Can Culleretes
C/Quintana 5
933-173-022
Metro Liceu
If you're looking for the Barcelona equivalent of a "George Washington slept here" type restaurant, that is a place that makes a big deal about its age, you'll enjoy this spot, founded in 1786 and supposedly the second-oldest restaurant in Spain after Botin in Madrid. Happily, the food's a lot better than you'll find in most eateries that play the history card. Get lost in the maze of small dining rooms here, and try dishes like roast lechon (suckling pig), cuixa d'oca amb pomes (goose with apples), or a three-course catch-of-the-day menu of impeccably fresh seafood. In Paris or London such a place would long since have become an unspeakable tourist trap; in Barcelona, it's a relaxed local favorite, still appreciated by all, so reservations are essential.

Casa Calvet
Calle Casp 48
934-124-012
Metro Urquinaona
From Tokyo to Texas, when the world thinks of Barcelona, it sees Gaud�, the talented, spectacularly eccentric native-son architect who worked here during the 19th century. To study and appreciate his sensual, sinuous forms, come to this charming restaurant located in a Gaud�-designed building, Casa Calvet. If most of his buildings are show-off structures � the exteriors are incredible, the interiors, conventional � this place is the exception to the rule, thanks to its stunning cabinetry, stained glass, and tiles. The mostly modern Catalan food is first-rate, too. The menu changes regularly, but you might find pea soup with tiny cubes of squid, pigeon with Szechuan pepper and roasted fennel bulb, and lamb meatballs on risotto. Finish up with the superb pine nut tart, and let yourself loose on the top-notch Catalan wine list (if you don't know these wines, ask � the waiters are charmers, and most speak English and are happy to make a recommendation).

Pinotxo
Mercat de la Boquer�a, puesto 66-67
933-171-731
Metro Liceu
Whether you're coming for breakfast, lunch, or tapas, arrive early to snag one of the 15 stools at this superb bar inside of the Mercat de la Boquer�a, the most magnificent market in Barcelona. A regular gathering place for the city's chefs, food critics, market workers, local gourmets, and well-advised tourists, it's a bustling spot with no menu and chaotic service, so be prepared to shout with the good-natured regulars if you want to sample superb pa amb tom�queta (bread dressed with crushed, plus tapas like escalivada (grilled eggplant), fried baby squid, griddled langoustines, artichoke tortilla (omelette), or more substantial dishes like escudella (a winter stew of veal and vegetables). Run by the Bayen family, of whom Juanito is the public face and one of the Boquer�a's great characters, it clatters to life at 6 a.m. every day and closes ten hours later. Tremendous fun, a great example of the Catalan lust for good food, and 24-karat people watching. N.B. Cash only.

Restaurant Barceloneta
L'Escar 22
Molle des Pescadores
932-212-111
Metro Barceloneta

Though many Barcelonans are still loyal to Botafumeiro, long the city's reigning seafood palace, others consider it overpriced and uneven, and have defected to this stylish place on the top floor of a modern building overlooking the Port Vell. The views are stunning, and so is the food, a catch-of-the-day extravaganza presented on a chalkboard. Depending on the season and the catch, you'll dine on oysters, octopus, clams, najavas (razor shell clams), cargols (sea snails), squid, and a variety of fish, usually cooked a la plancha, or on a hot griddle. If they're available, don't miss the succulent crimson shrimp from the Catalan port of Palamos � many chefs consider them to be the best in Europe. This airy, understated dining room is also a good place to sample a Catalan rice dish, maybe arroz negro, the round-rice dish from Valencia that's cooked in an open pan with the cuttlefish ink that makes it black, and then garnished with crunchy rings of same. Service is brisk but amiable, and there's good people-watching as young couples mix it up with families. Book ahead to get a window table. Photo: Courtesy of Restaurant Barceloneta

Senyor Parellada
Calle Argenteria 37
933-105-094
Metro Jaume 1
In spite of a recent freshening up of this relaxed, antiques-filled dining room and a regiggering of the menu to reflect a modern preference for sampling lots of small dishes instead of doing a rote meal of courses, Se�or Ramon Parellada, a fifth-generation restaurateur, remains passionately committed to the traditional Catalan kitchen. This is why his restaurant should be one of the first places anyone dines in Barcelona � a little knowledge of local eating habits will inform your encounters with more avant-garde menus. Parellada's dedicated regionalism, plus the reasonable prices, explain why this place is tremendously popular. Come every time you visit Barcelona for a seasonal primer of dishes that show off the produce and techniques of Catalonia. Among them, char-grilling vegetables, maybe asparagus (sprue in Catalan) or calcots (thick green onions); surf-and-turf, as seen in a dish like sipia amb mandongulles, a sensational mix of cuttlefish and meatballs; and fish all cremat, or garnished with browned garlic chips. Knowing his clientele as he does, Parellada can propose homey, earthy dishes like pig's trotters with turnips and know that he'll find takers. The serious, old-fashioned waiters put a professional gloss on the experience.

Set Portes
Passeig d'Isabel II 14
933-192-950
Metro Barceloneta

With its late serving hours, bustling atmosphere, and a crowd that cuts across all layers of local life, Set Portes (The Seven Doors) is the Catalan equivalent of a Parisian brasserie. Founded in 1836, the much-loved local institution specializes in paella Parellada, the famous rice dish cooked in open pans with broth and shellfish. They also offer fideua, which is paella made with short, stubby vermicelli pasta, as well as other Catalan classics like sarsuela, a seafood stew reminiscent of bouillabaisse, and fricando, a saut� of veal with wild mushrooms. Finish up with a textbook version of crema catalana, and be sure to come hungry, since portions here are vast. The wry, worldly, teasing waiters in long aprons completely understand the important role they play in creating a memorable meal. The only thing anyone might want to change here is the corny, cruise-ship repertoire of the pianist, since Tom Jones, Elton John, and Engelbert Humperdink tunes seem a bit incongruous in the handsome Old World setting of tiled walls and bentwood chairs. Photo: Courtesy of Set Portes