Parada Torres

Parada Torres is a counter bar set inside Santa Caterina’s market hall in El Born, opened by twin brothers, both chefs, who shopped at these same stalls with their grandmother as children. Guests sit around a round marble counter beneath the market’s undulating roof. The food is kept plain on purpose: vermouth and cold dishes served over the counter, then fritters and grilled produce taken from the neighbouring stalls. It stays open through the day, drawing people doing their market shopping, office staff on a lunch break and diners who know which chefs are behind it.

Pass on the tables that look out onto the avenue and take a stool at the marble counter with a vermut and the fried dishes in front of you, since that pairing is the experience the brothers built the place around. Because the kitchen keeps going all day, the gap in the middle of the afternoon, after lunch service and before dinner, is the realistic moment to find a free seat.