Paradiso in Barcelona's Born is the speakeasy through-a-pastrami-shop on Rera Palau: Worlds 50 Best No. 1 in 2022, now book months ahead for cocktail theatre.
Food program: Bar snacks
Tip: Reservations via Instagram or Resy open 4 weeks ahead. No walk-ins; the queue at the door is for the dispatchers.
Address: Carrer de Rera Palau 4, 08003 Barcelona
Sips in Barcelona's Eixample is Marc Alvarez and Simone Caporale's Worlds 50 Best No. 1 cocktail bar (2023): a glass cube on Muntaner, tasting-menu drinks.
Signature drink: Ruby Red Negroni
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Reservations book 6 weeks ahead. The 8-course cocktail tasting at 110 euros is the order.
Two Schmucks in Barcelona's Raval is the Pavel Davydov and Moe Aljaff dive-cocktail bar: low-light, loud music, pickle martinis and a Worlds 50 Best top-10 list.
Signature drink: Pickle martini
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Walk-up only; queue starts at 22:00. The pickle martini is the order; cash easier than card.
Dry Martini in Barcelona's Eixample has poured the city's reference martini since 1978: a polished wood bar, white-jacketed bartenders and the silver-counter ritual.
Signature drink: Dry martini
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Open daily 13:00 to 02:30. The martini at the bar is the only order; cocktails-on-the-rocks at the table.
Boadas in Barcelona's Raval, off the Rambla, has poured cocktails since 1933 in a triangular Art Deco bar: Miguel Boadas trained at La Floridita in Havana.
Signature drink: Daiquiri
Food: None
Tip: Open Mon-Sat 12:00-02:00. Closed Sunday. The Daiquiri is the canonical order; counter only.
Solange in Barcelona's Eixample is the James-Bond-themed cocktail bar with a deep luxury-spirits cellar: high-quality classics and a list of signature martinis.
Signature drink: James Bond Vesper
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Open daily 18:00 to 02:00. Book ahead Fri-Sat; walk-ups easier Tue-Thu.
Bar Marsella in Barcelona's Raval, founded 1820, is the city's oldest cocktail bar: dust-stained mirrors, marble tables and the absinthe ritual still served by the glass.
Signature drink: Absinthe
Food: None
Tip: Open Mon-Sun 22:00-02:30. Cash only. The absinthe with sugar-cube ritual is the order.
