History

La Cova Fumada on Carrer del Baluard invented the bomba in 1944. The name comes from the round grenade-like shape; the original was meant as a working-class quick lunch for the Barceloneta dock workers. The recipe has stayed the same: cooked potato mashed and shaped into a ball around seasoned ground beef and pork, breadcrumbed, deep-fried, served with two sauces, the white garlic-and-oil aioli and the red pepper-and-paprika 'salsa picante'. Now every Catalan tapas counter in Barcelona has a version; La Cova Fumada still owns the canonical reading. Around the corner, La Bombeta and El Vaso de Oro both run their own variants.

Common allergens: Gluten, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 12Hands-on 45 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 600g floury potatoes, peeled and cooked, mashed dry
  • 300g ground beef-pork mix (50:50)
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika, salt, black pepper
  • 2 eggs, beaten, for coating
  • 200g fine breadcrumbs
  • Sunflower oil for deep frying
  • Aioli sauce and red salsa brava for serving

Method

  1. Sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add the ground meat, brown, season with smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Cool.
  2. Take a golfball of mash, flatten it into a disc, place a teaspoon of meat mix in the centre, close the mash around it to form a ball.
  3. Chill the bombas 30 minutes for stability.
  4. Dip each ball into beaten egg, then roll in breadcrumbs.
  5. Deep-fry at 180°C for 3 to 4 minutes until golden. Drain.
  6. Serve hot with aioli and red salsa brava on the side.

Tip from the editors. Mash the potato as dry as you can manage; wet mash falls apart. Chilled bombas hold together better in the fryer.

Where to eat bombas (potato fritters)

Bombas (potato fritters) in Barcelona

La Cova Fumada ★ 4.7

Street food€barcelonetaMon-Wed 09:00-15:00, Thu-Fri 09:00-15:00 and 18:00-21:00, Sat 09:00-13:00Cash only

La Cova Fumada in Barcelona's Barceloneta invented the bomba (a potato fritter with meat and spicy sauce) in 1944. No sign, no menu, cash only.

Try: Bombas (potato fritters)

Tip: Open weekday lunch only; cash only. Order three bombas, anchovies and beer; expect to share a table.

Carrer del Baluard 56, 08003 Barcelona

Quimet i Quimet ★ 4.7

Spanish€€poble-sec

Quimet i Quimet in Barcelona's Poble-sec is the four-generations standing bar where bottles line the wall and the cook builds montaditos on demand.

Signature: Montadito of salmon with yoghurt and truffle honey, Conserva flights

Order: The salmon-yoghurt-truffle-honey montadito and a flight of tinned mussels.

Tip: Open Mon-Sat lunch and early dinner only; closed Sunday. Arrive before 19:30 for a hope of a corner.

Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes 25, 08004 Barcelona

Bormuth ★ 4.3

Wine bar€€€bornDaily 12:00-23:30

Bormuth in Barcelona's Born is the vermouth-and-tapas counter on Rec since 2014: bombas, patatas bravas, vermouth on tap, late kitchen until 23:00.

Signature pour: House Yzaguirre vermouth

Wine focus: Catalan vermouth and natural wine

Food: Tapas

Tip: Open daily. The bar takes walk-ups, the back room books. Try the bombas with the house vermouth.

Carrer del Rec 31, 08003 Barcelona

Bar del Pla ★ 4.5

Spanish€€born

Bar del Pla in Barcelona's Born is the locals' counter on Montcada that draws the chef trade for the modernised tapas and natural-wine. Priced at €€.

Signature: Beef carpaccio with truffle, Iberico pork cheeks

Order: The beef carpaccio with truffle and the slow-cooked Iberico cheeks.

Tip: Open daily lunch and dinner; book the bar over the back room. Walk-up after 22:30 is the easier slot.

Carrer de Montcada 2, 08003 Barcelona

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