This is tucked away from the main strip, but easy to find. We ordered the seafood paella. It was great. The serving size was perfect. The service was great. The ambiance is very old school. The only downfall of this place was the restroom. The water came out like a trickle. This was after we ate, so one would hope the service/cooks use a different faucet. read more

Paco Alcalde - Cute authentic ambiance - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

Came here based on the good reviews for this place. This place was packed for lunch time which we thought hopefully is a good sign (and not a sign of a tourist trap). My friend and I ordered some tapas like calamari and shrimp. We ordered the seafood paella too. The calamari was good but I've had better..shrimp was nice and garlicky. The seafood paella was just okay. No real seasoning but atleast they give you a decent amount of seafood. Overall I thought the meal was okay. read more

Paco Alcalde - Chorizo, calamari (just 7?), shrimp and seafood paella - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

A little walk off the beach strip and hidden away I found this family owned restaurant. Labeled as Paella de Pollo really seemed like Arroz con Pollo to me. The flavors were on point and the dish was delicious. read more

Paco Alcalde - Paella de Pollo - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

This was the best paella we had during our trip to Spain. So delicious. It didn't feel like a touristy place at all as compared to the restaurants much closer to the beach in La Barceloneta. read more

On our last night in Barcelona, we found this spot tucked away within the neighborhood of La Barceloneta (but still close to the waterfront). We thought that this location would have peak Spanish food but were let down as we've had better elsewhere throughout our trip. Tomato bread: soggy and cold. Garlic prawns: presentation was ... lacking. The plate was quite big in comparison to the actual amount of shrimp. Grilled razor clams: Not the freshest; was a bit rubbery. Roasted Padron peppers: good, but a little salty. Seafood paella: There is a lot of flavor for sure, but it's so salty :| We were hungry tho so we ate it all anyway lol The waiter was quick and efficient until the check; he came to our table twice and realized each time that he forgot that we were still waiting for it. read more

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A lovely spot for paella near the waterfront! Interior is well-decorated and the service is quick. The paella prices are per person but not everyone has to order it (for example, you can order a two-person serving for any number of people to eat). The tapas were alright; we would probably not order them again. I LOVED the cheesecake -- it was definitely a highlight!! Patatas bravas (4/5 stars): Potatoes were warm and the sauce complemented the dish well. The inside was soft but outer edges could have been crispier. Toast with tomato and garlic (2/5 stars): Tomatoes were fresh and sweet. The bread was a bit disappointing as it was quite soggy and fell apart easily. Peppers (3/5 stars): Decent peppers, a little salty at times. Vegetable paella (4/5 stars) & seafood paella (4.5/5 stars): Paella was savory and not too salty. There was some crispiness, particularly around the edges near the pan; we would've enjoyed it even more if it was crispier in the center. Crema catalan (3.5/5 stars): Light pudding interior, caramelized top. I liked the ratio of caramelization to custard. The top was too burnt in my opinion, and this ended up dominating the flavor profile of the dessert. Cheesecake (7/5 stars): So good it broke the scale!! Thank you to the server for recommending this... it was rich and creamy and I would come back again just to have another slice. read more

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Delicious! Excellent fideo (fideuá) and paella. Large portions and so flavorful. The tapas and salads were really good too. Don't skip this gem for a fancier place. read more

One of the best seafood. service is great. Highly recommended. Drinks are great too

All great! It's definitely a family business and it's exactly how you feel there Food is great, serving is excellent. Don't misd this place if you're around! read more

Paco Alcalde - Best paella - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

Paella was amazing but the the Cheesecake was the best we've ever had! It's not on the menu but order it, you won't be disappointed! read more

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The food was tasty...we had santona anchovies, tomato bread, patatas bravas. All delicious. For dinner we had seafood fideau and monkfish. Again, both very yummy. The ambiance was very dated which normally wouldn't matter but we did not care for the "feel".. The owner served us, we knew it was him because his photos on the walls with patrons through the years, verged on making us feel like a disruption. With all the comfy, homey places we experienced in Barcelona, (along with just eating out in general) this one missed the mark for us. read more

Delicious paella! Arrived for lunch around 2pm on a Sunday after a couple hours at the beach. We had to wait about 20 minutes outside before they had a table for us. They have menus in various languages and some of the servers can speak English. We had the Ensalada Mixta which was a large salad of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red pepper, onion, egg, olives, corn and radicchio. Came undressed with olive oil and vinegar on the side. Plenty for two or even three people. Also had the breaded fried artichoke - so good. Then the seafood paella especial. Loaded with prawns, clams, mussels and other assorted tidbits. Ate it with some good bread on the side and glasses of white wine. So much excellent food. Maybe we will have gelato for dinner. It sounded like they don't take reservations. Friendly staff. read more

