Our pick: El Paraigua and L’Ascensor for classic cocktails, Harlem Jazz Club and Jamboree for live music, Macarena for a small dance floor, and the Ohla rooftop for the view.
The short list
8 places, in the order they appear below.
- 01El ParaiguaTwisted classics and small live sessionsWalk from Barri Gòtic: about 1 minBehind Plaça de Sant Jaume
- 02L'AscensorOld-school cocktails, dark wood and red sofasWalk from Barri Gòtic: about 2 minNear Plaça Sant Jaume
- 03Harlem Jazz ClubJazz, blues, funk and soulWalk from Barri Gòtic: about 3 minGothic Quarter
- 04JamboreeNightly live music, Monday jamWalk from Barri Gòtic: about 5 minPlaça Reial
- 05Rooftop OhlaThe view over the Gòtic rooflineWalk from Barri Gòtic: about 10 minVia Laietana
- 06MonkArtist-themed and draught cocktailsWalk from Barri Gòtic: about 6 minEl Born
- 07Dr. StravinskyHouse-distilled spiritsWalk from Barri Gòtic: about 7 minRibera
- 08MacarenaLate dancing in a small roomWalk from Barri Gòtic: about 5 minGothic Quarter
Where do locals drink cocktails in the Gothic Quarter?
El Paraigua and L’Ascensor both take their classic drinks seriously. We go to El Paraigua when we want a small live session with our cocktail. L’Ascensor is the one for dark wood and red sofas.
El Paraigua is a cellar bar behind Plaça de Sant Jaume, and its classics come with small twists. The gimlet uses tequila instead of gin. The whisky sour takes absinthe, and the house Paraigua Poison mixes rum, midori, orange juice and pineapple. Music nights run to blues, jazz and comedy. Each one changes the evening, so check the calendar before you set off.
El Paraigua
Hours: Mon–Wed 12:00–00:00 · Thu 12:00–01:00 · Fri–Sat 12:00–03:00 · Sun 12:00–00:00
Address: Carrer del Pas de l'Ensenyança, 2, Ciutat Vella, 08002 Barcelona
You get into L’Ascensor through a working elevator. The list is short and old-school, and the Piña Colada is made with the same care as the classics.
L'Ascensor
Hours: Mon–Wed 19:00–02:00 · Thu–Sat 19:00–02:30 · Sun 19:00–02:00
Address: Carrer de Bellafila, 3, Ciutat Vella, 08002 Barcelona
Where can you hear live jazz in the Gothic Quarter?
Harlem Jazz Club has programmed jazz, blues, funk and soul since 1987, for an older audience that comes to listen. Jamboree has had a stage in a stone-vaulted cellar on Plaça Reial since 1960, with live music every night. Both are a short walk from the middle of the quarter.
At Harlem, the programme ranges from student bands finding their feet to established artists working through specific repertoire. After midnight at the weekend, the sessions belong to the regulars. It’s closed on Monday and Wednesday.
Harlem Jazz Club
Hours: Mon closed · Tue 20:00–03:00 · Wed closed · Thu–Sat 20:00–03:00 · Sun 19:30–02:00
Address: Carrer de la Comtessa de Sobradiel, 8, Ciutat Vella, 08002 Barcelona
Jamboree puts on jazz, blues or Latin music every night, mostly from Spanish groups. Monday is the WTF jam session. It pulls a young crowd that fills the room by nine.
Jamboree
Hours: Mon–Fri 16:00–05:00 · Sat 16:00–06:00 · Sun 16:00–05:00
Address: Pl. Reial, 17, Ciutat Vella, 08002 Barcelona
Which rooftop bar has the best view of the Gothic Quarter?
The rooftop of the Ohla Barcelona hotel, eight floors up on Via Laietana, looks straight over the Gòtic roofline. Most rooftops in the area are lower or face another quarter. You can book the pool and the bar together.
Book an early evening on a weeknight, before the hotel’s weekend crowd fills the deck. The view from the pool is the reason to come. The bar is where you stay once you’re dry.
Rooftop Ohla
Hours: Mon–Sun 19:00–01:00
Address: Via Laietana, 49, Ciutat Vella, 08003 Barcelona
Where are the most inventive cocktail bars near the Gothic Quarter?
In El Born and the Ribera, six or seven minutes on foot, the drinks get more experimental. Monk builds its menu around artists and ages pre-batched draught cocktails. Dr. Stravinsky distils its own spirits and infusions, changing them with the seasonal botanicals.
You reach Monk through a Pakistani grocery in an 18th-century building. The bar was designed around cocktails dedicated to artists: Kubrick, Kraftwerk, Moroder. The Kubrick has been on the menu since opening and is the obvious first order. The draught section changes less often than the seasonal menu.
Monk
Hours: Mon–Thu 18:00–02:30 · Fri–Sat 17:00–03:00 · Sun 17:00–02:30
Address: Carrer dels Abaixadors, 10, Ciutat Vella, 08003 Barcelona
Dr. Stravinsky is fitted with alembics and glass flasks. The base spirits and infusions change with seasonal botanicals, and the staff know which batch is newest. For a sense of how far they push the combinations, try the Camp Nou: dill syrup, gin, lemon and chamomile.
Dr. Stravinsky
Hours: Mon–Thu 18:00–02:30 · Fri–Sat 17:00–03:00 · Sun 17:00–02:30
Address: Carrer dels Mirallers, 5, Ciutat Vella, 08003 Barcelona
Where can you dance late in the Gothic Quarter?
Macarena, five minutes from the heart of the quarter, holds roughly a hundred people. What it relies on is a good sound system and the right DJ, not size. Depending on the night, the music is deep house, afro house or nu-disco. There’s no theatre at the door.
Regulars turn up without checking the programme. After 2am the room hits its stride, filling to the capacity it was built for and no further.
Macarena
Hours: Mon–Thu 23:59–05:00 · Fri–Sat 23:59–06:00 · Sun 23:59–05:00
Address: Carrer Nou de Sant Francesc, 5, Ciutat Vella, 08002 Barcelona
One evening can start with a classic at L’Ascensor, move on to a set at Jamboree or Harlem and end at Macarena. The small rooms fill first. The Ohla rooftop takes bookings. Spend a few minutes planning in the afternoon and you won’t be standing at the back later.
