Bar Cañete

Before the opera, without watching the clock

Bar Cañete is on Carrer de la Unió, in the Raval, a few steps from the Gran Teatre del Liceu and La Rambla. The kitchen is open from 13:00 to 24:00 with no afternoon break, which makes it practical for an evening at the theatre: you dine at seven before going in, or arrive at half past eleven on the way out and they still serve you. Behind it is a family of Sevillian origin with years of bars in Barcelona.

The best thing is to sit at the bar, facing the open kitchen, and order to share. The menu has classic bar tapas, such as Santoña anchovies, boquerones, Russian salad, croquettes at €3.35 each or the spicy bomba from Barceloneta at €5.75, and more serious small plates: the house fried fish, red mullet, boned oxtail or free-range hen cannelloni, almost all between €15 and €30. The rice of the day is €26.95. There is an indoor dining room for those who prefer a table.

Booking for a night at the theatre

It is open Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays. It also closes on the evenings of 24 and 31 December and on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Dinners before and after the Liceu fill up: book on its website, by email or on 932 703 458, and if you are tight for time, say so when booking and order at the bar.

Two minutes from Liceu metro

Liceu metro station, on L3, comes out on La Rambla two minutes from the bar. From La Boqueria you walk down La Rambla and turn into Carrer de la Unió.