Bar Mut: What To Eat At Barcelona’s Best Wine Bar
Barcelona's reputation for tapas precedes it. And in a city full of delicious, innovative and mouthwatering dishes, Bar Mut is considered one of the city’s best tapas bar.
Tucked behind Avenida Diagonal in the heart of the Eixample neighborhood, Bar Mut’s refined gastronomic experience attracts such fans as filmmaker Woody Allen with its first-rate products, ranging from wild sea bass to the finest Iberico hams, cheeses, meats and salads. The bar also has an excellent wine list and a comprehensive range of spirits.
Opened by Quim Diaz in 2005, the bar’s name is a play on the word vermut (vermouth). The intimate retro space -- packed with antique lamps and piano, wooden fridge, wood and tile floors, bottles lining the walls, etched glass, bronze fittings and marble-topped barrels -- attracts well-heeled and deep-pocketed locals.
Creative and traditional dishes are listed on chalkboards around the bar. Catalan selections range from a carpaccio of sea urchin to fried eggs with foie gras on montaditos (tapas-size baguettes), wood oven-roasted scallops, braised oxtail and steak tartare. Other sophisticated tapas include haricot beans with wild mushrooms and morcilla and the restaurant’s signature dish, huevos fritos: a poached egg with prawn, thin fried potatoes and chorizo sauce.
Don't let the friendly and casual feel of the place deceive you. The check will be sobering. If you don't feel like spending an arm and a leg, go for lunch. The menu is still on the pricey side but allows you to experience the same high quality dishes without paying evening prices. If it's a nice day, sit outside. The site is excellent for people watching.
One of the most popular spots in town, it can be hard to get a table here at night. Book well in advance. But be warned. Bar Mut’s website is merely an online vehicle for an artsy film showing trendy people drinking and socializing at the bar. Call instead.
Once inside, ask your waiter to be put on the list for post-dinner drinks at Mutis, the establishment's semi-secret cocktail bar upstairs. Governed by a strict reservation-only policy, booking can be tricky. It is rumored singer Shakira tried to enter without being on the list and was turned away.
If you are one of the chosen few, you must check in with an attendant, who sits at a table behind an unmarked door, and then take a slow trip up a service elevator to a converted apartment made to resemble a 1920s Parisian burlesque. Some nights, there’s a live jazz band.
Despite the bar’s cool factor, the drinks make it a red-hot ticket. On the menu: classics like piña coladas made with fresh fruit and adventurous takes on mescal and Scotch whisky. Natural wines are also available from a rotating list.
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