Review: Authentic Food Tour in Barcelona with Gastournomic

Recently I published a guest post on my blog about how to be a local in Barcelona. I was really excited that I was going to visit that Catalunian gem but I was also scared that for just 2 days there I won’t be able to feel like a local. But luckily I found the perfect way to get the authentic experience in Barcelona I was looking for. 

Gastournomic offers unique, authentic, rich and memorable food tours in Barcelona’s various neighbourhoods. Unique, because the tour combined culture and food, sighseeing and tasting, learning and teaching. Authentic, because every establishment we visited was a place where the main clientele is locals. Rich, because we were able to taste handvrafted beers, excellent oils of virgin olive, local wines, sweets, tapas, vermouth and many more gems from Barcelona’s unique cuisine. Memorable, because the guides seek to make the tour as personalised as possible in order for the group to feel more like a local.

The tour I was on was the one in Gracia neighbourhood. Gracia was actually a small town until the late 19th century and its people are extremely proud of their roots. The neighbourhood is popular with its many artists and bohemian crowds. Our guide was well-versed in the full history of the area and answered all our questions. 

Tour Gràcia neighborhood food tour: Eat up Barcelona

The tour lasted around 4,5 hours but they felt very relaxing. We visited many places for drink and taste during our walk. All the stops were very well combined and expressed the local culture. 

The meeting point was the art gallery Jordi Barnadas in the heart of Barcelona. We spent some time enjoying the amazing contemporary artworks of local artists. 

After that we started our tasting experience with a sweet threat at Vicens tasting some traditional nougats while learning all the interesting facts behind the production of the sweets.

The highlight of the tour for me was the stop at La Cervesera Artesana pub-brewery where we went behind the scenec and got to know the process of beer making. We tasted 3 different kinds of beer from the brewery and discussed the differences between them. The place was an interesting mix of traditional and modern and guests can also see the beer-making process through a giant glass while chatting with friends. 

Another interesting experience was the degustation of virgin oils at Oli Sal accompanied with explanations of every producing zone. The place also offered wide range of natural cosmetics and sweets as well. 

We already learnt so much but we weren’t finished yet. We headed to our next stop – a cosy vermuth restaurant La Bodegueta at Carrer de Torrijos, 16. It’s an absolutely authentic restaurant perfect for tapas and drink with friends. Their vermuth was really tasty! 

One last stop was ahead of us. We had a nice Catalan dinner at a cosy restaurant – Origens. They offer unique, preserved culinary experience across the different regions of Catalonia. 

We finished the food tour with satisfied bellies and a little bit sad to leave the people we just met who we became so close in such a short time. The Gracia food tour helped me experience the city like a local indeed. If you want to feel the true spirit of the neighborhood, don’t hesitate to join one of Gastournomic’s authentic food tours. There is also a vegetarian version of the tour.

Practical information:

Who: Gastournomic ☆☆☆☆| www.gastournomic.com | info@gastournomic.com

Duration: around 4 hours

Price range: Contact info@gastournomic.com for further details

Languages: English, spanish, french and catalan

Disclamer: I enjoyed the tasty Gastournomic tour during my time in Barcelona in May 2015 for free but all opinions expressed here are my own and I recommend it 100%!