El Rey de la Gamba, Seafood restaurant in La Barceloneta, Spain
El Rey de la Gamba is a seafood restaurant in Barcelona's harbor district that focuses on Mediterranean cuisine. The menu features large helpings of fresh prawns, octopus, and fish sourced from local suppliers who catch them nearby.
The restaurant opened in 1972 as a neighborhood spot and gradually built its reputation over the years. In 2002, hotelier Juan Manuel Cals took over and introduced updated cooking methods that refreshed the kitchen's approach.
The restaurant sits in Barcelona's old harbor district, where it maintains ties with local fishing boats that bring in daily catches. This connection to the fishing tradition shapes how the kitchen prepares its dishes.
The restaurant operates on different schedules depending on the day of the week, with shorter hours early in the week and fuller hours from Friday onward. Planning your visit around the weekend gives you more flexibility to linger over your meal.
The house specialty is a grand seafood platter called Mariscada that combines several types of shellfish and crustaceans, each cooked using different methods. This dish showcases the range of techniques and ingredient knowledge the kitchen has developed.
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