Why locals love it: Open kitchen running until 01:00 every night; one of the rare late-night Catalan rooms not in a hotel.
Tip: Open every day until 01:00. The fried squid and steak frites are the post-show order.
Address: Carrer del Comte d'Urgell 100, 08011 Barcelona
Why locals love it: Tonkotsu counter on the wrong end of Girona; the 12-hour-broth bowl is on no Catalan must-visit list but the chef-trade queues for it.
Tip: Closed Monday. The lunchtime queue starts at 13:30; the early dinner sitting at 19:30 is the walk-up window.
Why locals love it: Vermouth-and-conserves bar on the quieter Eixample grid; the new-wave vermouth standard that older venues now copy.
Tip: Open daily lunchtime and evenings. House vermouth on tap with olives is the only order.
Why locals love it: Open since 1870 just off the Rambla; the canonical Catalan dairy bar that locals still treat as the standard chocolate milk stop.
Tip: Closed Sunday. Cacaolat by the glass is the order; chocolate-fondue and ensaimada to share.
Why locals love it: The chef-trade favourite on Montcada; the bar takes walk-ups and the back room books, but most tourists walk past for El Xampanyet next door.
Tip: Walk in at 22:30; the late dinner shift is open and the kitchen runs until 23:00.
Why locals love it: Old Catalan vermouth bodega on a Gracia side street; locals lunch here, tourists walk past on the way to the Plaça de la Vila.
Tip: Open daily lunchtime; cash easier than card. The vermouth on tap and the anchovies is the order.
Why locals love it: 1950s Catalan dining room on a Passatge nobody walks; bacalla a la llauna and weekday menu del dia for 19 euros.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The 19 euro menu del dia at lunch is the value pick; locals book mid-week.
