In this post, I will write about an… entire street, Calle Blai and experiencing eating pinchos in one of its bars. This is my cool spot number 2 after the Horta Labyrinth.
Why is this street of interest?
Calle Blai is a lively pedestrian street, full of nice and cheap tapas bars in the district of Poble Sec. We are talking more about pinchos bars than tapas bars here, though, to be honest. Here you can have pinchos from 1 euro. Some bars are rather small. Some others have a terrace. But everyone has their favourite address in Calle Blai. Ours is the one below.
Our favourite address for pintxos in Calle Blai, Blai Tonight
I have a special fondness for Blai Tonight. I have spent a lot of Friday evenings here during my first year in Barcelona. Thanks to their popularity and delicious pinchos, they opened a second bar beside the first one. They also have a terrace.
I had brought family and friends here when they came for a visit to Barcelona. They never heard of this street, so they were happy to have a local experience with delicious and varied pinchos. Some were prepared with avocados, with prawns, with ham and quail eggs, with sausage and pimientos de Padron and so on…I like the ones with cream cheese and jam. The atmosphere is always agreeable. Blai Tonight is regularly full of foreigners living in Barcelona and locals. It is cheap, between 1 and 1,5 euros a pincho so you can eat as much as you want. The beer is equally cheap (less than 2 euros). They also have different sorts of croquettes. But I do prefer the pinchos. And, a bonus, they are family-friendly.
Pincho memories
One nice memory I have is about going for dinner with my entire family: parents, sister and nephews (the ones I spent 10 days of Christmas in Montreal with). The kids were still very young. 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, these looks, the ones people give when a couple with a baby sit beside them on the plane. The looks that say, “this is my luck, a baby, adios my quiet trip!”.
I also remember when a “secret service agent” looked after my laptop while I chose my pinchos. No joking here. 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 at the bar. He showed me his badge and told me: “Secret service. Don’t worry, nobody will touch your bags”. I probably won’t recognise him if I meet him again, but our encounter came in handy. I took my time to choose my pinchos, and my laptop was still there when I came back to my seat.
About 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”. The toothpicks prevent the ingredients from falling off. They also help the bartender keep track of how many pinchos a customer has had. Pinchos traditionnally come from the North of Spain, but you can now find them everywhere.
A pincho experience in Blai Tonight and in other bars 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 your glass of toothpicks back to the waiter. He will count them then present you with the bill to which he has added your drinks.
Do you like Calle Blai?