Restaurant Ciudad Condal

Barcelona, Spanish food, Tapas ... everyone who visit Spain is thinking about to have some Tapas in a nice restaurant at the corner. Can you have also Tapas in Barcelona? Yes, you can. Beside of the typically Catalanio fried food Tapas you can have maybe the best original Tapas at Ciudad Condal.

The restaurant Ciudad Condal - or in Catalan "Ciutat Comtal" - is for sure one of the Tapas restaurants in Barcelona. There is definitely a reason for why the guests have choosen again this restaurant for the "The Travelers' Choice® 2012 Winner" on TripAdvisor. But also the locals in Barcelona visit this restaurant frequently for a lunch or dinner. We all know, maybe the best recommendation you can get as a tourist.

But - what are Tapas? Everyone is speaking about it, but what is the story behind this finger food? Tapas is a plural term, so you should really be asking 'What are Tapas'. A 'Tapa' is not a type of food, but a way of eating it. Anything can be Tapas - paella, croquettes, ham and cheese on toast, truly anything. As long as it is small and served with your drink (either free or at a surcharge), it is Tapas. It also doesn't even have to be Spanish - in Granada there are a number of Morrocan bars that offer cous cous, falafel and kebabs as Tapas.

Tapas is not a starter. If you start eating Tapas, you normally finish eating Tapas, and you don't stop until you're full. The spanish people meet each other normally in bigger groups and Tapas are then the typically food they order. That makes a lot of fun.

A 'Tapa' is a 'lid' or 'cover'. In the early days of Tapas, a slice of cheese or ham was given with your drink and placed over your drink. There is some debate over why exactly this was done: to keep out the flies - to hide the bad smell of the wine

For sure number one was the real reason why the bar keeper in Madrid invented this great little idea to keep you customers drinking and filled at the same moment without an annoying fly in your beer or wine. Originally a Tapa was given for free with every drink you ordered. You can imagine that the people used this way to get some drinks plus to get a lunch or diner at the same time - and the result of this dangerous combination.

So, with all the myths about tapas out of the way, this is what Tapas is today. A Tapa is invariably a small dish of something edible. It may be a smaller version (normally a quarter version) of something else on the menu or it may be sold exclusively as Tapas. The Tapas may or may not be free. Unfortunately the days of free Tapas are over in much of Spain. If the Tapas is given to you without you having asked for it, it will be free.

But what about Ciudad Condal - by the way which means the "City of Barcelona" (old style) - it is not the cheapest way to eat some delicious Tapas in Barcelona, but one of the best spots in Barcelona where you can. In some future Tapas bar and restaurant reviews we will show you also some different spots for your next Tapas menu.