Carrer Parlament, which runs along the lower part of Barcelona in the residential Sant Antoni quarter of the Eixample district, has recently received some much needed rejuvenation and is now awash with great places to eat out and buy fresh, well sourced, local produce. This up and coming part of Barcelona is just a stone’s throw away from the famous Mercat Sant Antoni, which is currently being renovated.
Located at number 27 is Vinito, the wine shop and one of the longest running establishments on Carrer Parlament. They’ve recently extended their services into a bar as well. It’s a great place to duck in to and have a glass or two whilst browsing the barrels or alternatively there's a terrace outside to relax on with a drink.
Next door at number 25 is the popular and fun Bar Calders, which is a great spot to head to for all occasions, including morning coffee, delicious tapas dinner or an evening drink. Whatever your tipple Bar Calders is sure to satisfy with its endless drinks menu. Its renowned for it’s vermouth especially the Falset, which can be nursed on the sprawling terrace down the side street of the bar. Other specialties include the limited addition of Sant Antoni red wine, which is made sparingly each year. The inside design of the bar is decorated with paintings by Ramón Lamarca who’s one of the founders.
Next down the street at number 39 is the Federal Café, the trendy brunch go-to that offers affordable and appetising food. Federal Café was born out of the owners recognising a niche for a breakfast and brunch spot in Barcelona. The owners are Australians and the down-under easygoingness is evident in the uber relaxed atmosphere of the joint. The café's laid back vibe has been extremely popular with both locals and those visiting the city. With its leafy garden roof terrace the café the ideal spot to hang out and enjoy Barcelona’s never ending sunshine whilst drinking a delicious fresh coffee. The light, casual décor that flows through both floors reflects Federal Café's tranquil. The menu has an emphasis on eco friendly, freshly and locally grown produce. Although brunch is Federal Café’s specialty, lunch and dinner are also available and very recommendable.
At number 19 is Tarannà Bar & Café, which only recently opened it doors. Josechu, the owner, has created a communal, homely environment with an airy, light feel and vintage wooden furniture. Keeping with the communal theme the tables are shared or alternatively its possible to sit on the window stills that look out onto the street.
The menu is varied with offerings including traditional French delicacies and a variety of tasty tapas' and sandwiches. For dessert be tempted by the mouth watering homemade cakes. In terms of beverages the drinks list doesn’t disappoint with an array of teas, coffee, juices, wines, beers and spirits all available.
Nextdoor at number 17 is another recent addition to Carrer Parlament Zucker Haus, a boutique bakery owned by German Italian Manuela. Manuela’s culture is reflected in the selection of cakes on offer, such as black forest gateaux and plum frangipane tart. Swing by Zucker Haus and enjoy the delicious delights while making use of the indoor seating available. Also if you need a caffeine boost tea and coffee are amongst the treats. This is the perfect place to pop into to refuel whilst browsing all Carrer Parlament has to offer.
Address: Carrer del Parlament, 08015 Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
Map: maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Carrer+Parlament+barcelona&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ei=MA3AUbikPMfSPOT8gMAG&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg
Torre Del Benaco is a prettier, more relaxing microcosm of the lake's larger, more expensive resorts. Situated half way up the eastern shore, it has a lovely little harbour, the centre for the low key cafe bar night life and the sedate early evening 'passegiata'.
Daytime delights include the lively lido and the castle and its small museum.
