The best nightlife in Barcelona comes in stages, and locals take their time with it. Start with vermouth or a glass of wine in Sant Antoni or the Eixample, then move to a small cocktail bar in the Raval or the Gothic Quarter. Live jazz or flamenco comes next. Finish in a club such as Moog or Sala Apolo, where the room fills in the small hours.
The short list
12 places, in the order they appear below.
- 01Bar CaldersAfternoon vermouth and the omelet of the daySant Antoni
- 02Casa VendrellWine by the glass with a boardEsquerra de l'Eixample
- 03NegroniA drink built around your moodEl Raval
- 04Caribbean ClubClassic Daiquiris in a fifteen-person roomEl Raval
- 05L'AscensorSimple classics on red sofasGothic Quarter
- 0623 RobadorsWeekend flamenco, midweek jazz jamEl Raval
- 07JamboreeMonday WTF jam sessionGothic Quarter
- 08Oblicuo Hi-Fi BarRare records on a custom sound systemGràcia
- 09Casa FigariLive sessions and natural wineGràcia
- 10MacarenaHouse music in a small roomGothic Quarter
- 11Moog BarcelonaTechno with resident DJsEl Raval
- 12Sala ApoloNitsa Club on Friday nightsPoble-sec
Where do locals start a night out in Barcelona?
We would begin in Sant Antoni or the Esquerra de l’Eixample, with vermouth or wine and something to eat. The two bars below both serve proper small plates with the drinks: the omelet of the day at Bar Calders, and cheese and charcuterie boards at Casa Vendrell. Neither expects you to drink on an empty stomach.
Bar Calders is named after the writer Pere Calders. With its shelves of books and art, it feels tied to the neighbourhood’s intellectual life. Weekdays are calmer. Weekends fill up early.
Bar Calders
Hours: Mon–Thu 17:00–00:00 · Fri 17:00–01:00 · Sat 11:00–01:00 · Sun 11:00–00:00
Address: Carrer del Parlament, 25, Eixample, 08015 Barcelona
At Casa Vendrell, people come for the cellar. The list by the glass is deep, and there are cheese and charcuterie boards, gildas and bravas to eat alongside it. Tell the staff about the last wine you liked and they’ll pour from there. Most of the neighbourhood regulars stay for two or three glasses and a board.
Casa Vendrell
Hours: Mon–Thu 18:30–23:30 · Fri–Sat 18:30–00:30 · Sun closed
Address: Carrer de la Diputació, 110, local 1, Eixample, 08015 Barcelona, Spain
Which cocktail bars in Barcelona do locals actually go to?
We go to three bars in the Raval and the Gothic Quarter. Two of them have no printed menu, and you reach the third through a working elevator.
Negroni is a black-themed room lit only by the bar, and many of its regulars are local musicians and journalists. The bartenders ask you two questions and build a drink from your answers. Describe your mood rather than naming a cocktail. Or order the house Negroni, the drink the bar measures itself by.
Negroni
Hours: Mon–Wed 19:00–01:30 · Thu 19:00–02:00 · Fri–Sat 19:00–03:00 · Sun 19:00–01:30
Address: Carrer de Joaquín Costa, 46, Ciutat Vella, 08001 Barcelona
Caribbean Club looks like a ship’s cabin hung with tropical posters. The bartender makes Daiquiris, gimlets and Caipirinhas without shortcuts, in a room that holds about fifteen people.
Caribbean Club
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 17:00–02:00 · Sun closed
Address: Carrer de les Sitges, 5, Ciutat Vella, 08001 Barcelona
L’Ascensor, near Plaça Sant Jaume, is all dark wood and red sofas, and locals have kept coming back for decades. The list is short and everything on it is done well, so order something simple. Seats are easier to get before 11pm.
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 and flamenco in Barcelona?
We have two picks in the old town. One is a narrow Raval bar with a stage barely larger than a table. The other is a stone-vaulted cellar on Plaça Reial that has hosted live music since 1960. Both fill quickly, so plan your timing.
