Eating in Barcelona: Part IV: Avesta for absinthe and Hisop for lunch
May 30, 2014
After that wonderful paella at Merendero de la Mari, we started wandering through the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic), still very excited to be in day one of our visit to Barcelona. The Gothic Quarter reminded us very much of Bairro Alto in Lisbon. Stumbling onto a tiny bar, curiously playing American music from the 70s on the sound system, just as we did in Lisbon one night, reinforced that feeling.
The oddly small door to the oddly small bar called Avesta caught our eye. Well, factually, the sign out front that included the word "absinthe" caught my eye. In we went.
There was a bartender, and a single patron, watching some sort of sporting event on the TV. I didn't concern myself with the game, but inquired on the absinthe directly. I don't know much about absinthe, other than I drink it quite often in cocktails. I was advised that they carry several Spanish absinthes, and when in Rome...
Sugar cube, flame, some water. What a show I tell ya.
Don't be tall in this place, or you'll hit your head. The scale of the place was truly odd. Don't go with a group of friends or the place might tip over.
Avesta is listed on cocktail bar lists on the internet. There was indeed an impressive selection of booze lining the exposed rock walls. And a rotary telephone.
I wish I had time to go back to see what else they were doing, but it just wasn't in the cards.
The next morning we wandered around the city toward our lunch destination, Hisop.
On they way, we walked down Passeig de Gràcia, a main street known for architecture by wacky folks like Antoni Gaudí. One of the more famous buildings, La Pedrera, is undergoing restoration, so we got to look at a very large picture of the building, wrapped around the building. Not preferable.
I'll save the Hisop meal for a later post (here it is--click me), as I've bored even myself with this post at this point. I can only imagine what someone who is reading it must be feeling.
Avesta Bar & Cocktail : C/Marquet 2, Barcelona, Spain : +34 9331073