After a morning exploring the famous Park Güell, we were hungry for some traditional Spanish tapas,…read moreand Restaurante Delicias was only a short walk away from the park! At around 1pm on a Sunday afternoon, we were told that the restaurant was full (both inside and outside), so we waited for around 30 minutes for a table before getting seated outside.
Let me preface this review by saying that we had an unsavory experience with some members of the waitstaff, so that has been reflected in the amount of stars that I have allocated. Upon getting seated, I heard one server say to another in Catalan: "you go wait on the Chinese people." I don't think they knew that I understood a bit of Catalan as well as Spanish, so both servers were a bit shocked when I started speaking Spanish upon getting seated! While I'll assume the server didn't mean anything with bad intent, it still didn't leave the best taste in my mouth (especially since we aren't even Chinese). Also, after going inside the restaurant to use the restroom, I saw that there were plenty of tables inside - in fact, almost half the tables were completely empty, despite being told that both inside and outside were completely full! I'm sure the restaurant had its reasons for telling us this, but it was definitely confusing.
But other than that, the food at Restaurante Delicias was outstanding. We started with the Pulpitos a la Plancha (Grilled Baby Octopus, €7,50). For the price, we were given a large portion of octopus, and they were cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of bite and tenderness, combined with a pesto-like sauce! The oil-based sauce made the dish just rich enough without sacrificing the fresh flavor of the seafood.
We also ordered a large portion of the Mejillones al Vapor (Steamed Mussels, €8,50). Again, this was a large portion of seafood for the price, although this wasn't as impressive as the octopus. We felt as though the mussels were a tad on the overcooked side, with a bit too much chewiness/rubberiness for our liking, though they were well-seasoned!
Next, we ordered a large portion of Pan con Tomate (Catalan Tomato Bread, €4,50). A huge portion yet again - noticing a pattern? Though this seems like a simple dish, it is surprisingly addictive. The crusty white bread combined with the rich oil and slightly acidic sweetness of the tomato comes together to form a perfect combination of textures and flavors.
Their Gazpacho (Andalusian Tomato Soup served cold, €6,50) was also a pleasant surprise - it was perfectly refreshing on a sweltering summer day, with a great amount of acidity contrasting with creaminess, and it is served with croutons and crispy pieces of ham, which add a nice textural contrast to the smooth soup! Pro tip: you can't go wrong dipping the Pan con Tomate in as well (tomato bread with tomato soup - absolutely!).
Lastly, we ordered the Arroz Negro (Black Rice, €9,25), which came with a mound of jet black rice (the color comes from squid ink) topped with a generous amount of seafood, including prawns, calamari, and mussels. While the seafood tasted fresh and was cooked nicely, the rice was the star of the dish - it had soaked up all the flavors of the seafood, and had the perfect al dente texture. This was surprisingly our favorite dish!
Overall, we really enjoyed our meal at Restaurante Delicias - the food was absolutely delicious, the prices are even better, and we couldn't have asked for a more convenient location near Park Güell. Though we didn't have a great experience with the servers (2 stars), the food was so good (5 stars) that I'll give this place a solid 4 stars!
