Can Culleretes: A Historic Landmark You Can Taste
Hidden in a dim alley in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, Can Culleretes is the city's oldest restaurant. It opened in 1786, which is only about 10 years after the United States was declared an independent nation. Isn't that crazy?
For a 200+ year old restaurant, it actually looks quite nice inside. It's been really well-maintained. The dining area is warm and spacious with wooden chairs and white tablecloth tables. The decor is simple with bright landscape paintings.
Anyway, I came here for lunch one day and I was not disappointed! (Except, I wasn't impressed either). Their menu is quite extensive and full of traditional Spanish dishes, including Catalan-style Roasted Suckling Pig, Butifarra Sausage with White Beans, and Wild Boar Stew.
I got two appetizers (Goat Cheese Salad and Garlic Shrimps). Both of them were alright. The salad was probably better. I also went for the "Paella Especial", which comes with both seafood and meat. There seemed to be SO much hype for this given that it's the only thing on the menu described as "special". Sadly, the paella was tiny and a bit too wet. Where was the socarrat?
Overall, I think it was still worth it to go to Can Culleretes to check off the box. Other blogs and reviews seemed to have nice things to say about the food. So, perhaps I simply ordered the wrong things.
These gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimps) were a bit bland. There wasn't a lot of garlic flavor. I still downed the plate though! [9.5 Euros]
Here's the Paella Especial. It comes with a variety of seafoods, like shrimp, mussels, and scallops. The meat is mostly chicken. It's priced well at 17 Euros. I would suggest not ordering this one though. There are probably more interesting things on the menu.