Patatas bravas are Barcelona's tapas standard: cubed potato, double-fried to golden, topped with the two canonical sauces, white aioli and red salsa picante.

The dish travelled from 1950s Madrid bars where 'a la brava' meant 'rough' or 'spicy'. The Catalan version split the sauce in two: the white garlic-and-olive-oil aioli and the red paprika-and-vinegar salsa brava. Bar Tomas in Sarria, founded 1949, runs the canonical recipe with hand-cut cubes; the sauces are made from scratch every morning. Most Barcelona bars do their own version; the test is whether the potato is properly double-fried (soft inside, crisp outside) and whether the two sauces are made in-house. Tapas 24 by Carles Abellan does a notably good version; Bar del Pla in the Born plates them with the sauces dolloped on top.

3 editor picks for Patatas bravas in Barcelona, ranked by editorial score. All Barcelona signature dishes · Patatas bravas across every city.