Stay at the family run Hotel Belvedere with lake view doubles with ample breakfast from €43 per person. For something authentic and unique locals head to Don Diegos (situated just off the cobbled main street at the harbour end) a bar that serves a heady, inexpensive sangria to a soundtrack ranging from indie to jazz fusion. Cool!
www.belvederetorri.com
Via per Albisano, 9, 37010 Torri del Benaco
+39 045 7225088
Google map: bit.ly/18UWcGk
It’s an elegant 3-star boutique hotel in the heart of the trendy Saint Germain district. Not exactly cheap, but the standards are high and the location is just superb, minutes from the center of the district, the Orsay Museum, or the Louvre Museum across the Seine. We had a Classic room with a balcony, which was a wonderful to have. Another great feature of the hotel is the relaxed bar with a bit of a retro feel – it was nice to relax in the evening. It’s a pitty they banned smoking in all Paris hotels, a fag would have been nice with the drink. Anyway, we had the balcony. I can recommend the hotel.
www.hotelparislenoxsaintgermain.com/
9 rue de l'université 75007 Paris
Wherever you are in Florence there is a bar within five minutes walk. When I was staying there a few weeks ago, in a cheap Airbnb apartment, everyday I would get up early and walk to my local, sit at the bar, drink cappuccino and eat a pastry and watch Florentines do the same. Sometimes they drank and ate on bar-stools, sometimes just standing there eating with one hand, drinking with the other, before shouting 'ciao' and striding off.
My pastry and cappuccino came to €2.20, about £1.90. Nothing else I did, certainly not that expensive restaurant I went to, brought me closer to feeling like a local.
The dingy looking place down that side-street.
These must be the cheapest drinks in Venice. Wine sells for 80c a glass at the Bacareto, and you can have a glass of prosecco for 2€ at the Bocon. You buy at the bar and there is limited seating at the Bocon, while at the Bacareto you simply sit on the stepped area at the edge of the canal.
Bacareto is in Campo de Tolentini near the Piazzale Roma bus station, and Bocon is in the Campo Santa Margharita.
I found this place while staying at the hotel next door. I popped in to sit at the bar for a prosecco and a huge plate of food arrived in front of me. I tried to send it back, but it turned out to be a complimentary bar snack! I knew this was an early evening custom in Venice, to give free snacks with a drink, but this was brushcetta, battered sweet peppers, grilled cheese ... Although I suspect it is the Italian equivalent of Pizza Express, it meant I ate for free each evening. You have to be sat at the bar, not in the restaurant and you will likely get your plate refilled with each drink. I refused a refill at first, only to be be answered with a shrug and a quizzical "But lady - it's free!" from the barman.
Calle Larga, 404, 30124 Venezia, Italy
+39 041 243 9951
Google map: bit.ly/12Lqyoc
By far the best tapas bar in Nerja. Cool stainless steel counter serving Cruzcampo, various wines and much more.
Order a small cerveza at the bar and you are asked 'tapas', then feast your eyes on the array of fresh seafood and meats for you to choose from free of charge with your drink. Choose from the sweetest clams and prawns, sardines, red mullet, pork fillets, chorizo sausage - the list goes on. All the food is cooked on the plancha by a Torres lookalike.
We sat there for three hours watching the Spanish football one night and we made our way through their entire tapas collection twice and all free with each drink ordered. The bill came to 25 Euros! Try and do that in the UK...
Calle del Almirante Ferrándiz, 26 29780 Nerja, Málaga, Málaga, Spain
+34 952 52 13 84
Google map: bit.ly/13FlBjv
A lively bar in the heart of the Calle Laurel gastro-paradise. Situated just south of the Basque country, Logroño's busiest street of bars offers a unique blend of northern pintxos and traditional tapas, and the selection of brochetas in Taberna de los Correos is not to be missed. Add to that the local Rioja wine at 50 cents a glass, it's easy to see why tourists and locals alike start and end their night here.
http://11870.com/pro/la-taberna-correos
Calle del Laurel Logroño, La Rioja, España
Tapas bar near the Arab baths, nestling alongside the river below the Alhambra. Holidaying on a shoestring. A couple of beers accompanied by free mammoth tapas and you won't go hungry. Que aproveche!
Carrera del Darro, 37, Granada
Google map: bit.ly/11R8Ows
I discovered this place after the gas bottle in our flat ran out one day – right in time for lunch. ‘Go to El Rincón del Búho, you can get a menú del día there for €3.50!’ read a text from my flatmate. And off I toddled. It took me about three goes to find it, as it looks like flats from the outside and you have to go up a corridor to reach it.