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Wow, just... wow. Barcelona is a city renown for its fresh seafood. The seafood paellas here are arguably among the very best in Spain. Having lived here five years now and having eaten LOTS of paella, I think I have a new FAVORITE. We made a reservation for a Friday at lunchtime, a really good idea in these times of Covid. We were greeted at the door and welcomed into a nicely lit, very inviting space. Our table was near the (almost cliché) fish tank, but I was very happy with it all. Paco Alcalde (the restaurant, not the guy) turns 100 years old this month... so the charm exuded by that dining area is well-earned. The four of us opted for the menú. It started with a "pica-pica" that included a generous platter of steamed mussels, pescadito frito, fried calamari, cod fritters, ham croquettes and of course, "pa amb tomàquet," the traditional glass-bread with a schmear or tomato, olive oil and salt. There was plenty for each of us to eat. The paella, though, was the star of the show. The rice was perfectly done (and believe me - I don't use that word lightly) and loaded with very delectable pieces of seafood. The aroma was captivating. The presentation was beautiful. The mouth-feel was out of this world. Oh, and the wine selection was absolutely right. By the time we'd finished our desserts and café, the world looked much brighter. Well done, Paco Alcalde. We will gladly be back! read more

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The food and ambiance was perfect, exactly what I was looking for. The seafood paella was amazing! read more

Paco Alcalde - Seafood paella - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

Rice was uncooked no flavor:( would not recommend as someone who thought it was good from seeing the food reviews

Very good food, I recommend making reservations on TheFork website before to ensure you get a spot. Paella was good, baked artichokes were EXCELLENT! read more

We loved walking by the water and seeing street performers, boats, and all of the people enjoying a summer evening in Barcelona! Thankfully Yelp led my husband in a few streets to the original, untouched fishing village of Barcelonita -- and ultimately to Paco Alcalde for authentic Spanish paella! We got the Seafood Paella at the recommendation of our server, a big green salad to share, and a pitcher of sangria. It was all simple, authentic and PERFECT! Highly recommend! And fun atmosphere, too! Very joyous!!! read more

Paco Alcalde - Big green salad! - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

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What a lovely restaurant. Josh and I had been looking (and craving) Paella all afternoon. We walked most of the La Barceloneta looking for something welcoming, well priced and friendly. Coming up to Restaurante Paco Alcalde, the owner was outside in the streets trying to encourage us to come in. When he realized we only understood partial Spanish, he ran inside and got a younger waiter to come talk to us. He brought out an English section to the menu and the prices were fair so we took a gander and came inside. The ambiance is very classic- white table clothes, lobster tank, old-world décor and charm. The restaurant was fairly empty with only one family seated. We ordered Sangria and a white wine. The Sangria was well sized and really well made! Probably my favorite during my time in Barcelona! Josh ordered a chicken Paella and I a seafood. They were very big, flavorful and filling! We had plenty of room for them as we had been fasting all day for the right meal! I'm glad we took a chance on this restaurant. You will be too! read more

Paco Alcalde - House wine and sangria - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

The seafood paella was wonderful. Definitely an old school place that knows how to make a paella. The inside is small and quaint. We also got the seafood salad, which I would not recommend. The potato bravas were also average. read more

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Horrible experience. The restaurant was ungodly hot. No air conditioning, no windows open. The food was mediocre at best however it was difficult to enjoy anything with the unreasonably hot temperature in the restaurant. I do not recommend and I wish I left when I sat down. read more

It was a sunny, breezy summers Sunday in Barcelona. Most shops were closed in the city, so my wife and I decided to stroll down to the coast. Thanks to fellow Yelpers, we had spotted this lovely restaurant for our "big" meal of the day. After a morning of watching Sardana dancing at the gothic cathedral, we were famished and made our way for lunch. Ordered the grilled baby cuttlefish, which were surprisingly accompanied by fresh steamed mussels. They were dressed with lemon, olive oil, parsley, and garlic. When you grab a bite with all five components, watch out. You taste the sea along with the cuttlefish, you get the flavorful olive oil, herbaciousness of the parsley, followed by a finishing punch of the garlic. There were slight remnants of the ink sack with the cuttlefish....for those in the know, you know that is delicious! We then had our seafood paella. What can I say but perfectly cooked rice with still a snap to the grain. The squid in the dish was meaty, the gambas (shrimps) were fantastic (the head fat...YES, SUCK THE HEAD...was sublime). The mussels were fresh and buttery, it overcooked, and the prawns were yummy. The rice itself...you can taste the robust fish stock used to cook it, in every single bite. All this was washed down with a lovely pitcher of sangria, perfect for a warm summer day. The staff was very friendly, spoke English pretty well, and overall, very welcoming. It was a big bonus seeing lots of locals, presumably regulars, come in, greeted by the patron with kisses on both cheeks, and sit down to their Sunday family meal. Love this little place!!!! read more

