La Fonda, Barcelona

There is generally a queue lined up waiting to get inside once the restaurant opens (8:30p), but it is well worth the short wait. This place is popular with locals and tourists alike, for good reason. Pleasantly decorated, nice ambience and really good food and reasonably priced wines. All just steps from Las Ramblas.

Favorite Dish: The paella is delicious - even better than the paella we had in Valencia, the home of paella!

The ambience of the restaurant is good, I'll give it that. And the food is ok too. However the service we received was poor. The wait staff were impatient and didn't even try to communicate with us, just ramble on hurriedly in Spanish. About a third of the items on the menu weren't available (we went last sunday and we were the first lot of customers that night!) and by the time our mains were brought to us they then told us one of our mains wasn't available! Quite ridiculous really and since the majority of wait staff are chinese I had to resort to my broken mandarin (yes! english will not suffice in this restaurant!!) to order something that could be ready quickly. But the speed at which the duck confit was ready was ridiculously quick too, less than 5 minutes! Anyway, the waiter staff really let this place down. They throw cutlery/menus and anything else onto the table and some are quite rude! Anyway, next time in Barcelona we will not be revisting this restaurant...

Favorite Dish: Roast Lamb

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Firstly, take note that La Fonda is a very popular restaurant between both locals and tourists alike, so you may or may not have to queue up for a while before you get inside the restaurant, but trust me, it´s worth the wait. The menu is ranges from both traditional Catalan/Spanish dishes and many other international dishes such as steak, lamb, fish etc and some vegetarian dishes. The service is among the best in the city, ask for a menu in any language and they´re likely to have it. The facilities are clean and modern looking, there are three floors, seperate smoking and non-smoking sections and the ambience of the restaurant is very relaxed. The main attraction here though isnt the great food, the menu, the service or the atmosphere - it´s the price; you get the same service for twenty euros that you could expect if you were paying a hundred.

Favorite Dish: Lamb on the bone - When you order a leg of lamb, you expect to get something to fill you up. It does exactly that and more, the meat just falls off the bone, the taste is spectacular.

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We were looking for a restaurant one evening, and we were attracted to La Fonda, in the Barri Gotic. A quarter of an hour before opening at 8.30 PM, a long line formed. The atmosphere was great, and the food was satisfactory, the exception being the black rice.

Per, however, was not very keen on this dish and chose veal. But I think he was served beef, as veal is supposed to be very tender, and it was not. The desserts, crepes with chocolate sauce and yoghurt with almonds and honey was delicious.

Favorite Dish: Black rice or arroz negro is one of the most spectacular dishes one can eat. Coloured with squids ink, it looks like black caviar when you plate it. We had black rice at La Fonda, not far from Placa Reial. This paella is made with good fish stock with different varieties of fish, mussels and crustaceans, and the taste is great!

It is not possible to make reservations so it is necessary to go down to the restaurant at 8.20pm and wait in a line with everyone else. You won't be waiting long though as this seems to be the most organised restaurant ever. The service is extremely fast once inside too but you don't feel rushed to leave. The setting is lovely and the food is gorgeous and surprisingly it is extremely cheap with all courses at about 5 euros and wine at about 3 euros a bottle. Definitely a must try dining experience.

Favorite Dish: Anything or everything, it's all so cheap.

There are very long qeues (how do i write this !) between 2030-2130 hrs. The prices are unbeatable. For example good Duero wines for 11 euro. Housewine 4 euro.
Another restaurant of the same management is nearby at the Placa Reial. Personal are mainly Philipine people. La Fonda is next to a famous but somewhat touristy chicken restaurant Los Carocoles, where on cold evenings hookers try to get some warmth from the open fire where the chicken rotate.

Favorite Dish: Price / quality is superb.
Catalan starters such as buttifarra (sausices) for 3 euro; Paella (starter) is very good and filling. The are also some varieties of codfisch, bacalau. and entrees for example good lamb stew for 7 euro. Try the Catalunya dessert (only at the Placa Reial restaurant) for 3 euro. It is possible to have a good 3 course dinner with wine for two for about 40 euro; when you choose housewine, vegatable soup, butifarra and creme catalan it will be about 22 euro.

Right off the main street on Las Ramblas, easy to find.
£16 for a 3-course set menu including 2 glasses of red/white wine. Great value for money. best starter for me was tuna lasagne. Very tasty! Main course for me have to be the old style roast pork. Dessert lovely as well with either custard, chocolate mouse ( home made) or yohurt with honey.
Lunch time menu is also good (£7.90 for 3 course set menu with drinks)
The only thing is that you have to queue up from at least 8pm coz they open at 8.30 and the queue could be ridiculously long so it's best that you get there early. The food is so great that we actually didnt mind queuing up for it.

During my last trip to Barcelona I have always eaten at La Fonda! It's a fantastic Spanish restaurant close to La Rambla. Very cheap, excellent food (the Paella is fabolous, and the Catalan Cream too!). You can't book a table, so be sure to be there not later than 9.30 pm otherwise you have to queu.
And the most important thing is that is not a touristic restaurant although his vicinity with La Rambla!!!

Favorite Dish: Paella de Marisco, chipirones, tortilla de patatas and crema catalana.