El Nacional Barcelona — Restaurant in Barcelona

Before you go, be aware that this is not one single restaurant. It’s basically several different outlets under one restaurant and these outlets are not consistent in their food and service. There are two key positives going for this place: First, it’s open till 1 am… After waiting at bar caneat for 2 hrs, we were told there’s no more place and at 10:30pm on a Friday night, most restaurants appeared either closing or serving the last of the remaining zombied looking clientele. We decided to walk to El Nationale, the last beacon of hope to find life and food. As we arrived at 10:45, most of the restaurants were full and bustling with life. Let me now move to the second positive element of El Nationale. Variety! The whole place can be divided roughly into three areas : tapas, seafood and steak/meat. For the next few days, we ate at all 3. Be careful here: the service and the food levels in each are very different.

The Tapas: contrary to the other reviews, I was not impressed with this place. Predictable and boring. The head waiter Imran is a nice enough guy but his recommendations are all semi deep fried food. It was fresh seafood on the menu. The gambas was the item that was edible.

The seafood: this was our favourite, which we visited the following night. The seafood on ice is fresh, the seating, a lot more elegant and comfortable, and even the wine list, a lot more superior. Be careful when ordering anything that’s displayed on the ice: I ordered 4 beautiful grilled Carabineros & found out later they were Eur 78!! The waiters also tried their best to oversell once they smell a bit of money. So tip: ask the prices for everything.

The steak/meat restaurant: for our final night, we decided to have meat. My wife ordered a lovely veal tenderloin and I ordered the lamb chops. We also semi splurged on a nice Ribera wine: Pago de carraovejas at Eur 78 which I would have to say it was well worth it after 20 minutes of decanting. The veal was great and the lamb wasn’t bad if you don’t mind a bit of gaminess. I was not impressed with the service . There was a lot of waiters floating around & I had to stand up and wave to get service a few times. Even more annoying was the fact that random waiters would come up and top up my wine even if my glass was half full. Final verdict: It’s a fun place, if you haven’t planned anything and just looking for a bit of life and predictable decent food. Nothing spectacular, except for the seafood restaurant. Just be careful of the prices. Music gets turned up around 11:30 pm and a younger crowd appears out...

El Nacional Braseria TL; DR: We were very excited, but the whole experience was super disappointing. So, save your money and find another "less touristy" restaurant. Not worth the money.

It's our first trip to Barcelona, so we wanted to treat ourselves. El nacional had amazing reviews, and our friend recommended this place as well.

It all started so good. The place is amazing. Loved the interior and the vibe. Very fancy and has a luxurious feeling.

We got olives on the house, which was nice. Not the best we've had, but still good.

We ordered croquettas and carpaccio for starters. I don't know why the waiter had to say:"Carpaccio is raw meat, right." I don't know if I'm reading too much into it, but I thought it was unnecessary since he didn't say anything about the tartare.

The croquettas which was the cheapest dish, actually was the best. The carpaccio...honestly, could barely taste the meat because all the other ingredients stole the show. Especially the cheese. They should definitely drop the cheese because the taste was too overwhelming.

And, the main course. Oh my God. Look at the pictures and see for yourself. I mean, the presentation was just SO BORING. The baked potato was really just a plain baked potato. No rubbed in olive oil, no salt, no pepper, no butter, no sauce; no nothing. Super disappointing. The tartare. It did ring a bell straight away when I had to choose between salad, grilled veggies, baked potato and French fries as a side. But come one! Tartare does not go well with those. Give me bread. (This might be super picky. But the French fries were potato wedges...) anyway, we had to ask for some aioli to make it less boring and flavorless. The meat was luckily the only thing that was good. The veil and ox tartare was actually good. But the combination of other things just killed everything else.

Now let's talk about service. It was super difficult to get contact with the staff. And yes, we did try to get eye contact. And all of them just passed us without even looking. At the end we had to "excuse me, can I please?" And the waiter barely turned to us. Anyway, super uninterested waiter who spoke in lowest voice. Noone asked if the food was good or checked if the everything was OK or if needed anything.

I don't know. I feel like we wasted money. Not recommending and...

A Unique Dining Experience at La Taperia in El Nacional, Barcelona

El Nacional presents a fascinating concept in the heart of Barcelona—a food court that exudes a touch of class and a variety of culinary experiences under one roof. Nestled within this gastronomic haven is La Taperia, a spot that conjures up the spirit of Spanish dining with its vibrant atmosphere.

The venue itself earns points for style and ambiance, reflecting the charm of Barcelona with a modern twist. As a central hub for food lovers, El Nacional's bustling vibe is undeniable, and La Taperia contributes to this with its lively setting.

The tapas selection at La Taperia is a journey through Spanish cuisine, offering a range of flavors that provide an authentic taste of the local fare. While the experience was generally pleasant, it fell short of extraordinary, which is why I would rate it a solid 3 out of 5. The dishes were competently made, but they didn’t quite hit the high notes one might expect from such a promising venue.

As for the paella, a cornerstone of Spanish cuisine, I regret to say that it was underwhelming, meriting a 2 out of 5 rating. Although the presentation was appealing, the flavors didn't fully capture the essence of this iconic dish. The rice lacked the depth of saffron-infused flavor, and the seafood seemed to not be at its freshest peak, which was disappointing for a place that has such high potential.

Despite these setbacks, the service at La Taperia was attentive. The staff made commendable efforts to provide a good experience, although the food did not quite match the quality of service.

In conclusion, La Taperia in El Nacional is a spot with a lot of potentials and is worth a visit for those looking to enjoy the hustle and bustle of a chic food court in Barcelona. With some fine-tuning, La Taperia could certainly elevate its offerings to match the energetic and fancy ambiance that makes El Nacional a culinary...