Where to Eat Conservas, Jamón and Cheese in Barcelona: The Classic Bars

Barcelona's classic bars for tinned-fish montaditos, house cava and anchovies, jamón at the counter and Spanish cheese — what to order in each.

By The Spain at the Table team · Updated 28 September 2026

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If Madrid is the city of vermouth on tap, Barcelona is the city of the open tin. Its old bodegas serve mussels, cockles and anchovies straight from the can, with a vermouth or a glass of house cava — and nobody thinks that’s second-best.

Last checked: September 2026. Hours change; several of these bars are small and close some weekend slots.

At a glance

Conservas and vermouth

Quimet & Quimet

• Where: Poble-sec, Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes · Map
• Order: three or four montaditos (small open sandwiches) — ask the bar what’s best today — and a glass of their vermouth or beer.

A family bar dating back to 1914, with walls of bottles to the ceiling and a counter where almost everything comes out of a tin or a jar and is stacked onto bread in front of you. Standing only, tiny and packed: go early and be patient. It’s the best argument there is for taking tinned fish seriously.

El Xampanyet

• Where: El Born, Carrer de Montcada, near the Picasso Museum · Map
• Order: a glass of the house xampanyet (sparkling wine), anchovies, and a plate of jamón or cheese.

Blue tiles, a marble counter and the same family behind the bar since the 1930s. It’s on every list, so it’s busy — but the anchovies and the house fizz are the real thing.

Bar Bodega Quimet

• Where: Gràcia, Carrer de Vic · Map
• Order: house vermouth, a couple of tins (mussels or cockles) and patatas with sauce.

A neighbourhood bodega in Gràcia, founded in the 1950s and still full of locals. Not to be confused with Quimet & Quimet — different bar, different neighbourhood, same idea: vermouth and good tins.

A side trip for tin lovers: Espinaler

The Espinaler brand — famous for its mussels in escabeche and its vermouth sauce for tins — was founded in 1896 and still runs its original tavern in Vilassar de Mar, about 30 minutes up the coast by train. → The best Spanish tinned fish to buy

Jamón

Bar Cañete

• Where: Raval, Carrer de la Unió, near the Liceu opera house · Map
• Order: jamón ibérico de bellota and whatever seafood the counter recommends.

A long bar where you eat facing the cooks. It’s a proper restaurant rather than a quick stop, and one of the most reliable places near La Rambla for ham and market seafood.

Jamonísimo

• Where: Eixample · Map
• Order: a tasting of two or three hams from different origins.

A specialist ham shop where you can compare, for example, a Guijuelo and a Jabugo side by side before you buy. That comparison teaches you more than any label. → Guijuelo vs Jabugo

Cheese

Formatgeria La Seu

• Where: Gothic Quarter, Carrer de la Dagueria · Map
• Order: the quick stand-up tasting of three cheeses with wine, or book the longer tasting in the back.

Spain’s first specialist cheese shop, in an old butter factory. A short, carefully chosen list of Spanish farmhouse cheeses kept in perfect condition. The tasting room is tiny — book ahead.

Vila Viniteca (La Teca)

• Where: El Born, Carrer dels Agullers · Map
• Order: ask for a Spanish cheese you can’t get at home, plus a bottle from the wine shop across the street.

One of the city’s biggest cheese counters, attached to a famous wine merchant. Good for buying cheese to take back.

About La Boqueria

The market on La Rambla is beautiful and worth a walk, but its ham cones and juice stands are aimed at tourists. For ham, the places above are better value.

Take it home

The Catalan way with tins at home: mussels in escabeche, sardines in olive oil, and a few slices of ibérico on the side. (Espinaler is hard to find in the UK; Ramón Peña mussels are just as good.)

→ How to serve conservas like a Spanish bar