23 Robadors has flamenco at the weekend and a jazz jam midweek, with funk, rock and hip hop on other nights. Half the room lives in the Raval; the other half are musicians hoping to sit in. There are only a few dozen seats, so arrive about forty minutes before the flamenco. Bring cash for the door, and make a dinner of the pinchos on the counter.
23 Robadors
Hours: Mon–Thu 19:00–02:30 · Fri 19:30–03:00 · Sat–Sun 19:00–03:00
Address: Carrer d'En Robador, 23, Ciutat Vella, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
Jamboree has live jazz, blues or Latin music every night, mostly from Spanish groups. On Mondays the WTF jam session brings in a young local crowd that fills the cellar within its first hour. Be there by 9pm.
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
Is Gràcia good for a night out in Barcelona?
Yes, and Gràcia works as a night out on its own. Two of its bars are built around sound. One is a hi-fi room that plays records you won’t find on streaming. The other is a music venue that mixes concerts, jam sessions and vinyl. Both pour natural wine.
Oblicuo Hi-Fi Bar was Gràcia’s first hi-fi bar. Its custom acoustic system was designed for the room, and the DJs come from a circle of serious record collectors. The idea borrows from Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt’s oblique strategy cards. The natural wine list is short and good. Records change from night to night, so check the programme before you go.
Oblicuo Hi-Fi Bar
Hours: Mon closed · Tue 19:00–01:00 · Wed–Thu 19:00–02:00 · Fri–Sat 19:00–03:00 · Sun closed
Address: Carrer de la Riera de Sant Miquel, 59, Gràcia, 08006 Barcelona
Casa Figari is a bar, a small club and a concert space at once, in a room hung with record sleeves and instruments. A live session and a DJ night make for quite different evenings, so pick one from the weekly programme. The natural wine list changes every month.
Casa Figari
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Thu 20:00–02:00 · Fri–Sat 20:00–02:30 · Sun closed
Address: Carrer del Torrent de l'Olla, 141, Gràcia, 08012 Barcelona
Where do locals go clubbing in Barcelona?
Locals go to Macarena and Moog, two compact clubs in the old town, and to Sala Apolo in Poble-sec, a 1943 ballroom where Nitsa Club runs on Fridays. In all three the dancefloor doesn’t get going until after 2am. Turning up early gets you very little.
Macarena holds roughly a hundred people. Entry is usually free or close to it, which keeps the crowd local. Depending on the night you’ll hear deep house, afro house or nu-disco. Nobody makes a fuss at the door, and the room fills late.
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
Moog has played techno and electro in one Raval room since 1996, and its resident DJs know the floor. Pick your night by the residents instead of waiting for a headliner: a Tuesday here can match a Saturday. It’s at its best around 3am.
Moog Barcelona
Hours: Mon–Thu 00:00–05:00 · Fri–Sat 00:00–06:00 · Sun 00:00–05:00
Address: Carrer de l'Arc del Teatre, 3, Ciutat Vella, 08002 Barcelona
Sala Apolo’s main room is a curved, wood-panelled hall under chandeliers. Nitsa has run there every Friday since 1993, booking names from the serious end of electronic music. The smaller La[2] Apolo room is where you’ll catch artists earlier in their careers.
Sala Apolo
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 00:00–05:00 · Sun 17:00–05:00
Address: Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 113, Sants-Montjuïc, 08004 Barcelona
How do you plan a night out across Barcelona’s neighbourhoods?
Plan by neighbourhood and by hour. Begin in Sant Antoni and the Eixample. Cocktail bars and live music cluster in the Raval and the Gothic Quarter, Gràcia makes a night out by itself, and the clubs open around midnight. The table below matches each place to the part of the night it suits.
Read the list as a sequence. One or two places per stage is plenty for one night. Several of these bars close on Sundays or Mondays, so check each card before you go out, and carry some cash for small door charges.
