Verified in 2 cities.
Arros negre (squid-ink rice) is a signature dish of Spain; we have verified places to eat it in Barcelona and Salou.
Arros negre is Catalonia's coal-black rice: short-grain Spanish rice cooked in cuttlefish ink and seafood stock until each grain is jet-black, topped with squid rings and a sharp aioli on the side.
Arros negre is a Catalan coastal classic, codified in the rice-growing Albufera and Tarragona regions in the 19th century and adopted by Barcelona seafood houses as a signature dinner plate. The dish uses bomba rice cooked in cuttlefish ink until the grains turn glossy black, with a thin caramelised socarrat at the pan bottom. 7 Portes (founded 1836 at the harbour, the city's oldest seafood house) plates the canonical version daily; Cal Pep at the Born serves a refined small portion; Can Sole and Els Pescadors keep the tradition alive in Barceloneta and Poblenou. Always served with allioli on the side, spooned over to cut the briny depth.
Where to eat in Barcelona:
Where to eat Arros negre (squid-ink rice) in Barcelona: the editor picks
Arròs negre is rice cooked in fish stock with cuttlefish or squid and its ink, which turns the grains black; on the Salou coast it comes with allioli and small sepionets.
Arròs negre is shared by the Valencian and Catalan coasts: rice cooked like a paella with cuttlefish or squid, garlic, pepper, paprika and fish stock, coloured and flavoured with the ink. It is not traditionally called a paella. In Salou it is one of the standard rices: the Club Nàutic cooks it with sepionets, and several restaurants put it on their 2026 rice-days menus.
Where to eat in Salou:
Where to eat Arròs negre in Salou: the editor picks
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