Ciudad Condal has a large multi-level dining room and tapas bar. It’s an attractive dining room with dark stained wood almost everywhere. They draw a large, eclectic crowd (singles, couples, tourists, families, and large groups), so you can expect to wait for a table during prime dining hours. The tapas bar is very busy, and the seats go quickly there as well.

They have about as wide a variety of both hot and cold tapas as you can imagine, including all sorts of montaditos (tapas served on small slices of bread). Our favorites were the skewers of beef and the pimientos padron (seared green peppers with coarse salt). I can’t remember all the menu items we tried, but I do remember smelt montaditos, shrimp skewers, chicken, sautéed mushrooms, small ham sandwiches, and more. While each of us had our personal favorites, every single item we ordered was of high quality, which probably explains why this place is so busy. The service was always efficient, and I would venture to say more to the liking of those of us from the United States, where we’re more used to restaurants trying to turn tables than they are in Europe. Sometimes we became a little frustrated when we were ready for the check and our waiter was nowhere to be found. The staff seemed to be much more "accessible" here, for lack of a better word.

Our hotel really came through with a great recommendation, and we were glad they did. Just a block north of Plaça de Catalunya, it’s easy to find as well. That we dined here three times should tell you all you need to know.

My 1-10 ratings:
Food - 8; Service - 7; Atmosphere - 7

Additional information:
District: Eixample
Metro: Catalunya (L1, L3)