Alegria Forum — Restaurant in Barcelona

First off, there are fruit flies flying around, which is super annoying. The bomba, which is a potato ball with a little bit of meat, was pretty disappointing. But probably because I can only compare it to Porto's Cuban meat and potato balls in the USA, which are amazing. The albondigas, meatballs, were not very good either. They taste kind of fishy which is odd. The tortilla Española was pretty good

The seafood paella, although excellent, was an incredibly skimpy portion for 2. We had paella for two that was a platter twice the size for about the same price in Costa de la Calma, Mallorca last week.

The server was super sweet, young Chinese man. He was very entertained by the fact that my Anglo husband speaks Chinese, but I don't (I'm Chinese American) and that I spoke Spanish and my husband didn't. Service is very relaxed, as most places in Spain are.

TLDR: don't get anything except the paella and...

It's a very cosy place, with its own special atmosphere. It's not a tourist spot or a tourist attraction. But when you come to places like this to eat, the atmosphere is simply indescribable. The place has its regular visitors, its history, and I was lucky enough to come here. Fantastically tasty food, unexpectedly large portions at reasonable prices (if you're a tourist, you understand). Pleasant service and friendly waiters, even if you don't speak Spanish and he doesn't...

Ambiente amigable. Gente del barrio. Excelente servicio donde los camareros no están nunca parados, se desviven por atenderte. La cocina es muy buena (el estofado de ternera, estofado de calamares, la sopa de marisco, las mairas cuando hay, los muslos de pollo, buenos vinos.....). Si quieres pescado es mejor que se lo reserves a Chen el día antes, te traerá lo que quieras y te lo cocinara a buen precio. Es el bar del sí a todo: el pescado con ensalada en lugar de patatas? Sí. Una copa de vino de la Rioja? De cual? Tiene de varios precios. Una ración más grande de bacalao? Por supuesto (el precio no será igual). Una parrillada de pescado? Por supuesto (pero resérvalo el día de antes con lo que quieras, Chen te aconsejará). Somos 10, te junta varias mesas (avisa antes). No es el Ritz. Es un restaurante de barrio con precios muy ajustados, buena relación calidad-precio y un equipo que mima a la clientela. Mía ( la bella estaba delgada, Chen (el jefe que se acuerda del nombre de todos los clientes), Bashir el cocinero que si hace falta sale de la cocina para traerte el plato. Un placer comer allí. Muy buenas tapas y...