Fishing-village grid on the harbour: paella terraces along the beach, bomba potatoes at La Cova Fumada and the working-class kitchens behind the seafront blocks.
Can Sole in Barcelona's Barceloneta has run since 1903, now in the fourth generation: marinera cuisine, lobster paella with socarrat, suquet de peix.
Signature: Lobster paella, Suquet de peix
Order: The lobster paella for two and a starter of bacalla fritters.
Tip: Closed Sunday dinner and Monday. Book a week ahead for weekend lunches; the paella needs 30 minutes from the kitchen.
Can Paixano in Barcelona's Barceloneta has poured pink cava out of bottle-lined tile walls since 1969. Priced at €. Kitchen leans cava and tapas.
Signature: Pink cava by the glass, Chorizo bocadillo
Order: Three pink cavas and a chorizo bocadillo. Repeat.
Tip: No reservations, no tables. Bar closes early; arrive before 22:00 to get a corner.
Forn Baluard in Barcelona's Barceloneta is Anna Bellsola's Mediterranean bakery: pa de blat, coques, ramats, the canonical seafront forn since 2007.
Tip: Closed Monday. Get there before 11:00 for the full coca de fuet range; the ramat is the take-home order.
Worth the queue: Coca de fuet and ramat
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.
BlackLab Brewhouse in Barcelona's Palau de Mar runs 16 in-house taps, a Texas-BBQ smoker out the back and a marina-facing terrace that fills weekday.
Tip: Open daily until 01:00. Book the terrace; the smoked brisket sandwich pairs the house West Coast IPA.
Chef's Apprentice in Barcelona's Barceloneta runs four-hour paella-and-seafood classes: pick fish at the market, cook back at the kitchen, eat at the long.
La Cova Fumada in Barcelona's Barceloneta serves bombas and anchovies under 14 euros: cash-only, lunchtime weekday, the canonical pre-elBulli neighbourhood.
Try: Bombas (potato fritters)
Tip: Open weekday lunch only; cash only. Three bombas, anchovies and a beer for 12 euros.
Can Paixano in Barcelona's Barceloneta pours pink cava at 1.50 euros and serves a chorizo bocadillo at 1.50: three cavas and a bocadillo is 8 euros total.
Try: Cava and chorizo bocadillo
Tip: Open Mon-Sat lunchtime and evenings. Standing only; the bar closes by 22:00 on weekdays.
Opium runs beachfront on Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta next to Hotel Arts, with a daytime restaurant turning into a house and EDM club at midnight, including the WAA residency and CRIB urban nights.
Tip: Doors at 23:00; the club fills after 01:00. Dress code at the door (no sneakers). Cabs queue along the boardwalk; the L4 stop Ciutadella Vila Olímpica is ten minutes on foot.
Shôko on Passeig Marítim runs Asian-Mediterranean dinners in the early evening before the room flips at midnight to a house and hip-hop club with a beachfront terrace.
Tip: Restaurant from 13:00, club from 00:00-03:00 most nights. The terrace bar runs through the warm months and is the easier way in than the indoor floor.
CDLC sits beachfront on Passeig Marítim in the Olympic Port and runs a lounge-restaurant in the evening that turns into a house and R&B club after midnight, with terrace sofas overlooking the Mediterranean.
Tip: Restaurant from 12:00, club kicks in around 01:00. The Bali-style daybeds on the terrace need a table reservation; cabs queue along the seafront for the post-05:00 exit.