Advertised as an ‘artistic and socio-cultural project’, the venue has a small bar and performance space. It offers music events (including flamenco), art exhibitions, children’s theatre and storytelling workshops. Cheap snacks (€1 for a homemade empanada or slice of pizza) and bottled beers are on sale when events are on. The €3.50 deal is available from 2pm till 4pm on Thursdays and Fridays, with vegetarians catered for well.
rincondelbuhosevilla.blogspot.com.es/
Calle Parras, 31, 41002, Seville, Spain
bit.ly/13xEm7l
* Eloise is our Been there local for Seville. You can read her bio here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/seville-local-eloise-horsfield.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/EloiseHorsfield You can also catch her on Twitter at @EloiseHorsfield
A neat place overlooking the lake. By night it's a cool place to sit and watch the mayhem below. Fantastic fruit juices!
73 Cầu Gỗ, Hoan Kiem District Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 3926 0801
Google map: bit.ly/10ucjBd
For the ones who do not know what pastelleria is, it is a place where they make excellent meat and other pies.
In Murcia this place is old, traditional and has the best meat pies (pastel de carne Murciano), washed down with the excellent local beer/cerveza Estrella Levante!
The meat pies are delicious, made with thin filo pastry sheets and chorizo and boiled egg in the meat filling to top it up!
Riquelme, 5 and Gimenez Baeza 10, Murcia in the old town
Google map: bit.ly/ZIpDSk
Some people skip dessert and some people eat it first. If you're the latter, then visit either the ChikaLicious Dessert Bar or Club across the street from each other on East 10th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. I recently visited the popular Dessert Bar with a friend and had a three-course dessert served by Chika herself. Desserts are of the beautiful, fanciest-meal-of-your-life variety. You can pair them with wine, sherry, or tea. My favorite detail: Everything comes on pretty china! I visited on an unusually slow night, but there's usually a long line. If that's the case, you can pick up something less delicate to-go across the street at ChikaLicious Dessert Club. ChikaLicious Dessert Bar is at 203 East 10th Street. The Dessert Club is right across the street at 204 East 10th Street.
www.chikalicious.com/
204 E 10th St, New York, 10003, United States
+1 212 475 0929
Google map: bit.ly/YspNS2
+1 212 475 0929
* Amanda is our Been there local for New York. You can check out her page here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/new-york-local-amanda-green.jsp and her own NYC blog here: www.noisiestpassenger.com/. She's also on Twitter: @amandagreen
Famous for it's surfing credentials, but also a great family beach, with brilliant walks via the South West Coast Path. Smallish and pebbly on high tide, but huge and two miles wide on low tide. Blue bar is great for food and drink deep into the night, or take a stroll up the sand (keep an eye on the tides) for a clotted cream infused snack at the National Trust caff on Chapel Porth. there's a great little guide here
www.blue-bar.co.uk/
Beach Rd, Eastcliff, Porthtowan TR4 8AW
+44(0)1209 890329
Google map: bit.ly/11RcDNo
A bar whose name means ‘uproar and commotion’? Could there be a more fitting venue for a night of cocktails, dancing and partying in Hong Kong, Asia’s ultimate wild child city? But this is uproar and commotion with a sleeker, chicer, sexier edge. Think minimalist décor, high ceilings and industrial detailing; Manhattan Loft meets wild Irish shindig. This is the venue to hit up when you’re looking to switch the night up a gear - there’s plenty of space on the dancefloor to showcase your Gangham Style and a list of space-age style, molecular shots to fuel your smooth moves. Make sure that you try the genius Jäger Balls – jelly encased shots of Jägermeister served floating in a glass of Red Bull, AKA liquid Michael Flatley - one shot and we guarantee you’ll to be the Lord of the Dance …
58-62 D'Aguilar St., Central, Hong Kong
+852 2179 5225
Google map: bit.ly/WIyBBV
* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/natalierobinson
She also has her own blog at: www.3badmice.com/
If you’ve headed down to hot Peruvian restaurant, Chicha, but can’t get a table, don’t feel bad, we’re all in the same boat. Literally actually – we’re talking the boat themed bar, The Roger Room, right across the road of course! But this isn’t some awful themed bar, this is Chicha’s naughty, rum-swigging, buccaneering little brother – fresh out of the box drinking spot and the place all the cool kids are heading for strong drinks and Peruvian bites. Decked out like a very chic pirate ship, with killer cocktails for the thirsty and tacos for the peckish – peg legs and parrots are optional! Go classic with a Pisco Sour or really shiver those timbers with the bar’s namesake tipple, the Jolly Roger – Pisco, muddled berries, sparkling wine and a spike of chili. Several of those and it’ll be cutlasses at dawn…
G/F, 39 Peel St., Central, Hong Kong
+852 2561 3336
Google map: bit.ly/Y3mvEv
* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/natalierobinson
She also has her own blog at: www.3badmice.com/
Looking for a little respite from the rowdy crowds on Wyndham Street? How about a little well-heeled refinement and a strong Gin & Tonic? Origin sounds right up your street. This brand new drinking spot specialises in the stiff upper Brit’s favourite tipple, gin. Whet your whitsle with a gin-based cocktail or tickle your fancy with a nip of home-infused gin, think: basil, grapefruit or lemongrass. Like it’s sister bar, The Quinary, lots of new fangled wizardry and some serious science lab-esque equipment, is used to whip up Origin’s menu of delicious concoctions. So hop up onto a tartan-topped stool at the elegant arched bar and watch the mixology magic commence.
G/F, 48 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong.
+852 2668 5583
Google map: bit.ly/ZDVztY
* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/natalierobinson
She also has her own blog at: www.3badmice.com/
For a little slice of Cuba in the very heart of Lang Kwai, zip past the lagered-up crowds doing jelly shots and head up to Havana Bar’s huge 4th floor terrace where the atmosphere’s much more Caribbean Carnival. If the Latin beats don’t get you in the party mood, the mind-boggling array of rum is guaranteed to have you salsaing on the tables quicker than you can say Daiquiri. Nab an alfresco cushioned corner seat under the colourful reclaimed shutter wall art, and get the drinks flowing. The Luxury Mojito is a delicious but deadly twist on everyone’s favourite Cuban cocktail – it’s a classic Mojito topped up with champagne.
4/F, The Plaza, 21 D'Aguilar St., Central, Hong Kong
+852 28514880
* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/natalierobinson
She also has her own blog at: www.3badmice.com/
Football supporters' bar, but not as scary as that sounds! Friendly staff, good food, moderately priced drinks considering the position. We were made to feel like regulars!
On the Quai des Belges, right on the Vieux Port.
Google map: bit.ly/Ylztdg
Myself and my partner ate here on a number of occassions and were never disappointed. The service was excellent, really friendly staff and always happy to help. The restaurant looks out over the beach which is a stunning view. We often watched the paragliders landing just in front of the restaurant or the the sun setting from here.
The food was so good, everything we ordered was wonderful. From a simple chicken kebab wrap to Harry's fish special we really enjoyed it all. It was great value for money. Yes, some of the drinks were a bit expensive but no more than anywhere else. After a lovely meal we really enjoyed going up to Harry's cocktail bar and trying out all the different cocktails. Again the staff there were brilliant and the cocktails were yummy.
Overall this was one of our favourite restaurants and deserves the excellent rating we have given it. As my title said great food, great surroundings and great staff. What more could you want?!
www.theharrysrestaurant.com
Carsi Cad. 1, Oludeniz Fethiye, Mugla / Turkiye
+90 252 617 07 08
Google map: bit.ly/XSEdMZ