Old Local Classic Paella in Barcelona – 7 Portes

Besides being one of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona, what else?

7 Portes was founded in 1836 as a cafe and was converted into a restaurant in 1929. It was famous among the celebrities back in the day, such as Picasso, Miró, Dali and Domingo etc. 7 Portes is located close to the harbour and Barceloneta station. A funny fact about 7 Portes is that there is actually 8 doors instead of 7, but the 8th door is only available for staff and the goods. The specialty of 7 Portes is their paella and S couldn’t wait to try it!

The interior is 19 century decor with a classic black and white tiled floor which makes you feel like you have entered a time machine. The staff at the reception were quite friendly, yet the waiter for our table was either a bit snobby or just rude. The atmosphere of 7 Portes was a bit too pretentious for S’s taste, but S thought she would just focus on the food and ignore the vibe of the restaurant.

S ordered a starter platter – Entreteniments 7 Portes (€22.2) and a Paella Parellada (€24.9) to share. A little reminder for people who visit 7 Portes, the waiter will serve a basket of bread without you asking or ordering. S thought it was free but it turned out it would be charged after S double checked with the waiter! S only knew that because she read a blog about it, and S found it quite scummy to do something like this. The price of the bread wasn’t much, but S didn’t like the way that they mislead and not inform the customers – you would expect this kind of thing in a street market, not an upscale restaurant. 

The starter – Entreteniments 7 Portes included some fried squid and fried food, 2 shrimp, anchovy, ham on Catalonia bread and potato salad etc. The ham was pretty good and so were the fried ones. However, the others dishes didn’t really amaze S and were even a bit disappointing.

The paella was the dish that S looked forward to the most before she visited since it’s the classic dish for 7 Portes. The Paella Parellada was made with various types of seafood and meat, and the highlight was the lobster tail. This dish was delicious, however it was a bit too salty and rich for S’s taste. S hasn’t tried enough paella to say if the Paella Parellada was good or bad, but it definitely is something worth trying if you visit 7 Portes.

Overall, 7 Portes is a place that you could visit to appreciate the history and the ambience of the 19th century. However, if you’re just looking for good food to eat, S wouldn’t recommend 7 Portes. The paella here wasn’t bad but S is sure that you can find somewhere cheaper and probably tastier in Barcelona.

Restaurant info: 
Address: Passeig d’Isabel II, 14, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Phone: +34 933 19 30 33
Opening hours: Mon. – Sun. 1pm-1am
Site: https://7portes.com