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Very good old school place in Barceloneta. Black rice was very good and fish was fresh and well done. Highly recommended read more

On our last night at Barcelona, my husband said he wanted paella and this seemed to have a good reputation for it. We ordered a paella, two sangrias, salad and an artichoke appetizer which filled our bellies full of vegetables, rice and a variety of seafood. I remember the paella being very good, flavourful and not messy because my husband peeled the shrimps and I believe langoustine(maybe?). We definitely left here feeling full and happy (probably because I'm a lightweight and any type of alcohol will make me happier LOL). read more

Amazing Paella & views of the water. The staff was welcoming and our waiter had a great sense of humor. We drank several bottles of wine, had amazing mussels in red sauce (I can't remember the exact name), and the paella we ordered was killer. The paella comes out in a HUGE pan and the staff serves it for you - our waiter even sang a little tune while doing it which of course made us all feel extra special. We ended up doing some hazelnut shots with our waiter before we left and felt like family. read more

Food is pretty delicious here and they do a good job of transporting you to another era where tradition and good service is appreciated. Extensive menu where you cannot go wrong, everything that we got was top notch with a lot of flavor. Paellas are the best and you have the option to order portions of one which let's you order other plates. Berenjena rebozada, patatas bravas, pescaditos fritos and pan con tomate were all good. Their sangria is tasty. To close they have home made desserts and was hard to go for one over the other. Cheese tart with blueberries was the winner. Highly recommend this place, you will not be disappointed. read more

Came here for lunch to check out some local seafood. It was pretty crowded but the service was fantastic. Our first impression was that it was very musty if not stale cigar smelling. But we got over it. We had the grilled artichoke and grilled razor clams to start. Both were very nice. And the portions were large. For main courses I had the paella and my wife had the black pasta. The paella was ok not great. It had deep flavors but the squid was VERY chewy and the shrimp was way over cooked. We both thought the black pasta was the better dish. read more

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Wonderful tapas right bear the beach. The potates bravas, and toast with Iberian ham were amazing. A cool glass of cava sparkling wine, or a cold European Fanta really hits the spot on a hot day. It's way better than what we get in the states. Their rabbit has a mice crispy skin. I'm an American, so the lack of air conditioning makes me cry, but I also understand how uncommon it is in Europe. read more

Our Sandesman tour guide from Minnesota who has been living in Barcelona for 9 years recommended this place for the best paella. It's family owned and has been on business since 1921! The restaurant itself is not on that main street next to the water, it's a couple streets in. There was ample seating, the guy who seated us (presumably the owner) was super friendly and I like how family oriented it felt. We ordered "bombas" which are basically giant croquettes. I wasn't the biggest fan. The breading was way too soft and mushy compared to a croquette, it almost felt undercooked. The potatoes inside was good though, less salty and fat compared to croquettes. The ham in the center wasn't that great either. I don't recommend this. It came with two sauces, not sure what they were but it tasted much better with the sauces. It was also a very big ball of potato and very filling, too big a portion for a tapa in my opinion. The seafood paella was kind of salty, rice texture was alright. It was good but I wouldn't come back again for it? It came with shrimp, mussels and green peppers. The shrimp was very tasty, the mussels were ok. The black rice paella was much more rich and creamy, very heavy for my taste palette. I was full after eating 1/3 of it. It came with clams, which were ok, they weren't super fresh but maybe it's due to the way they cooked it. The food came out quickly, which i'm not sure that's a good sign or not because paella should very made to order. My main complaints were 1. they have a sign saying "free wifi" outside their window but when I asked them, they were hesitant and the waiter looked back at the kitchen then told me no. Did they turn off the wifi or something?? Is that a thing in Barcelona?? And then I understand we were the last people there to finish, but it's kind of rude to hover around waiting for us to pay. There was no one else there and the restaurant still closes in 30 minutes. Four stars for the food, even with my picky taste buds, it was pretty solid. read more

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Wow! This is the best meal we've had in Barcelona so far. We came here on the recommendation of a friend and were quite impressed. We ordered the following and really enjoyed everything: 1) mixed salad (a mix of lettuce, tomato, carrots, olives, corn, and tuna) - quite flavorful 2) black noodles - amazing! 3) seafood paella - delicious, apparently made in the "traditional" style too We also shared a bottle of white wine that complemented our meal quite well. It was a white Rioja. The service was good, though they did not check on us mid-meal (however this seems to be a common theme here in BCN). The ambiance is elegant and traditional. Overall, we really liked this place. The food is truly outstanding! As a heads up - this place was pretty empty when we arrived at 8:00pm, but started filling up after 9:00pm. We'd suggest getting a reservation if you plan on eating after 9:30pm. read more

