Pinotxo Bar
Market Bar & Catalan Tapas · El Raval, Barcelona · €€
Legendary market bar inside La Boqueria run by the charismatic Juanito Bayén. Chickpeas with squid, butifarra, fresh seafood. Counter-only. Arrive early. A Barcelona food legend.
The Delekta Review
Pinotxo Bar is La Boqueria's soul — a counter that's been feeding market workers, chefs, and curious visitors since 1952. Juanito Bayén, the legendary owner who greeted every customer like family for over seventy years, passed away in April 2023 at 88. José Andrés wrote a tribute that said more than any obituary. The bar continues under new stewardship, and the only question every market regular has been asking is whether the magic survives without him. The early evidence says it does — at least in the kitchen. The fried eggs with baby squid on the plancha remain a Barcelona essential. The morella amb cigrons — blood sausage with chickpeas, raisins, and pine nuts — could inspire vegetarians to cross to the dark side. The menu changes daily with whatever's freshest on the market floor: grilled prawns, razor clams, croquetes. Seating is limited to a handful of stools at the counter. Prices are surprisingly fair for the quality. The queue forms before opening. Go early, eat at the counter, and raise a glass to Juanito.
What the critics say
- Anthony Bourdain Recommended: Pinotxo Bar- Barcelona
- Bar Pinotxo - Gastronomy Blog
- Pinotxo Bar - Baking Bites
- Bar Pinotxo | Restaurants in El Raval, Barcelona
- Pinotxo Bar - driftwood-journals.com
- Pinotxo Bar – Macarfi
Visit
- Address
- Carrer del Compte d'Urgell 1 Mercat de Sant Antoni 18-19-20-21, Eixample, 08011 Barcelona, Spain
- Phone
- +34 933 17 17 31
- Website
- instagram.com/pinotxobar
Nearby restaurants in El Raval
- Cera 23 — Galician-Mediterranean Fusion, €€
- Bar Cañete — Classic Catalan Tapas, €€€
- Suculent — Creative Catalan Gastropub, €€€
- Dos Pebrots — Ancestral Mediterranean, €€€
- Dos Palillos — Asian-Spanish Fusion, €€€€
More Tapas in Barcelona
- La Cova Fumada — Traditional Catalan Tapas, Barceloneta, €
- Fino Bar — Wine Bar / Tapas, Gràcia, €€
- Bar Tomás — Tapas & Bravas, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, €€
- Topik — Japanese-Catalan Fusion Tapas, Eixample, €€€
- Bar Mut — Classic Spanish Tapas & Wine, Eixample, €€€