In Raval, you can find establishments with personality. Here there are no franchises (or almost none), nor multinational fast food companies. Because most are small establishments, the result of the effort, eagerness, and desire of entrepreneurs who fight daily to keep their doors open.
In the most diverse, multicultural, and polyglot neighborhood of the Catalan capital, you can travel with your palate from one end of the country to the other, cross seas and oceans, and savor dishes full of imagination, tradition, or harmony.
Here are five proposals to discover another Raval. The Raval that does not have media loudspeakers, but rather word-of-mouth that spreads the news: how well one eats in Raval!
Las Fernández, a transgressive bite from Bierzo
C/ Carretas, 11 (From August 3 to 26, closed for holidays)
Berta, Bibiana, and Beatriz (Las Fernández) give their name to this establishment which, since its origins two decades ago, continues to bet on homemade, quality cuisine, made with local products and with that unmistakable underground touch.
Products from Bierzo are a hallmark of the house, and there is no doubt that these three sisters from Bierzo make their homeland in Barcelona and conquer their diners with their Mencía wines paired with local cured meats and cecinas. However, their "secret" ingredient is another, because Las Fernández is "more than a restaurant." "We have been offering honest and creative cuisine for more than 20 years, made with a lot of love and in a family atmosphere. As we like to say, Bierzo Denomination of Origin with Mediterranean fusion," confesses Berta.
And without a doubt, Las Fer, as they are already known in the neighborhood, are the confirmation that with simplicity, love, and creativity great dishes can be made; and accompanied by an atmosphere and ambiance with their own stamp.
Na Mindona, from the most authentic Mallorca
C/ de la Riereta, 8 (From August 9 to 19, closed for holidays)
More than a decade ago, three Mallorcan friends decided to open a small restaurant in the heart of Raval where they would cook the dishes they had grown up with. Recipes without artifice, without reinterpretations or fireworks. Only inherited flavors, quality product, time, and a kitchen that gives off aromas of rosemary, fennel, bay leaf, and olive oil.
In this Mallorcan tavern, there is no allusion to the Mallorca of celebrities. Because here they profess a tavern cuisine, honest and deeply homemade, of those that invite you to order half portions to continue discovering flavors.
Dionís works in a tiny kitchen while in the dining room everything happens without unnecessary protocols. Because at Na Mindona, what matters is what arrives at the table. Small dishes like the frit mallorquí and the tumbet cooked slowly, the coques de trempó with impeccable dough, snails with herbs, meatballs full of nuances, or an unforgettable cuttlefish with onion that so many regulars recommend ordering.
The Mallorcan pantry also deserves a separate chapter. The ensaïmades arrive from Algaida, the village of one of the owners; traditional cured meats like camaiot or carn-i-xulla are not missing, nor are island drinks like palo or almond liqueur. Everything contributes to making the experience, probably, the most authentic Mallorcan cuisine that can be lived in Barcelona.
Makan Makan, a small Indonesian treasure
C/ De la Lluna, 4. (From August 3 to 31, closed for holidays)
Makan Makan is a small gastronomic treasure hidden in the heart of the Raval. “A space in the Raval where to eat relaxed and without haste.” In fact, Makan makan literally means, “eat, eat.” An invitation to sit down, share, and enjoy a cuisine where each dish is a delicate balance between sweet, spicy, sour, salty and that unmistakable perfume of fresh spices that makes you travel long before the first bite.
Behind this kitchen is Andrey Finanta, raised in a Chinese community in Java, one of the most populated islands of Indonesia. After living a season in Sydney and hardening himself in various Asian restaurants in Barcelona, he decided to open, together with his partner and associate, the designer Imanol Ossa, a restaurant where he could cook the flavors with which he grew up.
Here there are no concessions to fashion or recipes made up to please everyone. The menu covers some of the most emblematic dishes of Indonesia with the respect of someone who cooks from memory. The rendang, cooked slowly until the meat is tender and the spices permeate every fiber. The nasi goreng, probably the most famous fried rice in Southeast Asia.
The satay, accompanied by a creamy peanut sauce. The curries, the aromatic soups, the sautéed vegetables… All prepared with that mixture of galangal, lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, kaffir lime leaves, coconut, and chilies that makes Indonesian cuisine one of the most fragrant in the world.
And all this, in an unpretentious dining room where the important thing has never been to follow trends, but to offer honest cuisine, with Asian aromas that are hard to find anywhere else in the city.
La Prudencia del Raval, cuisine with soul
C/ Abat Safont, 11 (From August 14 to 25, closed for holidays).
“In a neighborhood where everything changes, La Prudencia del Raval has found the formula to be unforgettable: cuisine with soul, creativity without pretensions and an atmosphere that turns every visit into a discovery”. A whole declaration of principles that cannot better define this small place in the Raval that not only conquers the palate, but also the sight.
It is not easy to find, but doing so has its reward. Because La Prudencia del Raval surprises at first sight. The dim light, the wood, the vintage details, the balance between industrial and warm, the bar, the lights… Nothing seems casual. Every corner is part of an interior design project conceived so that the space transmits the same thing that is cooked in the kitchen: simplicity, personality, elegance and “prudence”.
In each service, about twenty diners enjoy a close, warm and professional service. Because, despite the spectacular nature of the place, what counts there is the cuisine, made with the best product.
The culinary proposal revolves around seasonal small dishes, a modernized Mediterranean cuisine that respects tradition. Here, impeccable scallops coexist with a gilda as tradition dictates, perfectly cut torrezmos, an octopus bomb that has become one of the house's emblems, or a cannelloni that many customers speak of almost with devotion. And all presented carefully, aesthetically in harmony with the decor.
The experience continues in the glass. A selection of wines from small producers, craft beers and a cocktail menu designed to extend the after-dinner conversation.
La Ravala, the Raval tavern
C/De la Lluna, 1. (Open in August).
In the Raval there are many tapas bars, but few represent the soul of the neighborhood as well as La Ravala. Because in this small corner establishment (C/Lluna with C/de la Riera Alta) you can breathe a rumba soul, good atmosphere, irresistible cuisine, vermouths, beers and wines and conversations that last longer than they should.
Since it opened its doors in 2018, La Ravala remains the usual tavern but dressed in a contemporary suit. Because both the most modern people in the neighborhood and lifelong residents go there. And all of them, attracted by this atmosphere that is so missed and that is lived here every day, but above all, attracted by these lifelong tapas that never disappoint.
Dishes and tapas made with seasonal and local products, which Sandra Desunvila herself, alma mater of La Ravala, selects and buys at La Boqueria or directly from producers.
Among its specialties, its famous potato omelets (and much more), which are displayed in the bar's showcase, just like before. Without despising the ensaladilla —"better than your mother-in-law's," the blackboard ironically announces— or the patatas bravas. And, next to them, appear spoon dishes, rice dishes, marmitakos, or stewed meats that are remembered for years.
Because here, as Sandra herself recalls: "Good product, slow fire, and a lot of love turn the simplest cuisine into the most memorable"