A decent Galician restaurant experience: Restaurant La Penela (14. October 2023)

Given bedtime was super late, I ended up having a late lunch again the next day. I wasn’t really sure where to go, so I looked for something in walking distance of the hotel, as I really didn’t want to eat another 10 courses for lunch after a felt 20 courses the day and night before. Once you’re seated in the La Penela, which is a restaurant offering Galician cuisine, you get a “chick peas starter”, which is simple, but quite enjoyable.

As a starter, I went for the “empanada de bonito” (EUR 10.00). It was good, but it was a lot. And somehow, when I had read empanada, I had expected that little dumpling from Argentina. Turns out, it wasn’t that. Hence, the portion was much larger. In any case, though, it was absolutely enjoyable.

Luckily, the waiter had told me that it would be a lot of food and suggested serving me a smaller portion of the soup. The “Brou Gallec” (EUR 3.50) was a relatively thick vegetable-based soup, which was simple and good.

As a main, I went for the “taquitos de croca (ternera gallega) salteados con patatas y piquillos “(EUR 18.50) and let me put it that way. I suppose taquitos are not tacitos, hence, I got something completely different from what I had expected. In any case, the meet was good and cooked to temperature.

The interior of the place is nice too – it’s easy-going, simple, and somewhat appealing. The part I didn’t like so much was the quality of the service. I had to ask for my second large bottle of sparkling water three (!!!) times before it was finally served. I was about to get up to grab it myself, because the waitress kept ignoring me, which, at some point, just felt rude.

All in all, the La Penela is a decent place with decent food – something you can do, nothing you must do.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant La Penela

C. de Pau Claris 97

08009 Barcelona (E)

Tel.: +34 935 17 26 66

Homepage: https://www.lapenela.com/barcelona/

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.