Fat Barbies: Smoked BBQ in Barcelona
Neighbourhood:
Eixample – Bailen
Eixample – Muntaner
Must try dish: Fat burger de vaca vieja
Real Smoked BBQ in Barcelona
You can literally smell the smoke as you walk towards the lodge cabin style restaurant a block away. A pile of wood sits by the doorway as you walk in. Immediately you know these guys are serious about the flavours created through smoking the meat.
What's the ambience like?
The floor to ceiling windows at the front provide light to the modern dark coloured interior and gives an inviting feel to the chic lodge cabin look. Set over two floors, with the bar and some seating on the ground floor. Upstairs consists of the kitchen with that impressive wood oven, some more seating and a large sharing table. My recommendation would be the table at the front on the first floor (nice views to the street below and a little more private).
There are a number of impressive looking starters on the menu like the mac & cheese or the carrots, mole & seeds, but I needed to save all available room for the meat. I mean that’s the main attraction of a bona fide smoked BBQ right?
First to arrive to my table was the brisket. And it was impressive. Surrounded in a black pepper coating. Succulent and full of flavour. Each meat dish comes with a choice of greens, wedges or coleslaw. I opted for the coleslaw with the brisket. As everything here is made from scratch, it was very fresh tasting.
Best Burger in Barcelona?
Next up was the Fat Burger. Barcelona has a number of successful burger joints. But this has to be one of the juiciest and tastiest burgers you will find. Dripping with cheddar cheese, a slice of lettuce and caramelized onions in a brioche bun. The actual taste of the smoked meat. It really was one of the best burgers I’ve had. I chose the French fries this time, which are actually more like wedges.
Last of the meat dishes was the philly swiss steak. Dripping in even more cheese than the burger was. Again, the softness and tenderness of the meat is the star. Free sauces on the table include BBQ, mayonnaise with kimichi and my favourite the spicy BBQ. Perfect for dipping those wedges in. The meat itself in all three dishes though doesn’t need any sauce. The smoked flavour is enough.
Other meat options on my list for my next visit are the beef rib, chicken wings, St. Louis smoked BBQ ribs, the pulled pork slider…well the list could go on actually. So, it will have to be a few more visits.
I did manage to find room for dessert though, just. S’mores was something I’d never tried before. Chocolate, nuts and a large homemade marshmallow, which is blow torched at your table by your waiter. Its as tasty as everything else I tried and filling too.
In summary, Fat Barbies is a unique place in Barcelona, created and run with passion to give customers a real BBQ experience. Just one tip, arrive hungry!
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See my full list of the other best steak & meat restaurants in Barcelona here.