La Pubilla — Restaurant in Barcelona

All the food was well prepared. While the initial pasta dish lacked a bit in terms of the underlying pasta, the sauce was very nice. Following with the "mar i montanya" it was all well balanced and the crema catalana dessert was superb and clearly made from scratch as opposed to being derived from a packet. Added into this was a streamlined wine list that was well chosen well and also the ensaladilla 'Helsinki' in a very laudable effort to remove all things related to our awful eastern neighbor in Europe. The only real issue was the timing of the meal in that, managing to get a reservation for 13h, we had to pound through all the food and get out by 14h. We were reminded of this at 10 minutes to the hour. While the kitchen speedily keeps up, it's a three-course meal and you're really shoving it down in such a short time. I understand they need to have turnover in this day and age, but it's really less than pleasant. Maybe if you're there at 15h you can have slightly longer? Lastly, the addition of a tip "option" on payment is tacky and very 'American' in all the wrong ways. With wine, it was 35€ a person so this is in no way a cheap meal and the staff should be paid adequately, not putting the pressure on me, the client to make up...

Value was really good! €16 for a three course meal! And the ingredients were fresh! The menu is different every day and make sure to reserve a spot - it’s gets super busy with locals! Took off one star because we felt rushed even though we finished each course before the next course came out. Our reservation was for 1:15pm and the guy behind the bar came to our table in the back and told us we “you only have til 2:15.” It was 2:30pm and we were just sitting there patiently waiting for our last course. We were not slow by any means. One of the waitresses prompted us to pay in the front - before we got our dessert. When we finally got our dessert and went to pay - the guy behind the bar did apologize and say “sorry, I thought you got dessert already.” I appreciate the apology, but really?

Location is out of the way from a lot of touristy things and main attractions. It was delicious and the menu had a great variety. I don’t think it’s worth making a reservation in advance and going out of your way with service that makes you feel uninvited. Happy we went to try the food as a good friend had...

After arriving my second night in Barceona without a reservation, I was disappointingly turned away, but steered to the sister bar, Extra, which I have also reviewed.

I made a lunch reservation in advanced and returned to an extremely affordable, 16€, three course fixed menu. The food was so good, I made a dinner reservation for the next night.

For lunch I had the lentil salad, pork in a pumpkin cream, and creme fraiche cheese mousse. For 16€, it was by far the best lunch I had in all of Barcelona. For dinner: scallop carpaccio, croquette, cod a la lluna, and duck marget.

The depth of flavor and freshness of the ingredients was unreal.

Be aware, they only have two seatings and you only have ~2 hours to dine during the first seating.

You may be lucky enough to even see the owner and your waiter at Extra Bar later that night, just like I did. Many thanks to the La Pubilla / Extra Bar crew. I will return, but not...