Walked around after the beach to a few places looking for authentic good food. Saw the menu outside and decided to come in. Ordered seafood paella and was quiet disappointed. All the shelled fish was incredibly dirty to the point of feeling the dirt/sand on your teeth when trying to eat it, couldn't eat any of it. And I'm not someone who typically complains about a little sand in their shrimp. The waiter wasn't exactly nice or friendly. Very short. Possibly because I'm America (haven't had any issues thus far 2 weeks into my vacation in Spain). Sadly I wanted better especially since the restaurant is family owned and seems to have been in business for many years. read more

Paco Alcalde - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

We chose this restaurant for the fideuá and it did not disappoint. We went for dinner around 10:30. Not too crowded. We had the seafood paella and the fideuá, both were amazing but the fideuá stole the show for us. This restaurant is a hidden gem a few blocks off the main tourist area. Definitely worth a visit! read more

Paco Alcalde - Fideuá - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

Seafood paella was not the best Ive had in Barcelona. Not much seafood and rice was a bit bland. They have great house wine for a decent price. I ordered the patatas bravas which were a good share size portion. All in all, not my favorite but still good. read more

We ordered the calamari Romana ( fried calamari) & we also ordered a paella for two. OMG the food is amazing. It is so clean when we came in it smelled clean! Plates & table were wet elegantly. It is high class without feeling too uncomfortably ritzy. I can't say more about the food. The owner made sure to walk around & say hi and ask us how our food was. We can't be more happy we found this spot. If I could give it a 10 I would !! read more

Paco Alcalde - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

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Great service, great food, great prices. Two of us gorged ourselves (I'm a 6'5" American) and couldn't finish everything, with a bottle of wine and a couple bottles of water for like €50. Also the server was hella honest - we were going to order something else in addition to what we got and he was like, "woah people, I want your money but I think you have enough food coming." I appreciate an honest server. Oh and their seafood is hella fresh (note the live tanks). read more

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My husband and I recently traveled to Spain and we stumbled upon this authentic family owned cuisine. All I can say is, it is absolutely amazing!! Their black noodle paella and seafood paella is delicious!! This was the best paella we tried in Spain. It was so good we went there for dinner two days in a row! Their flan is a must have as well! I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Spanish food! read more

Paco Alcalde - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

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I and my friends, never had paella before. When we came to Barcelona we tried few places and afterwards went to Paco Alcalde. We were surprised A LOT by the size of portion. It was much more than we had elsewhere. Size and amount of mussels and shrimps was huge. All of that made the taste of paella very robust and rich. It was obviously a very good experience! The owner welcomed us very nicely We definitely will recommend this place to others, it's very lovely and the food is tasty read more

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Great food. Very friendly & welcoming, especially considering my extream lack of Spanish language skills. We had a grilled fish dish and a paella, both were excellent. Dishes were quite generously portioned and the seafood was cooked to perfection. The gazpacho was tasty and served at a perfect temperature. The Sangria was flavorful and had a passionate kick. Not like the jugo de frutas served at the tourist places. The owner is very visible & interacts with customers (including us English speaking tourists). This place is a good find. read more

This restaurant is towards the middle of barceloneta, and is very quaint. The staff was very friendly greeting us, but it was quite warm inside. We ordered sangria and cod fritters. The sangria was good, and they give you a pitcher with ice too. The fritters were okay, but needed salt and were much greasier than others we had in the city. My wife had seafood paella and I had grilled monkfish (angler fish). My wife's paella was under seasoned, and the seafood was either frozen or overlooked as she had bites so rubbery she had to spit them out. That said, it was a very inexpensive paella. My fish was good, but also needed a touch of salt. It was served with boiled potatoes, leeks, and what I think was spinach. This was fine but also very bland. We ate only a few bites of food (we finished the fish together), and decided to just pay and go have tapas and dessert elsewhere. The waiter was shocked to see the paella uneaten and openly asked for our criticisms. Not wanting to be rude we said not to worry, and didn't describe our opinions. Without us asking, he removed the paella from the bill and wished us well. He seemed very nice, and the prices were decent. If you consider yourself a foodie, probably pass this place up. If you do go, order something simple or ask what is the most fresh and have that grilled or fried. read more

Mmm... no. It just wasn't very good. Don't get the seafood salad. That was a sure miss. We also got the mixed meat plate, meh at best. Patatas bravas in this restaurant = fries with a side of spicy mayo. And finally.... our server was awful. read more

Really enjoyed our time at Paco Alcalde! We did the set menu with seafood paella and highly recommend it. Absolutely delicious! Plus the wait staff was attentive and nice. read more

Paco Alcalde - Seafood Near Me - Barcelona, B

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