Bar El Pepino - Memorable Wines and Beautiful Food

Gracia

Jan 14

Written By Maria

Nestled deep in Gràcia there’s a cozy and inviting bar called Bar El Pepino. This stellar outpost has a clear concept: interesting dishes to share and cool wines. It has been great since its start, but it has fairly recently undergone a change both in terms of the interior decoration and the food, with the incorporation of a very talented chef and business partner, Pablo Tarno.

Bar El Pepino Barcelona — *Bar El Pepino, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.*

Bar El Pepino, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.

The restaurant is very cozy with a touch of cool, and comfortable seats in different areas, depending on how many you are. There’s a perfect table for a date night, one for a dinner with your friends, a seat by the window to see the people passing by…

Bar El Pepino, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.

The dishes are nothing short of perfect. There’s exciting innovation behind it all, but they still manage to keep it comforting and approachable. The menu is divided into different parts, starting with snacks with a few classics like gildas, anchovies, and mojama (cured tuna) but also surprises such as a Scotch egg and fried polenta. From there you move on to garde-manger, with cold dishes, perfect for sharing. On our latest visit we opted for a tiradito de pez limón salvaje (wild-caught amberjack) with leche de tigre with a surprising and delicious addition of parmesan, a combination beautifully tying together the owners’ backgrounds in Italy and South America.

Next section is the warm mains, that keep changing with seasons and available ingredients, just like the rest of the menu. We devoured sautéed mushrooms with a cured egg that gave it all an incredible flavor, and also opted for a braised Chinese cabbage with a side of cauliflower and a black garlic puree, topped with tahini and harissa sauce and pangrattato: grated bread with a touch of spice. This dish was out of this world, and if you see it on the menu, go for it. We also opted for gnocchi with parsnip and black trumpet chanterelle and grana padano which was equally mind-blowing.

You should, without a doubt, order dessert. There are only a couple top pick from (I appreciate a short dessert menu, this way you know that whatever you’ll choose will be good). We opted for a chocolate with meringue to share that blew our minds, and was the perfect ending for a beautiful meal.

There is something else very remarkable about this place: the wines. Gianluca, one of the owners, has a true passion for natural wine (he used to be a partner at La Graciosa) and this shows. We have had some truly memorable wines here, and I am excited to go back for more.

Bar El Pepino is hands down one of my favorite places in Gràcia. The team is very friendly, the food is fantastic, and the wines are fun and exciting. A place worth visiting again and again.

Bar El Pepino, Carrer de Tordera, 33, Barcelona (Gràcia).

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