Taller de Tapas: A small chain of restaurants, this was a bit of a life saver on our first night in Barcelona - we had great fish cakes, chorizo, patatas bravas and red wine, although choices were limited as they had run out of a lot of things, but I blame that on the snow.

The reason I recommend this everyday restaurant is that it was easy, with a wide menu, you could go back several times and not eat the same things.  The waiter was really helpful and friendly and looked after us well. (Although I’d only give the toilets a 6/10.)

Eat: Okay, I was prejudiced before I even got to Barcelona, but the one thing I really wanted to try was calamari (fried squid.)  On our 3rd day in Barcelona I finally succeeded!

Port Vell, the new shopping and entertainment complex on the sea front has some lovely restaurants overlooking the water, and we picked one at random.

Unfortunately I can’t really recommend it, as although the calamari was possibly the best I’ve ever tasted, the chorizo was really dull. 

If you like seafood it’s always good to try a restaurant right on the water - and there are loads to choose from here!

Drink: The best thing to drink in Barcelona for me is not the wine, or the sangria, or even the exceptional chocolate liquer, it’s the hot chocolate.

It’s the thickest hot chocolate I’ve ever had - I think you can get something similar in Carluccios called Florentine hot chocolate, but it really is awesome and perfect for keeping you going when you are out sightseeing.

A very close second is the Irish coffee at the top of Mount Tibidabo.  My sister was scared when she saw it being poured.  It was lovely and very warming, but it meant it took us a little longer to get down the mountain as we managed to miss the funicular (which is almost impossible to do!)

Final tip: I am one of those people that gets a bit ratty when they need to eat - and I did get a bit ratty in Barcelona Airport on the way back - as although it has great shops and cafes on the way in - on the way out it was the time of day when a lot of shops inexplicably shut.  So it was really hard to find anything other than a sandwich to eat - I ended up buying a tortilla sandwich and just eating the tortilla.  I strongly recommend you eat before you go to the airport - or carry trekking bars - that’s my plan from now on!