Ok, this is not a “secret spot” per se as I am talking about an entire street here, Calle Blai, in general and a place in particular, Blai Tonight. These places are my secret spots number 2 after the Horta Labyrinth.
So why are they of interest?
They are of interest because these places don’t get the credit they deserve. First of all, Calle Blai as a street is a lively pedestrian street, full of nice and cheap tapas bars. More pinchos bars than tapas bars to be honest.
And here, I want to speak about one place in particular, Blai Tonight, because I have a special fondness for this place. This is one of the places I had been to on my first year in Barcelona. I did spend many friday evenings there. And now because of their popularity they opened a second local just beside the first one. They also have a terrace.
I have taken family and friends here when they came for a visit to Barcelona. Everyone has been happy about the experience: tasty and varied pinchos (with avocados, with prawns, with ham and quail eggs, sausage and pimiento de padron and so on…), nice atmosphere (it is always full of foreigners living in Barcelona and locals ), it is cheap (between 1 and 1,5 euros a pincho) with equally cheap beers (less than 2 euros). In Calle Blai, there are also different sorts of croquettes. But I do prefer the pinchos.
For those of you who don’t know it, a pincho is a piece of bread with toppings fixed with a toothpick. This is why they are called “pinchos” because of the spike. The toothpicks prevent the ingredients from falling off, but they also help the bartender to keep a track of how many pinchos a customer had. Pinchos traditionnally come from the North of Spain but you can now find them everywhere.
A pincho experience involves you receiving a plate and a plastic glass to keep your toothpicks. Then you go to the bar, order your drink and help yourself with pinchos. At the end of the night, you give back your glass of toothpicks to the waiter. He will count them, add them to your drinks’price and then present you with the bill.
One nice memory is when I went with my whole family: parents, sister and nephews (the ones I spent 10 days of Chrismas in Montreal with). The kids were still very small. Despite the place being busy, the waiter made room for the buggy. And when one of the boys started to cry because of the crowd, they were really patient and did not give us any bad looks. You know, this look, the same one people give to you when you have a kid and sit beside them in the plane. This look that says “this is my luck, a kid beside me, adios to my quiet trip!”.
I also have that memory of a secret service agent looking after my laptop while I was choosing my pinchos. Yeah, I don’t joke. I was waiting for a friend and in the meantime wanted to eat something. I tried to keep an eye on my bag on the other side of the room while choosing pinchos. He showed me his badge and told me: “Don’t worry nobody will touch your bags”. I probably won’t recognise him if I meet him again but I had been very grateful on the moment. I took my time to choose my pinchos and my laptop was still there when I came back to my seat…
To read about my secret spot #1, the Horta Labyrinth, click here. And if you try Blai tonight, come back and leave your impression!
Post edit: I have been back to Calle Blai last month and got a bit disappointed on the quality of pintxos. Is Blai Tonight a victim of its success? I think Calle Blai is still a place to visit when you come to Barcelona. When you go, leave us a comment!