After our ill-fated approach to Parc Guell, we returned to the Cathedral area and scouted for a restaurant, preferably one filled with locals. We found Copons three blocks north of the Cathedral, just west of the street Copons’ intersection with Carrer Dr. Joaquin Pou. When we entered, the restaurant was very busy, and smartly dressed locals occupied most of the tables in this stylish red restaurant. More formal in feel than Passatorre, with art on its walls and subdued lighting, its menu was still a reasonable 8 euros. Again, by the time we departed, the restaurant was nearly empty, and the staff was more than happy when we took pictures after complimenting them on the food. This one accommodation to Barcelona’s style –- eating our main meal around 3pm -- proved to be money saving especially since the dollar had depreciated in worth in euros by about 20% from that prevailing during our 2001 European trip.
You get three choices of starter and entrée and dessert, and there is usually a fish, a beef or pork, and a poultry or game, choice for the entrée. Again, my husband and son shared a bottle of house wine. For a starter they both had mixed green salad, but I had gazpacho, very cool and refreshing on a warm, humid day. I really liked that the soup was accompanied by a separate small bowl of scallions, croutons, and sliced cucumber, to be added as desired .My husband and I chose beef steak accompanied by deep-fried eggplant, fried potatoes, and relleno chile. Very tasty it was, and the eggplant was not greasy, a common error in mediocre restaurants that irritates me as I love eggplant. Our son indulged in rabbit, his favorite, which was in a spicy red tomato sauce. For dessert, we all elected flan; this flan was the more typical Spanish type that did not have the caramelized topping that the crema catalana at Passatorre had.
Service was particularly good, given that they were so busy. As we lingered while my companions finished their wine, the staff of waiters efficiently dismantled used napery and set everything up for the evening. We chatted with the waiter who took our payment and he rewarded us with a smile when we told him how much we’d enjoyed our food. Our lunch did much to fortify us and assuage the disappointment of our Parc Guell misadventure. Barcelona is an excellent town for bargain lunches, and the area around the Cathedral seems to be an especially good spot as it’s packed with lots of eateries, some very famous like the Cal Pep diagonally situated in Praca de las Olles right near Copons.