Looking for the best bars in Barcelona and the best places to drink in Barcelona without ending up in a tourist trap? This is a local’s guide to drinking here before 2am, organised by style rather than by street, so you can pick your mood: a lazy vermut before lunch, a hand-shaken cocktail in a 1930s institution, a glass of cava with anchovies, natural wine in Gràcia, a craft beer near Sant Antoni, or a rooftop at golden hour. For what happens after the bars close, our clubs guide covers the late-night scene.
The golden rule to understand first is timing. The night runs late here, but drinking isn’t one single thing: some of the best drinking in the city happens in daylight. Below you’ll find where to go for each style, plus the honest practical stuff on hours, tipping and whether you need to book. Pair it with our best tapas guide, because most of these drinks are best with something small to eat.
Vermut Culture: The Daytime Ritual
If you do one thing, make it vermut. Vermouth, served over ice with an orange slice and an olive, is the city’s most local drink, and “doing the vermut” is a cherished pre-lunch weekend ritual. The window is roughly noon to 2pm, the pace is slow, and the point is as much the ritual as the drink. This is drinking as a social daytime pleasure, not a warm-up for the night.
Quimet & Quimet in Poble-sec is the classic: a tiny, standing-room, bottle-lined family bar famous for its montaditos (small stacked bites) alongside the vermut. It’s cramped, it’s loud, and it’s exactly what you came for, so go early because it’s small and beloved. Over in Barceloneta, Bar Electricitat is the neighbourhood vermut institution, an old-school spot where locals fill their bottles straight from the barrel and drink vermut on ice like it’s always been done.
Cocktail Institutions: Classic and Serious
For a proper cocktail, the city punches well above its weight, and it regularly places bars on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, so it’s worth a quick check of the current rankings before you go. The scene ranges from historic hand-shaken classics to modern, ingredient-led rooms.
Boadas, just off La Rambla, is the one every drinker should tick off: opened in 1933, it’s widely considered the oldest cocktail bar in the city. It’s a small, elegant standing bar where white-jacketed bartenders shake classics with a flick of the wrist, and it makes a perfect first stop. Uptown, Dry Martini is the other legend, a wood-panelled temple to the martini and the classic cocktail, exactly the kind of grown-up, low-lit room where you order a stirred drink and mean it. Both are famous, so on weekend nights arrive early or expect to wait.
Cava & Wine Bars
Catalonia is cava country, and a glass of the local sparkling wine is one of the great cheap pleasures here. The definitive spot is El Xampanyet, a tiled, buzzing institution right by the Picasso Museum, where the ritual is house cava and anchovies standing at the bar. It’s packed, it’s cash-friendly, and it’s been doing this for generations, so squeeze in and join the crush.
Beyond cava, the natural-wine scene has exploded, with small, low-intervention wine bars clustering in Gràcia and Sant Antoni. These tend to be relaxed, knowledgeable places with short, rotating lists, ideal if you’d rather sip than shout. Trust the person behind the bar and order by the glass. For a sit-down drink outdoors, our best terraza bars guide has the pick of the terraces.
Craft Beer Around Sant Antoni & Poblenou
The craft beer scene has grown fast, concentrated around Sant Antoni and Poblenou, where taprooms and beer-focused bars pour a rotating range of local and international brews. The international chain BrewDog has a presence in the city if you want a known quantity, but the more interesting drinking is at the smaller independent taprooms nearby, so wander the area and follow the taps rather than a single name.
These places are informal and walk-in, usually with a chalkboard of what’s on and knowledgeable staff happy to pour you a taster. It’s the easy, low-commitment end of the city’s drinking, and a good option if you want something cold and hoppy without the ritual or the dress code.
Terrace & Plaza Drinking
Some of the best drinking here needs no famous name at all: it’s a cold drink at a terrace on a warm evening. Gràcia is the heartland, a village-like grid of squares where the whole neighbourhood spills outdoors, with Plaça del Sol the classic scene, ringed by bars and buzzing after dark. Over in El Born, the narrow backstreets hide small bars with a table or two outside, perfect for an unhurried drink between the medieval walls.
One important local rule: drink at the terrace, not walking. Drinking alcohol in the street or public squares is against the rules and can be fined, and the roaming vendors selling cheap cans are illegal. Grab a seat at a bar’s terrace, order there, and enjoy it in place. It’s more pleasant anyway, and it keeps you on the right side of the law.
Rooftop Bars
For a drink with a view, the city’s rooftop bars deliver, and many of the best sit atop hotels that are open to non-guests. The famous one is the Barceló Raval, whose 360° rooftop deck offers a full sweep of the skyline, a favourite spot for a sundowner. Other hotels around the centre run their own rooftop bars with pools and terraces.
The catch is that access policies, opening seasons and any minimum spend change from place to place and year to year, so check access policies before you make the trip up. Rooftops are often seasonal and busiest at sunset, so arrive early for a good spot, and treat these as a special-occasion drink rather than a cheap round.
Hours, Tipping & Booking
The rhythm is the thing to internalise. Evening bars fill roughly 20:00 to 02:00, peaking late, while vermut is a daytime affair enjoyed around noon to 2pm. Don’t expect an evening buzz before 20:00, and don’t expect vermut culture at midnight; they’re two different worlds.
On tipping, keep it simple: there’s no obligation, and locals typically just round up or leave the small change. Good service at a cocktail bar might earn a little more, but nobody expects a percentage. On booking, you almost never need one, so just walk in; the exception is the famous cocktail dens on weekend nights, which are small and busy, so reserve or arrive early. When the bars wind down, our clubs guide picks up the story for the small hours.
Find a hotel near the best barsFAQFrequently asked questions
What time do people go out for drinks?
Bars fill up late here. Most locals don't head out for evening drinks until around 20:00, and the busiest hours run from roughly 21:00 to 02:00. Vermut is the exception: it's a daytime ritual enjoyed before lunch, typically between noon and 2pm. If you arrive at a bar at 18:00 expecting a crowd, you'll usually beat everyone there.
What is vermut and when do you drink it?
Vermut is vermouth, a fortified, herb-infused wine served over ice with a slice of orange and an olive, often with a splash of soda. Doing the 'vermut' is a beloved weekend ritual: a pre-lunch aperitif, usually late morning to early afternoon, paired with small snacks like olives, anchovies or crisps. It's a daytime drink, not an evening one.
Can you drink on the street?
Drinking alcohol in the street or in public squares is against local rules and can be fined, and street vendors selling cans are illegal. The done thing is to drink at a bar's terrace, seated, rather than walking around with a glass or can. Enjoy your drink on the terrace and you'll have no problems.
Do I need to book bars?
For the vast majority of bars, no booking is needed: you just walk in. The exception is the famous cocktail dens and small speakeasy-style spots on weekend nights, which fill fast and are tiny, so a reservation or an early arrival helps. Vermut bars, wine bars and beer taprooms are almost always walk-in.
What is the oldest cocktail bar?
Boadas, tucked just off La Rambla, is widely regarded as the oldest cocktail bar in the city, opened in 1933. It's a tiny, elegant standing bar where white-jacketed bartenders shake classics by hand. It's a genuine institution and a lovely place to start a night, though it's small, so go early.