La Plata, Historic tapas bar in Gothic Quarter, Barcelona, Spain
La Plata is a tapas bar in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, set in a narrow room with a marble counter and a handful of small tables. Wine is drawn from wooden barrels and drunk standing at the counter or seated at one of the few tables.
The bar opened in 1945 and has changed very little since then. It sits on a street where Pablo Picasso set up his first Barcelona studio in 1896.
La Plata has served the same four dishes for decades: fried sardines, Catalan sausage, anchovy fillets, and tomato salad with olives. This unchanged menu gives the bar a steady place in the daily life of the neighborhood.
The bar fills up quickly in the evening, so arriving early gives you a better chance of finding a spot at the counter. The space is very tight, but that is part of how the place works.
Wine here can be drunk from a porrón, a glass pitcher with a long narrow spout made so several people can share it without touching the vessel with their lips. This drinking habit is still a normal part of a visit here, not a display put on for tourists.
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