Piñata - Cantina and Cocktails
Piñata is not your typical Mexican restaurant. Piñata is a cantina with Mexican street food prepared with recipes that go way back in time. But that’s not all: it is also a cocktail bar with more than 200 different kinds of mezcal.
Piñata, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Piñata, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
The place has a fun vibe, the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to order a drink as soon as you set your foot through the door. Should cocktails not be your thing, go for the homemade sodas, an aqua de Tamarindo, or why not a tepache, which is my favorite Mexican non-alcoholic drink.
Piñata, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
In the menu, you can find dishes that you quickly recognize, such as the guacamole (they have their own secret recipe), tacos, and carnitas, but do try the Sikil Pak with roasted tomato, pumpkin seeds, and habanero chili, the tamales, or the Enmoladas Istmeñas, a recipe from Doña Hercilia in Oaxaca.
Piñata, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Piñata, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Thursday to Sunday, Piñata also opens for brunch. If a Mexican brunch with cocktails doesn’t entice you, I don’t know what will. Choose between enchiladas (green or red), enmoladas, chilaquiles, or maybe tlayuda. Not sure what those dishes are? Even better. A fun and memorable gastronomic experience is all about discovering new things.
Piñata, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Let’s get back to the cocktails. Right when you come in, there is a whole wall complete with fascinating bottles of mezcal and much more. The team at Piñata know what they are doing when it comes to mixology, with wonderful creations using mezcal, tequila, and more. I tried a Paloma, made with tequila 1800, lime, grapefruit soda, coconut salt, and chapulines (grasshoppers). It is served in a gorgeous hand-made cup and tastes like heaven.
Piñata, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Piñata is an excellent place for a fun night out with friends (big bonus for the terrace outside!), for cocktails with your partner, or a tasty (and boozy!) brunch!
Piñata Cantina, Carrer de Casanova, 19, 08011 Barcelona (Sant Antoni).
