with modern elegance.

EL BARCELONETA. C/ L’Escar 22, Moll dels Pescadors. Tel.: (+34) 93 221 21 11. Metro: Barceloneta.

A Cup Of Coffee In The Morning Sun

2008-11-30T08:10:00Z

I didn’t use to be much of an early riser. For most of my adult life I’ve only been out of bed before 8 am on rare occasions. That has changed radically, off course, since my son was born a few months ago. And in some strange, masochistic way I’ve come to enjoy the early hours of the day.

Mainly because of the brilliant coffee served at Café Mozart where my wife and I have our breakfast almost everyday once the baby is fed and dressed. This smooth and thick-flowing liquid is served from around 7.45 and most of the year you can enjoy it outside on the terrace, bathed in the golden light of the morning sun that filters through Barcelona’s twin towers down at the nearby Olympic Port.

After the first, quick and well deserved shot it’s a good idea to order a bikini along with the second cup. This local version of a toasted cheese and ham sandwich is almost another everyday miracle and definitely one of the best in town.

Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges said about poetry that it’s like the taste of coffee or a sunrise: Obvious and essential but impossible to define. Some mornings down at ‘el Mozart’ I know exactly what he meant.

CAFÉ-HELADERÍA MOZART, C/ Moscou, 26. Metro: Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica.

Go further: Read Masha's guide to her favourite morning coffee-spots in Moscow.

El Menu - An Every Day Miracle!

2008-10-31T15:12:00Z

If I ever doubted the qualities of the Spanish cuisine, a recent visit to my Danish home country has made it disappear. After two weeks of lunching club sandwiches or sad old chilli con carne – just about all you can get at a fair price when eating out in Copenhagen during daytime – I couldn’t wait to go back to Barcelona and order my usual three course lunch menu.

The Spanish eat their main meal in the early afternoon. In the old ‘macho’-days the wife would have it prepared when you came home during a lunch break long enough for a nice siesta afterwards. Few have time for that nowadays. But that doesn’t mean that they are prepared to settle for a sandwich or some junk food.

So far the crisis hasn’t changed that. During the most turbulent moments last autumn the restaurants were empty for a while. But when people found out that it was not going to be the end of world (at least not right now) they slowly came back and my favourite places, such as El Chatico on Calle Sardenya, are again as full as ever.

Also, maybe, because prices have adjusted quickly. A good menu that some months back would cost you ten euros is now available for eight or seven, even, in some places. Which is a little miracle, if you ask, me considering that most menus offer a choice between 6-8 starters, second plates and desserts including a beer, a glass of wine or a bottle of water.

You have to know the good places, off course. It may take some investigation but the main guidelines are clear: Whenever the restaurant is full it will be worthwhile, even if you have to wait for a table. And when the majority of the guests are blue-collar workers that know where to get value for money even more so.

Just don’t expect any fancy designer-tapas. The food is almost always traditional Spanish with dishes like chickpea stew (potaje de garbanzos) or sausage with white beans (botifarra amb mongetes) as all time classics. Every Thursday is paella-day.

EL CHATICO; Calle Sardenya 96, Barcelona. Tel.: (+34) 933 091 868

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The Best Botifarras In Town

2009-04-19T07:20:00Z

Feeding the pigeons on Plaça Catalunya Photo: Serge Melki

My first flat in Barcelona seemed like a real bargain. Overlooking central Plaça Catalunya it was not only big but also fairly cheap. I soon found out why. Situated in the ground cero of Barcelona’s hottest shopping area it was a daily struggle to get out of the front door without being swept away by mad flocks of tourists and locals in pursuit of a new pair of shoes.

Bar Kasparo on Plaça Vicenç Martorell Photo: Oriol Lladó

I lasted less than a year in the flat. But before moving on to a more genuine neighbourhood I discovered a few nice and nearby places. Carrer Tallers is a paradise for people old-fashioned enough to still buy their music in shops. Bar Boadas in the same street makes brilliant cocktails. And the cafés on Plaça Vicenç Martorell are surprisingly quiet and perfect for hanging out.

But if I defy my shopping phobia and pay a visit to my old ‘barrio’ as often as possible it is mainly because of Julivert Meu. The main attraction of this old style Catalan restaurant situated on Carrer Bonsuccés 7 is the botifarra amb mongetes. Made out 'real' meat and fried along side with white beans, garlic and parsley, this tasty sausage is the national dish of Catalonia and difficult to find better cooked than here. Side orders like tomato bread and a few of the red bell peppers known as pimiento de piquillo, marinated and slightly spicy are also highly recommendable.

The botifarra served at Julivert Meu is the classical no nonsense version. They come with all sorts of stuffing, though, mixing minced pork with cheese, mushrooms, almonds and cuttlefish among other surprising ingredients. You can also try them out at one of central Barcelona’s best delicatessen, La botifarreria de Santa María on Carrer de Santa María 4.